China Sunergy begins shipping modules from Istanbul

China Sunergy Co., Ltd. has begun shipping solar modules from Turkey. The company, which designs, manufactures and delivers solar cells and modules, announced that its plant in Istanbul will be delivering a total of approximately 6.4 megawatts of solar products from mid-June to August 2013 to an unnamed French customer. “We are delighted to announce our first contract win from Europe for the Turkey plant. The...

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Slovenian company develops method of reusing toxic fluoride byproducts

EMO-FRITE, a Slovenian private company that produces frits and enamels, has developed a method that reuses the toxic byproducts of ceramic and enamel products significantly reducing its environmental impact by as much as 90 percent. The process of producing enamel, frits, ceramic or porcelain glazes is a very toxic one, with chemical interaction creating byproduct called micronized...

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Europe imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels

The European Commission has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on the imports of solar panels, cells and wafers from China. After a nine month investigation, launched in September 2012, the Commission found that Chinese companies are selling solar panels in Europe at far below their normal market value, a practice which has caused significant harm to E.U. solar panel producers. The investigation...

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E.U. beats Kyoto target ahead of deadline

Europe has already achieved - even surpassed - its Kyoto Protocol target nine years early, claimed a Britain-based climate change think tank Sandbag. Under the Kyoto Protocol (see related story), in 2008, the European Union committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. Analyzing figures recently released by the European Environment Agency, Sandbag argues...

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Europe-wide emission reduction target of 50 percent by 2030 possible - Britain

Britain has challenged the rest of Europe to set their emissions reduction target to 50 percent by 2030. The decarbonization of the European Union economy, getting emission levels back down closer to 1990 levels, is considered fundamental to tackling climate change. “The U.K. is a global leader in tacking climate change and we need to maintain the momentum towards a binding global climate agreement 2015,” said...

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Ukraine to see $53 million worth of solar power installations

A Czech group of companies has announced its intention to invest 400 million Euros ($52.92 million) for the construction of solar power plants in the Ukraine. Ekotechnik Czech will put up around 160 megawatts worth of solar power plants in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast region, reported the Khmelnytskyi Oblast State Administration. The Ukrainian authorities will lease approximately 400 hectares of land in over 14 districts to the company for...

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Flisom to build 15 MW thin film solar production plant

Swiss thin film solar manufacturer Flisom has secured funding to further develop their modules technology. Flisom, which focuses on copper-indium-galium-selenide or C.I.G.S. technology, will also be using this funding to build a production plant with an annual capacity of 15 megawatts. This third funding round was completed with participation from a Swiss investor, along with existing strategic investor,...

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E.U. can be 100% renewable by 2050 – W.W.F.

A new World Wildlife Fund report found that the European Union could be fully powered by renewable energy by 2050. To be able to achieve this, W.W.F. suggested Europe needs to reduce its energy consumption by over one third and generate almost half of its energy from renewables by 2030. According to the report, “Putting E.U. on Track for 100% Renewable Energy”, the region has significant untapped potential...

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Romania Wind Energy: Windows of opportunity and financing challenges

According to a recent study done by Ernst & Young, Romania is one of the most lucrative countries in Europe for investors in wind energy. This is partially due to their green certificates market which gives tradable green certificates to producers of renewable energy. For wind power producers, this means they get two green certificates for every megawatt of wind power till January 1st 2018. Afterwards, every megawatt...

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BYD electric buses certified for European market

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has received approval to sell its electric buses in the European Union. The company has obtained a Whole Vehicle Type Approval from the European Commission which means that BYD does not need to get individual national approval for its buses before selling them to the E.U. member states. According to a company statement, this will help ensure the successful implementation...

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