News

China’s wind power equipment industry is facing a strong headwind with the two biggest makers seeing a sharp drop in net profit. Sinovel Wind Group Co., China’s biggest player, reported a 48.3% net profit fall on the year in the six months through June. Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., a rival firm, saw its …

A subsidiary of Showa Shell Sekiyu KK will begin commercially producing photovoltaic cells based on copper and other elements that rival the efficiency of their mainstream crystalline silicon counterparts. Solar Frontier KK achieved 17.2% efficiency this spring with small panels using CIS thin-layer technology through a collaboration with the government-affiliated New Energy and Industrial Technology …

FuelCell Energy, Inc., a leading manufacturer of ultra-clean, efficient and reliable power plants, today announced market expansion into Indonesia with the sale of a sub-megawatt Direct FuelCell® module to partner POSCO Power for installation at a showcase location in Indonesia. POSCO Power will combine the fuel cell module with locally manufactured balance of plant and …

Manufacturers of home fuel cell systems are racing to develop models that continue operating in power outages now that existing systems have been called into question. The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization is urging JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. and others to develop power sources that run even in emergencies. Petroleum and …

Kansai Electric Power Co. on Wednesday began the full operation of its 10,000kw solar power plant in the city of Sakai. Located on a roughly 210,000 sq. meter site owned by the Osaka prefectural government, the sprawling solar farm, the largest currently online in Japan, is capable of generating enough power for roughly 3,000 typical …

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. has developed a household fuel cell system that stays in service during a blackout, The Nikkei learned Wednesday. The JX Holdings Inc. unit and other firms are trying to address the drawbacks of existing household fuel cell systems, which shut down when rolling blackouts were imposed after the March …

South Korea’s Samsung SDI Co Ltd said it expects the global solar cell market to be worth $70 billion by 2020, more than double last year’s $30 billion, with falling prices and government support expected to drive demand globally. Choi Chang-sik, executive vice-president of the company’s solar energy division, told Reuters in an interview that …

Daimler AG (DAI)’s Mercedes-Benz plans to expand its lineup of high-end luxury cars and sport-utility vehicles in an effort to surpass Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW)’s record profit. Mercedes will add variations of its flagship S-Class model after revamping it in 2013 in a bid to become the segment’s profit leader, according to two people …

A $97 million-guarantee fund raised by power generators, energy distributors and banks will spur South Korean companies to invest in clean-energy, an industry official said. The fund, managed by the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and the Korea Technology Finance Corp., could provide as much as 1.24 trillion won ($1.16 billion) in guarantees to small renewable-energy …

JinkoSolar Holding Co., a Chinese solar-product maker, said it may be time for the company to buy back its “severely undervalued” American depositary shares, as well as study purchases of project developers to spur demand. “We’ll choose a proper time period to buy back our American depositary shares,” Chief Executive Officer Chen Kangping said today …