Kyocera Corp. says it has now installed more than 1,200 solar power generating systems at public schools in Japan, ranking Kyocera as the No. 1 supplier in this segment of the Japanese market. In the market for school installations in Japan, Kyocera holds over 40% market share.
The use of solar power at schools in Japan has grown exponentially in recent years with the government's School New Deal initiative, which aims to broadly enrich the nation's educational facilities, the company notes. The initiative plans to promptly pursue higher earthquake-resistant building standards and to utilize solar power generation under the broader concepts of improved environmental impact and enhanced information and communications technology.
SOURCE: Kyocera
Monday, January 31, 2011
Now You Can Design Your PV System From a Digital Photo of Your Roof
Valentin Software Inc. has released PV*SOL basic, a new tool for the design and sales of residential and commercial photovoltaic systems.
According to the company, this tool allows solar contractors, sales representatives and engineers to design PV systems from digital photos of customers' homes and create professional proposals with detailed financial analysis and photo-quality graphics of proposed systems on their customers' roofs.
PV*SOL basic, which was developed specifically for the U.S. market, can eliminate the need to perform site visits or reduce their time and increase their safety. Contractors can save time that was traditionally spent on tracking solar incentives, electricity rates, product specifications and climate data, and on performing system design calculations, the company says.
SOURCE: Valentin Software Inc.
According to the company, this tool allows solar contractors, sales representatives and engineers to design PV systems from digital photos of customers' homes and create professional proposals with detailed financial analysis and photo-quality graphics of proposed systems on their customers' roofs.
PV*SOL basic, which was developed specifically for the U.S. market, can eliminate the need to perform site visits or reduce their time and increase their safety. Contractors can save time that was traditionally spent on tracking solar incentives, electricity rates, product specifications and climate data, and on performing system design calculations, the company says.
SOURCE: Valentin Software Inc.
Sulfurcell Secures €18.8m Equity Funding for Expansion
Sulfurcell, a global leader in CIGS/CIGSe type thin-film solar modules, today announced it has secured EUR 18.8m (USD 25m) in equity funding for the expansion and market introduction of its second generation thin-film photovoltaic technology.
CIGSe technology is known as the most promising new technology for PV modules being able to deliver modules with the same performance as conventional modules at half the cost. Since producing and shipping its first modules to customers in 2005, Sulfurcell has successfully commercialized on a mass scale, ramping-up its 35 MW facility fabrication. Sulfurcell sets itself apart by developing unique, comprehensive solutions for the BIPV, solar construction and commercial rooftop sectors.
The funding comes on the heels of Sulfurcell’s recent accomplishment of manufacturing full scale thin-film modules with 12.6 % efficiency. Sulfurcell’s realisation of the high-efficiency potential of CIGSe-type modules in an industrial production environment confirms the company’s position as one of the leading companies in CIGS/CIGSe technology. Sulfurcell’s investors have funded the acquisition of additional CIGSe equipment and ongoing R&D work targeting 14% efficiency within the next 12 to 18 months.
The financing round was led by Intel Capital, the global investment arm of Intel Corporation. Intel was joined by a group of leading European and US clean tech investors who gave a EUR 85m equity funding to Sulfurcell in July 2008, i.e. Climate Change Capital Private Equity (London), Bankinvest Group (Copenhagen), Zouk Ventures (London), Masdar Clean Tech Investments (New York) and Demeter (Paris). In addition, Sulfurcell’s long-term investors who supported the company since the first financing round in 2002 contributed substantially and were led by Vattenfall Europe (Berlin) and GdF Suez (Berlin/Paris). These investors were joined by Ventegis Capital AG, IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft and others.
Dr. Nikolaus Meyer, CEO of Sulfurcell, said: “The financing is the result of our great progress in 2010 in which we developed an industrial manufacturing process delivering thin-film modules with efficiencies over 12%, while also ramping up our brand new 35 MW production plant and fully automated manufacturing facility. This additional funding from our existing investors is a vote of confidence that will allow us to accelerate our technological progress and to solidify Sulfurcell’s position as a global leader in CIGS/CIGSe technology.”
“In the last 5 years, Sulfurcell has become an important provider of solutions for solar construction and building-integrated photovoltaics,” said Heiko von Dewitz, Investment Director at Intel Capital which initially invested in 2008. “The investment will allow Sulfurcell to continue the successful development of its leading edge CIGSe technology. The company’s efforts align well with Intel’s focus on investing in the design, development and delivery of new technologies to address sustainability challenges.”
Source: Sulfurcell
CIGSe technology is known as the most promising new technology for PV modules being able to deliver modules with the same performance as conventional modules at half the cost. Since producing and shipping its first modules to customers in 2005, Sulfurcell has successfully commercialized on a mass scale, ramping-up its 35 MW facility fabrication. Sulfurcell sets itself apart by developing unique, comprehensive solutions for the BIPV, solar construction and commercial rooftop sectors.
The funding comes on the heels of Sulfurcell’s recent accomplishment of manufacturing full scale thin-film modules with 12.6 % efficiency. Sulfurcell’s realisation of the high-efficiency potential of CIGSe-type modules in an industrial production environment confirms the company’s position as one of the leading companies in CIGS/CIGSe technology. Sulfurcell’s investors have funded the acquisition of additional CIGSe equipment and ongoing R&D work targeting 14% efficiency within the next 12 to 18 months.
The financing round was led by Intel Capital, the global investment arm of Intel Corporation. Intel was joined by a group of leading European and US clean tech investors who gave a EUR 85m equity funding to Sulfurcell in July 2008, i.e. Climate Change Capital Private Equity (London), Bankinvest Group (Copenhagen), Zouk Ventures (London), Masdar Clean Tech Investments (New York) and Demeter (Paris). In addition, Sulfurcell’s long-term investors who supported the company since the first financing round in 2002 contributed substantially and were led by Vattenfall Europe (Berlin) and GdF Suez (Berlin/Paris). These investors were joined by Ventegis Capital AG, IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft and others.
Dr. Nikolaus Meyer, CEO of Sulfurcell, said: “The financing is the result of our great progress in 2010 in which we developed an industrial manufacturing process delivering thin-film modules with efficiencies over 12%, while also ramping up our brand new 35 MW production plant and fully automated manufacturing facility. This additional funding from our existing investors is a vote of confidence that will allow us to accelerate our technological progress and to solidify Sulfurcell’s position as a global leader in CIGS/CIGSe technology.”
“In the last 5 years, Sulfurcell has become an important provider of solutions for solar construction and building-integrated photovoltaics,” said Heiko von Dewitz, Investment Director at Intel Capital which initially invested in 2008. “The investment will allow Sulfurcell to continue the successful development of its leading edge CIGSe technology. The company’s efforts align well with Intel’s focus on investing in the design, development and delivery of new technologies to address sustainability challenges.”
Source: Sulfurcell
Sunday, January 30, 2011
PV Installations Reached 17.5 GW Last Year
A new report from IMS Research estimates that new PV installations grew by a massive 130% to reach 17.5 GW in 2010. Furthermore, installations are expected to see double-digit growth and reach 20.5 GW this year, taking the total installed PV capacity to 58 GW by the end of the year.
IMS Research notes that it has raised its outlook for 2011 following its latest round of research and surveys, which identified that at least 22 countries will each install more than 50 MW this year, 18 of them will install at least 100 MW, and four will install at least 1 GW.
Reduction in demand in Germany and the Czech Republic will restrain global growth in 2011, but it will speed PV component price reduction and help to accelerate growth elsewhere.
A total of 17 GW of new installations is somewhat higher than most analysts, banks and major suppliers estimated for 2010; however, IMS Research believes most of the discrepancy can be attributed to Italy, where many others were expecting only around 1 GW to have been installed. IMS Research estimates that new capacity was in fact closer to 3 GW, based on its extensive research of the supply chain and system developers. (The actual figure will not be confirmed for at least another quarter, while regulators deal with the tens of thousands of grid-connection applications received in the final months of the year.)
Because of the decline in new installations in Germany and the Czech Republic, the report predicts the installation share for Europe, the Middle East and Africa will fall from 81% in 2010 to 68% in 2011, despite high growth still being seen in many large markets such as Italy, as well as in emerging countries such as the U.K., Greece and Bulgaria.
In addition to large regional variations, the report also predicts that PV demand will vary considerably by installation size, with utility-scale systems over 5 MW forecast to grow by nearly 50% in 2011, and installations between 10 kW and 100 kW expected to stay flat - largely because of the situation in Germany.
IMS Research says its long-term outlook for the industry remains encouraging, with demand diversifying outside the usual two or three key countries and at least 34 countries expected to install more than 100 MW in 2015, up from just 13 countries last year.
SOURCE: IMS Research
IMS Research notes that it has raised its outlook for 2011 following its latest round of research and surveys, which identified that at least 22 countries will each install more than 50 MW this year, 18 of them will install at least 100 MW, and four will install at least 1 GW.
Reduction in demand in Germany and the Czech Republic will restrain global growth in 2011, but it will speed PV component price reduction and help to accelerate growth elsewhere.
A total of 17 GW of new installations is somewhat higher than most analysts, banks and major suppliers estimated for 2010; however, IMS Research believes most of the discrepancy can be attributed to Italy, where many others were expecting only around 1 GW to have been installed. IMS Research estimates that new capacity was in fact closer to 3 GW, based on its extensive research of the supply chain and system developers. (The actual figure will not be confirmed for at least another quarter, while regulators deal with the tens of thousands of grid-connection applications received in the final months of the year.)
Because of the decline in new installations in Germany and the Czech Republic, the report predicts the installation share for Europe, the Middle East and Africa will fall from 81% in 2010 to 68% in 2011, despite high growth still being seen in many large markets such as Italy, as well as in emerging countries such as the U.K., Greece and Bulgaria.
In addition to large regional variations, the report also predicts that PV demand will vary considerably by installation size, with utility-scale systems over 5 MW forecast to grow by nearly 50% in 2011, and installations between 10 kW and 100 kW expected to stay flat - largely because of the situation in Germany.
IMS Research says its long-term outlook for the industry remains encouraging, with demand diversifying outside the usual two or three key countries and at least 34 countries expected to install more than 100 MW in 2015, up from just 13 countries last year.
SOURCE: IMS Research
Solar VC Investments Rose Slightly Last Year Following Worst Of Recession
Venture capital (VC) investments and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the solar sector - as well as the wind energy sector and the smart-grid sector - improved slightly last year over 2009's numbers, according to a new report from Mercom Capital Group LLC, a global clean energy market intelligence, consulting and communications firm.
"Considering [that] 2009 was a recession year, solar was only slightly up in 2010. After a good second quarter, VC investments trended down in the third quarter and fourth quarter," says Raj Prabhu, managing partner at Mercom Capital Group.
For the solar market, total 2010 VC activity came in at $1.67 billion invested in 65 transactions, up 18% over 2009's numbers ($1.4 billion). There was increased activity in large-scale solar project funding, as well as debt and other funding types, pointing to an ease in the availability of credit after a challenging 2009, the report says.
A total of 148 different investors participated in VC funding rounds last year. Credit facilities provided to Chinese companies by Chinese banks came in at $34 billion, dwarfing all other transactions in solar.
Solar M&A transactions in 2010 totaled $2 billion, with 44 deals. Solar project M&A activity amounted to another $450 million in 18 deals - out of which only four were disclosed.
Large-scale project funding came in at $4.1 billion in 2010, while debt and other funding types logged in $36 billion, of which $34 billion were in the form of credit facilities provided by Chinese government banks to Chinese companies, including LDK Solar, Yingli Solar, JA Solar, Suntech and Trina Solar.
Notable VC transactions for the solar sector in 2010 included BrightSource Energy's VC raise of $176 million, followed closely by Solyndra’s raise of $175 million and Amonix, which secured a Series B raise of $129.4 million, the report adds.
Important project funding transactions included Torresol Energy for its Valle 1 and Valle 2 concentrating solar power (CSP) plants ($760 million), Abengoa Solar and JGC Corp. for a CSP plant ($451 million), SunPower for its California Valley Solar Ranch project ($450 million), and Abengoa Solar and ITOCHU Corp. for their CSP plant ($448 million).
The year's top five investors in solar included Good Energies, New Enterprise Associates, Applied Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Polaris Venture Partners. Project funding investments were led by Mizuho Corporate Bank, Natixis, Unicredit Group, BNP Paribas and Centrobanca.
Among the top M&A transactions for solar this year, the acquisition of Etimex Solar by Solutia for $326 million - followed by Recurrent Energy by Sharp Corp. for $305 million - leads the list, closely followed by NextLight Renewable Power by First Solar for $285 million and SunRay by SunPower for $277 million.
Total VC funding for the solar sector in the fourth quarter came in at $238 million for 16 transactions, of which 14 were disclosed, compared to $169 million for 11 disclosed transactions in the third quarter. Project funding came in at $2.32 billion in 14 disclosed deals out of a total of 15 deals.
At $669 million, there was a surge in M&A activity during the fourth quarter, compared to $586 million in the third quarter. Out of 27 M&A transactions in the fourth quarter, eight were disclosed, which was the same in the third quarter, Mercom Capital says. Significant M&A transactions included the acquisition of Glory Silicon Technology Investments (Hong Kong Lts.) by Suntech Power Holdings for $127 million and the acquisition of Sino Light Investments by Solargiga Energy Holdings for $108 million.
The full reports for the solar, wind and smart grid sectors are available here.
SOURCE: Mercom Capital Group
"Considering [that] 2009 was a recession year, solar was only slightly up in 2010. After a good second quarter, VC investments trended down in the third quarter and fourth quarter," says Raj Prabhu, managing partner at Mercom Capital Group.
For the solar market, total 2010 VC activity came in at $1.67 billion invested in 65 transactions, up 18% over 2009's numbers ($1.4 billion). There was increased activity in large-scale solar project funding, as well as debt and other funding types, pointing to an ease in the availability of credit after a challenging 2009, the report says.
A total of 148 different investors participated in VC funding rounds last year. Credit facilities provided to Chinese companies by Chinese banks came in at $34 billion, dwarfing all other transactions in solar.
Solar M&A transactions in 2010 totaled $2 billion, with 44 deals. Solar project M&A activity amounted to another $450 million in 18 deals - out of which only four were disclosed.
Large-scale project funding came in at $4.1 billion in 2010, while debt and other funding types logged in $36 billion, of which $34 billion were in the form of credit facilities provided by Chinese government banks to Chinese companies, including LDK Solar, Yingli Solar, JA Solar, Suntech and Trina Solar.
Notable VC transactions for the solar sector in 2010 included BrightSource Energy's VC raise of $176 million, followed closely by Solyndra’s raise of $175 million and Amonix, which secured a Series B raise of $129.4 million, the report adds.
Important project funding transactions included Torresol Energy for its Valle 1 and Valle 2 concentrating solar power (CSP) plants ($760 million), Abengoa Solar and JGC Corp. for a CSP plant ($451 million), SunPower for its California Valley Solar Ranch project ($450 million), and Abengoa Solar and ITOCHU Corp. for their CSP plant ($448 million).
The year's top five investors in solar included Good Energies, New Enterprise Associates, Applied Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Polaris Venture Partners. Project funding investments were led by Mizuho Corporate Bank, Natixis, Unicredit Group, BNP Paribas and Centrobanca.
Among the top M&A transactions for solar this year, the acquisition of Etimex Solar by Solutia for $326 million - followed by Recurrent Energy by Sharp Corp. for $305 million - leads the list, closely followed by NextLight Renewable Power by First Solar for $285 million and SunRay by SunPower for $277 million.
Total VC funding for the solar sector in the fourth quarter came in at $238 million for 16 transactions, of which 14 were disclosed, compared to $169 million for 11 disclosed transactions in the third quarter. Project funding came in at $2.32 billion in 14 disclosed deals out of a total of 15 deals.
At $669 million, there was a surge in M&A activity during the fourth quarter, compared to $586 million in the third quarter. Out of 27 M&A transactions in the fourth quarter, eight were disclosed, which was the same in the third quarter, Mercom Capital says. Significant M&A transactions included the acquisition of Glory Silicon Technology Investments (Hong Kong Lts.) by Suntech Power Holdings for $127 million and the acquisition of Sino Light Investments by Solargiga Energy Holdings for $108 million.
The full reports for the solar, wind and smart grid sectors are available here.
SOURCE: Mercom Capital Group
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Obama Acknowledges Solar Industry Job Creation
In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama praised the solar sector's successes in creating jobs for the U.S., called for additional investment in renewable energy and introduced an ambitious - and perhaps controversial - national clean energy standard for 2035.
As an example of the reinvention of the country's workforce following the decline of traditional manufacturing jobs, Obama spotlighted invited guests Gary and Robert Allen, whose Rochester Hills, Mich.-based company, LUMA Resources, manufactures solar shingles.
"Already, we're seeing the promise of renewable energy," Obama said, according to atranscript posted by the White House. "Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon.
"But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard," he continued. "Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country."
"Congress should take notice of success stories like LUMA Resources when considering how to create new jobs and keep America competitive in the 21st century," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, in a statement.
The story of LUMA Resources can - and should - be duplicated with the help of supportive pro-renewables policy, agreed Howard A. Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. Learner believes the foundation for this economic growth is already in place, particularly in the Midwest.
"Hundreds of old-line Rust Belt manufacturers are retooling to produce equipment for the growing clean energy economy, as shown by the Environmental Law & Policy Center's recent reports," he said in a statement. "Federal investments in renewable energy are spurring job growth and revitalizing the Midwest manufacturing sector."
Obama's State of the Union address also called for the aggressive deployment of renewable energy in the U.S., as well as the elimination of tax subsidies to fossil-fuel producers. Obama said he would cut approximately $4 billion per year of these subsidies.
"Clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they're selling," Obama added. "So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources."
The inclusion of such energy sources as "clean coal" and natural gas in this energy mandate may be met with criticism by the solar sector, but Obama stressed that the "all-of-the-above" approach to energy is the most realistic strategy for taking major steps toward energy independence.
"Some folks want wind and solar," Obama said. "Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all - and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen."
As an example of the reinvention of the country's workforce following the decline of traditional manufacturing jobs, Obama spotlighted invited guests Gary and Robert Allen, whose Rochester Hills, Mich.-based company, LUMA Resources, manufactures solar shingles.
"Already, we're seeing the promise of renewable energy," Obama said, according to atranscript posted by the White House. "Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon.
"But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard," he continued. "Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country."
"Congress should take notice of success stories like LUMA Resources when considering how to create new jobs and keep America competitive in the 21st century," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, in a statement.
The story of LUMA Resources can - and should - be duplicated with the help of supportive pro-renewables policy, agreed Howard A. Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. Learner believes the foundation for this economic growth is already in place, particularly in the Midwest.
"Hundreds of old-line Rust Belt manufacturers are retooling to produce equipment for the growing clean energy economy, as shown by the Environmental Law & Policy Center's recent reports," he said in a statement. "Federal investments in renewable energy are spurring job growth and revitalizing the Midwest manufacturing sector."
Obama's State of the Union address also called for the aggressive deployment of renewable energy in the U.S., as well as the elimination of tax subsidies to fossil-fuel producers. Obama said he would cut approximately $4 billion per year of these subsidies.
"Clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they're selling," Obama added. "So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources."
The inclusion of such energy sources as "clean coal" and natural gas in this energy mandate may be met with criticism by the solar sector, but Obama stressed that the "all-of-the-above" approach to energy is the most realistic strategy for taking major steps toward energy independence.
"Some folks want wind and solar," Obama said. "Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all - and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen."
China's New Rules For Solar Polysilicon Factories Expected To Force Consolidation
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced new policies for solar polysilicon plants in the country.
Under the new rules, factories must be capable of producing more than 3,000 metric tons of polysilicon annually and meet specific standards for efficiency, financing and environmental impact, Bloomberg reports.
Existing plants must also comply with the rules, and those that do not are expected to be shut down by the end of the year.
Johnny Lau, an analyst at Hong Kong-based SW Kingsway Capital Holdings Ltd., told Bloomberg that the new policies are expected to benefit large polysilicon producers (e.g., GCL Poly) by driving out rival companies that are less energy-efficient. Industry consolidation is also predicted as a result of the rules.
SOURCE: Bloomberg
Under the new rules, factories must be capable of producing more than 3,000 metric tons of polysilicon annually and meet specific standards for efficiency, financing and environmental impact, Bloomberg reports.
Existing plants must also comply with the rules, and those that do not are expected to be shut down by the end of the year.
Johnny Lau, an analyst at Hong Kong-based SW Kingsway Capital Holdings Ltd., told Bloomberg that the new policies are expected to benefit large polysilicon producers (e.g., GCL Poly) by driving out rival companies that are less energy-efficient. Industry consolidation is also predicted as a result of the rules.
SOURCE: Bloomberg
Photovoltaic Inverter Market Expected To Reach $8.5B In 2014
The global PV inverter market is forecast to reach $8.5 billion by 2014, growing at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 25%, according to a new report from IMS Research. The report also states that more than 7 million inverters will be sold in 2014, up from less than 1 million in 2009.
Despite a factory-gate price decline of around 11% in 2010, revenues generated from PV inverters more than doubled and exceeded $5 billion for the first time. In the longer term, positive growth is predicted to continue, despite ongoing price reductions and architecture changes, and the market will double in size again in the next five years, IMS says.
Although the development of the PV inverter market is closely linked to PV installations, inverter demand became decoupled from underlying installation growth last year due to shortages, component bottlenecks and double-ordering. The resulting effects were large shifts in suppliers’ market share and a major supply-demand imbalance.
According to the report, a bottleneck in component supply in early 2010, coupled with a booming German market, led to a severe shortage of inverters, which was further compounded by customers' double-ordering amidst the panic. This shortage affected some inverter suppliers more than others, and suppliers such as SMA lost market share, while others such as Power-One captured major share.
This report has confirmed that this shortage has now abated and that the balance has shifted toward a major oversupply of inverters, with high levels of inventory recorded in the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of this year.
"Despite the shortage of inverters at the beginning of 2010, IMS Research estimates that more than 2 GW of inverters were produced that were not needed," says Ash Sharma, PV research director. "This has led to high inventory levels, both at suppliers' warehouses and throughout the supply chain. This came as a direct result of double-orders being fulfilled and has also led to cancellations and push-backs of orders."
Although announcements from micro-inverter and power-optimizer vendors grabbed the headlines in 2010, the biggest architecture changes came from traditional inverter suppliers, with a dramatic shift toward small three-phase products, typically rated below 20 kW, according to the report. These products were the fastest selling in 2010 and gained major share due to installers' preferences for them in commercial installations up to 100 kW to 200 kW.
Very large inverters above 500 kW also experienced high growth in 2010, with shipments increasing by more than 250% due to robust demand from megawatt-scale PV plants around the world. In the longer term, IMS Research predicts this will be one of the most promising segments of the market for a number of reasons.
"Large central inverters above 500 kW - or even 1 MW - will become an increasingly attractive business area for many suppliers as high demand is anticipated from utility-scale projects in several countries, including the U.S. and India," Sharma says. "In addition, these products are typically highly engineered, with advanced functionality and design, which attract healthy margins and also prevent low-cost competitors from stealing market share."
SOURCE: IMS Research
Despite a factory-gate price decline of around 11% in 2010, revenues generated from PV inverters more than doubled and exceeded $5 billion for the first time. In the longer term, positive growth is predicted to continue, despite ongoing price reductions and architecture changes, and the market will double in size again in the next five years, IMS says.
Although the development of the PV inverter market is closely linked to PV installations, inverter demand became decoupled from underlying installation growth last year due to shortages, component bottlenecks and double-ordering. The resulting effects were large shifts in suppliers’ market share and a major supply-demand imbalance.
According to the report, a bottleneck in component supply in early 2010, coupled with a booming German market, led to a severe shortage of inverters, which was further compounded by customers' double-ordering amidst the panic. This shortage affected some inverter suppliers more than others, and suppliers such as SMA lost market share, while others such as Power-One captured major share.
This report has confirmed that this shortage has now abated and that the balance has shifted toward a major oversupply of inverters, with high levels of inventory recorded in the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of this year.
"Despite the shortage of inverters at the beginning of 2010, IMS Research estimates that more than 2 GW of inverters were produced that were not needed," says Ash Sharma, PV research director. "This has led to high inventory levels, both at suppliers' warehouses and throughout the supply chain. This came as a direct result of double-orders being fulfilled and has also led to cancellations and push-backs of orders."
Although announcements from micro-inverter and power-optimizer vendors grabbed the headlines in 2010, the biggest architecture changes came from traditional inverter suppliers, with a dramatic shift toward small three-phase products, typically rated below 20 kW, according to the report. These products were the fastest selling in 2010 and gained major share due to installers' preferences for them in commercial installations up to 100 kW to 200 kW.
Very large inverters above 500 kW also experienced high growth in 2010, with shipments increasing by more than 250% due to robust demand from megawatt-scale PV plants around the world. In the longer term, IMS Research predicts this will be one of the most promising segments of the market for a number of reasons.
"Large central inverters above 500 kW - or even 1 MW - will become an increasingly attractive business area for many suppliers as high demand is anticipated from utility-scale projects in several countries, including the U.S. and India," Sharma says. "In addition, these products are typically highly engineered, with advanced functionality and design, which attract healthy margins and also prevent low-cost competitors from stealing market share."
SOURCE: IMS Research
Solar Universe Debuts BriteLease Residential Program
Solar Universe, a residential and commercial solar installer, has made available BriteLease, a residential solar lease program backed by PV module manufacturer Suntech.
This lease offering makes solar accessible to homeowners with a small up-front deposit and low monthly lease payments, the company says. BriteLease also covers system maintenance, repair service and insurance coverage for the term of the 15-year lease.
SOURCE: Solar Universe
This lease offering makes solar accessible to homeowners with a small up-front deposit and low monthly lease payments, the company says. BriteLease also covers system maintenance, repair service and insurance coverage for the term of the 15-year lease.
SOURCE: Solar Universe
DOE To Help Reduce Solar Permitting Costs
Inconsistent local solar permitting and inspection processes add an average of over $2,500 per home installation, according to a new report from home energy provider SunRun. The company's report, titled "The Impact of Local Permitting on the Cost of Solar Power," was created in response to the Department of Energy's (DOE) request for granular data on non-equipment solar costs.
"Every city and town has its own set of regulations and requirements for solar installations," says SunRun CEO and Co-founder Edward Fenster. "Our research identifies inconsistencies in local permitting as one of the most critical roadblocks to a sustainable, subsidy-free solar industry.
"To tackle this challenge head-on, the DOE can use existing guidelines it has already funded to standardize local permitting and deliver the equivalent of a new $1 billion solar subsidy over five years," he continues.
According to the report, solar installers nationwide have stated repeatedly that local permitting is the most stubborn cost they face. By comparison, some countries, such as Germany, have simpler processes that keep solar installation costs up to 40% lower than in the U.S.
Germany reports about one million new home solar power installations in the past two years alone, whereas the total number of homes with solar installation in the U.S. has just broken 120,000. SunRun's report recommends the DOE lead a new Residential Solar Permitting Initiative, starting with high-volume cities that impact more than 50% of the solar market. The recommendations include a contest with grant rewards for cities that make the most effective and comprehensive improvements.
A coalition of 22 installers from across the U.S. endorses this paper, as do industry organizations such as The Sierra Club, SolarTech and Vote Solar, SunRun notes. The report is currently under review with the DOE and available here.
SOURCE: SunRun
"Every city and town has its own set of regulations and requirements for solar installations," says SunRun CEO and Co-founder Edward Fenster. "Our research identifies inconsistencies in local permitting as one of the most critical roadblocks to a sustainable, subsidy-free solar industry.
"To tackle this challenge head-on, the DOE can use existing guidelines it has already funded to standardize local permitting and deliver the equivalent of a new $1 billion solar subsidy over five years," he continues.
According to the report, solar installers nationwide have stated repeatedly that local permitting is the most stubborn cost they face. By comparison, some countries, such as Germany, have simpler processes that keep solar installation costs up to 40% lower than in the U.S.
Germany reports about one million new home solar power installations in the past two years alone, whereas the total number of homes with solar installation in the U.S. has just broken 120,000. SunRun's report recommends the DOE lead a new Residential Solar Permitting Initiative, starting with high-volume cities that impact more than 50% of the solar market. The recommendations include a contest with grant rewards for cities that make the most effective and comprehensive improvements.
A coalition of 22 installers from across the U.S. endorses this paper, as do industry organizations such as The Sierra Club, SolarTech and Vote Solar, SunRun notes. The report is currently under review with the DOE and available here.
SOURCE: SunRun
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Solar Powered Beer?
In addition to water, malt, hops, and yeast, brews at the Flying Goose Brew Pub & Grille in New London are getting a new ingredient: solar power.
"The environmental benefit is significant, but we would not be making a $250,000 investment unless it made good business sense," said Tom Mills, owner of the Flying Goose.
Construction will soon be underway on a 126-panel solar electric system from groSolar, a national solar company that has been installing solar for more than a decade in New England. When completed, the solar panels will be in full view of the pub’s main dining room along with expansive views of Mount Kearsarge.
groSolar was one of five companies bidding on the project.
groSolar was one of five companies bidding on the project.
“The decision had to do with company experience and depth, value-added components, and price,” said Tom Mills, owner of the Flying Goose. “The hard part was choosing one from the five companies, all of which gave good, qualified proposals.”
The installation will lower the Flying Goose’s rising $24,000 annual electric bill by 25 percent with an expected Return on Investment (ROI) of five to eight years.
The solar installation is only part of the brewpub’s $250,000 renewable energy investment, which includes air sealing, insulation, kitchen air balancing, lighting, and compressor motor upgrades. The Flying Goose also just completed a 25-panel solar hot water installation from Clean REsolution and Bright Light Solar.
A 30 percent federal cash grant and New Hampshire State rebates were motivation for Mills to make the investment, which he funded with a business loan from his bank.
“The environmental benefit is significant, but we would not be making a $250,000 investment unless it made good business sense,” said Mills.
Mills also plans to use his investment as an educational tool by working with the installation companies to offer solar education seminars and providing a kiosk that shows the real-time performance of the solar power systems that will incorporate a feature provided by groSolar called “groEnergy Watch.”
“It’s truly commendable for an establishment as well known and respected as the Flying Goose to take the lead as the first solar electric powered brewery in the state,” says Jeff Wolfe, CEO, groSolar. “We look forward to a long-term partnership with Tom and his management team to help educate businesses and homeowners in the Upper Valley and across New Hampshire about the benefits of going solar.”
Monday, January 24, 2011
German government, solar industry association conclude FiT cut conundrum
Federal Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen and the German Solar Industry Association have agreed to bring forward the reductions of financial support for solar power in order to facilitate the further expansion of photovoltaics in Germany. The government revealed late last week that, together with the industry, it was set to bring in a reduction of up to 12%, which would be pulled forward six months to July 1st this year.
"The industry and I have agreed...that there need to be a reduction in [solar electricity] subsidies," Röettgen told delegates at the annual Handelsblatt energy conference in Berlin on Wednesday.
This early reduction could amount to between 3 and 15%, depending on market growth. The basis for calculating this early reduction will be the development of domestic photovoltaic demand from March to May 2011, as determined by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur).
If, however, the market slows and projected market growth for the entirety of 2011 is less than 3.5GWp, the first feed-in tariff adjustment won't occur until the beginning of 2012, as previously planned.
"We welcome this clear political commitment to expanding photovoltaics, to Germany as a production site and to the more than 130,000 jobs created so far by photovoltaic technology," said Günther Cramer, president of BSW-Solar.
The objective in expanding photovoltaics is to increase the proportion of Germany's power supplied by solar energy from around 2% currently to at least 10% by 2020, while simultaneously cutting costs by at least half during the same period.
"Moving these flexible portions forward sets the photovoltaic industry an ambitious goal of further reducing costs within a very short space of time, so that the price of photovoltaic systems remains attractive to consumers. This agreement on flexible adjustment to financial support makes it possible to avoid introducing a fixed cap to the market.
A fixed cap would not only cancel out competitive market forces, but would also prove counterproductive to the objective of further reducing the price of photovoltaic systems," continued Cramer. "Flexible adjustments to the feed-in tariff contribute significantly to attaining our goal of expanding installed photovoltaic capacity from 52-70GW by 2020, while limiting the cost of solar power to around two cents/kWh."
The solar industry is also expected to expand module production and upstream production steps in Germany from 3.2GW to more than 8GW by 2020, shaping the global move toward a renewable energy supply, with a substantial proportion of ‘made in Germany’ photovoltaics.
Cramer states, "Our objective in this is to become capable of competing with conventional energy sources as quickly as possible. Thanks to great successes in cost reduction, first market segments will be independent of financial support by 2017."
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Flair Security Debuts Solar Module Anti-Theft Device
Flair Security has introduced the VIB300W Wireless Vibration Sensor, which is designed to detect attempts to tamper with or remove solar panels from their metal support frames.
This sensor is directly mounted to the support frame or structure with an easy-to-install bracket and two screws, the company says. Vibrations resulting from tampering with the solar panel mounting screws or support structure are transmitted through the metal structure to the sensor and analyzed by the signal processor built into each sensor. Most off-the-shelf wireless transmitters with ranges up to 1,000 feet can be built into the sensors. Wireless receivers are sold separately.
The VIB300W has four sensitivity settings, selected by jumpers, so that the sensor can be tailored in the field to the exact nature of the installation, Flair Security adds. Depending on the type of support frame and the sensitivity setting, each VIB300W can detect an attack over a distance ranging from 20 to 50 feet.
SOURCE: Flair Security
This sensor is directly mounted to the support frame or structure with an easy-to-install bracket and two screws, the company says. Vibrations resulting from tampering with the solar panel mounting screws or support structure are transmitted through the metal structure to the sensor and analyzed by the signal processor built into each sensor. Most off-the-shelf wireless transmitters with ranges up to 1,000 feet can be built into the sensors. Wireless receivers are sold separately.
The VIB300W has four sensitivity settings, selected by jumpers, so that the sensor can be tailored in the field to the exact nature of the installation, Flair Security adds. Depending on the type of support frame and the sensitivity setting, each VIB300W can detect an attack over a distance ranging from 20 to 50 feet.
SOURCE: Flair Security
Italy is the Hot Market for Solar Projects
Italy's solar market went into overdrive in the fourth quarter of 2010, setting the stage for a doubling in photovoltaic installations this year as global investment flows into the country, according to a report from market research firm iSuppli (now part of IHS Inc.).
Based on interviews with project developers and energy performance contractors in Italy, iSuppli predicts the country will have installed 975 MW worth of PV solar systems in the fourth quarter, doubling the 487 MW in the third quarter, and rising 239% from 288 MW during the fourth quarter of 2009.
This fourth-quarter surge is predicted to have caused installations in 2010 to rise to 1.9 GW, up 100% from 720 GW in 2009. The rise in installations will set the stage for another doubling of the market this year, with installations rising to 3.9 GW, the company says.
"The strong fourth-quarter growth represents a breakthrough for Italian PV installations, which until now had been limited to 300 MW or less, with the expansion propelled by installers rushing to take advantage of an Italian government subsidy scheduled to expire soon," says Dr. Henning Wicht, senior director and principal analyst for PV systems at iSuppli.
Installations finished by the end of 2010 and connected to the grid by June 30, 2011, will still be able to benefit from the 2010 feed-in tariff (FIT) of Italy’s Second Conto d’energia. Under the current FIT, and with installed system prices of 2,500 to 2,800 euros per kW, a highly attractive internal rate of return (IRR) of 15% to 18% is possible in Italy.
Italy's IRR is alluring to solar investors given the depressing news about caps or severe reductions of solar FITs in France, the Czech Republic and Spain, iSuppli notes. Consequently, investors are flocking to Italy, leaving behind the closing Czech market and even the safe harbor of Germany.
Nonetheless, some signs of potential trouble may lie ahead, the company adds. For one, a potential risk to the positive market outlook because the Italian government might reduce the FIT more quickly than scheduled. However, it is unlikely that authorities will be able to change the FIT before the third quarter of 2011. Furthermore, official data from the state-run power management agency could be delayed by as much as six months, resulting in the deferral of any formal assessment that would lead to FIT adjustments.
For more information, click here.
SOURCE: iSuppli
Based on interviews with project developers and energy performance contractors in Italy, iSuppli predicts the country will have installed 975 MW worth of PV solar systems in the fourth quarter, doubling the 487 MW in the third quarter, and rising 239% from 288 MW during the fourth quarter of 2009.
This fourth-quarter surge is predicted to have caused installations in 2010 to rise to 1.9 GW, up 100% from 720 GW in 2009. The rise in installations will set the stage for another doubling of the market this year, with installations rising to 3.9 GW, the company says.
"The strong fourth-quarter growth represents a breakthrough for Italian PV installations, which until now had been limited to 300 MW or less, with the expansion propelled by installers rushing to take advantage of an Italian government subsidy scheduled to expire soon," says Dr. Henning Wicht, senior director and principal analyst for PV systems at iSuppli.
Installations finished by the end of 2010 and connected to the grid by June 30, 2011, will still be able to benefit from the 2010 feed-in tariff (FIT) of Italy’s Second Conto d’energia. Under the current FIT, and with installed system prices of 2,500 to 2,800 euros per kW, a highly attractive internal rate of return (IRR) of 15% to 18% is possible in Italy.
Italy's IRR is alluring to solar investors given the depressing news about caps or severe reductions of solar FITs in France, the Czech Republic and Spain, iSuppli notes. Consequently, investors are flocking to Italy, leaving behind the closing Czech market and even the safe harbor of Germany.
Nonetheless, some signs of potential trouble may lie ahead, the company adds. For one, a potential risk to the positive market outlook because the Italian government might reduce the FIT more quickly than scheduled. However, it is unlikely that authorities will be able to change the FIT before the third quarter of 2011. Furthermore, official data from the state-run power management agency could be delayed by as much as six months, resulting in the deferral of any formal assessment that would lead to FIT adjustments.
For more information, click here.
SOURCE: iSuppli
New Reactor Paves The Way For Efficiently Producing Fuel From Sunlight
This is the ETH-Caltech solar reactor for producing H2 and CO from H2O and CO2 via the two-step thermochemical cycle with ceria redox reactions. Credit: Courtesy of ETH
Using a common metal most famously found in self-cleaning ovens, Sossina Haile hopes to change our energy future. The metal is cerium oxide-or ceria-and it is the centerpiece of a promising new technology developed by Haile and her colleagues that concentrates solar energy and uses it to efficiently convert carbon dioxide and water into fuels.
Solar energy has long been touted as the solution to our energy woes, but while it is plentiful and free, it can't be bottled up and transported from sunny locations to the drearier-but more energy-hungry-parts of the world. The process developed by Haile-a professor of materials science and chemical engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech)-and her colleagues could make that possible.
The researchers designed and built a two-foot-tall prototype reactor that has a quartz window and a cavity that absorbs concentrated sunlight. The concentrator works "like the magnifying glass you used as a kid" to focus the sun's rays, says Haile.
At the heart of the reactor is a cylindrical lining of ceria. Ceria-a metal oxide that is commonly embedded in the walls of self-cleaning ovens, where it catalyzes reactions that decompose food and other stuck-on gunk-propels the solar-driven reactions.
The reactor takes advantage of ceria's ability to "exhale" oxygen from its crystalline framework at very high temperatures and then "inhale" oxygen back in at lower temperatures.
"What is special about the material is that it doesn't release all of the oxygen. That helps to leave the framework of the material intact as oxygen leaves," Haile explains.
"When we cool it back down, the material's thermodynamically preferred state is to pull oxygen back into the structure."
Specifically, the inhaled oxygen is stripped off of carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or water (H2O) gas molecules that are pumped into the reactor, producing carbon monoxide (CO) and/or hydrogen gas (H2). H2 can be used to fuel hydrogen fuel cells; CO, combined with H2, can be used to create synthetic gas, or "syngas," which is the precursor to liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
Adding other catalysts to the gas mixture, meanwhile, produces methane. And once the ceria is oxygenated to full capacity, it can be heated back up again, and the cycle can begin anew.
For all of this to work, the temperatures in the reactor have to be very high-nearly 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. At Caltech, Haile and her students achieved such temperatures using electrical furnaces. But for a real-world test, she says, "we needed to use photons, so we went to Switzerland."
At the Paul Scherrer Institute's High-Flux Solar Simulator, the researchers and their collaborators-led by Aldo Steinfeld of the institute's Solar Technology Laboratory-installed the reactor on a large solar simulator capable of delivering the heat of 1,500 suns.
In experiments conducted last spring, Haile and her colleagues achieved the best rates for CO2 dissociation ever achieved, "by orders of magnitude," she says. The efficiency of the reactor was uncommonly high for CO2 splitting, in part, she says, "because we're using the whole solar spectrum, and not just particular wavelengths."
And unlike in electrolysis, the rate is not limited by the low solubility of CO2 in water. Furthermore, Haile says, the high operating temperatures of the reactor mean that fast catalysis is possible, without the need for expensive and rare metal catalysts (cerium, in fact, is the most common of the rare earth metals-about as abundant as copper).
In the short term, Haile and her colleagues plan to tinker with the ceria formulation so that the reaction temperature can be lowered, and to re-engineer the reactor, to improve its efficiency. Currently, the system harnesses less than 1% of the solar energy it receives, with most of the energy lost as heat through the reactor's walls or by re-radiation through the quartz window.
"When we designed the reactor, we didn't do much to control these losses," says Haile. Thermodynamic modeling by lead author and former Caltech graduate student William Chueh suggests that efficiencies of 15% or higher are possible.
Ultimately, Haile says, the process could be adopted in large-scale energy plants, allowing solar-derived power to be reliably available during the day and night.
The CO2 emitted by vehicles could be collected and converted to fuel, "but that is difficult," she says. A more realistic scenario might be to take the CO2 emissions from coal-powered electric plants and convert them to transportation fuels. "You'd effectively be using the carbon twice," Haile explains.
Alternatively, she says, the reactor could be used in a "zero CO2 emissions" cycle: H2O and CO2 would be converted to methane, would fuel electricity-producing power plants that generate more CO2 and H2O, to keep the process going.
Source: Energy Daily
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Kyocera Supplying 1 million + solar Modules for Thailand Project
Kyocera Corp. has signed an agreement to supply roughly one million solar modules equivalent to 204 MW for a large solar power project in Thailand.
Under the plans for the project, which is being implemented by Solar Power Co. Ltd., 6 MW solar farms are to be constructed at 34 sites concentrated in northeastern Thailand. The power generated from the project will be routed to the Provincial Electricity Authority of Thailand and then supplied to homes and businesses.
SOURCE: Kyocera
Under the plans for the project, which is being implemented by Solar Power Co. Ltd., 6 MW solar farms are to be constructed at 34 sites concentrated in northeastern Thailand. The power generated from the project will be routed to the Provincial Electricity Authority of Thailand and then supplied to homes and businesses.
SOURCE: Kyocera
Trina Solar Expanding Manufacturing Capacity
Trina Solar Ltd. says it intends to invest approximately $800 million over three years in Changzhou Trina PV Park in order to ramp up manufacturing capacity and expand research and development (R&D) facilities.
"We are pleased to announce the continuing investments in our capacity expansion and R&D within the Changzhou Trina PV Park to meet the increasing global demand for our PV products and brand," says Jifan Gao, chairman and CEO of Trina Solar. "The investments will also include the establishment of our state key PV research laboratory to accelerate the advancement and delivery of new technologies and products."
SOURCE: Trina Solar
"We are pleased to announce the continuing investments in our capacity expansion and R&D within the Changzhou Trina PV Park to meet the increasing global demand for our PV products and brand," says Jifan Gao, chairman and CEO of Trina Solar. "The investments will also include the establishment of our state key PV research laboratory to accelerate the advancement and delivery of new technologies and products."
SOURCE: Trina Solar
Sanyo Solar Cells - becomes Subsidiary of Panasonic
Panasonic Corp. has resolved to conduct a share exchange in order to make SANYO a wholly owned subsidiary. The share exchange is scheduled to be implemented after the agreement is approved by resolution of an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of SANYO that is scheduled to be held on March 4, 2011.
Shares of SANYO are scheduled to be delisted as of March 29, 2011, which is prior to the effective date of the share exchange (April 1, 2011).
In the photovoltaic systems business, SANYO is currently promoting an increase in production capacity for its HIT crystalline silicon solar cell by constructing a new plant in order to meet growing demand.
Although Panasonic and SANYO have already shared a management strategy as group companies and have implemented various collaborative measures, including sales of the HIT solar cells through Panasonic's sales channels on a full-fledged scale starting from July 2010, the business environment surrounding the Panasonic Group continues to change dramatically and rapidly, and competition has intensified, Panasonic explains. The company believes it can collaborate more effectively with SANYO by making SANYO a wholly owned subsidiary.
SOURCE: Panasonic
Shares of SANYO are scheduled to be delisted as of March 29, 2011, which is prior to the effective date of the share exchange (April 1, 2011).
In the photovoltaic systems business, SANYO is currently promoting an increase in production capacity for its HIT crystalline silicon solar cell by constructing a new plant in order to meet growing demand.
Although Panasonic and SANYO have already shared a management strategy as group companies and have implemented various collaborative measures, including sales of the HIT solar cells through Panasonic's sales channels on a full-fledged scale starting from July 2010, the business environment surrounding the Panasonic Group continues to change dramatically and rapidly, and competition has intensified, Panasonic explains. The company believes it can collaborate more effectively with SANYO by making SANYO a wholly owned subsidiary.
SOURCE: Panasonic
Solarfun Changing Name to Hanwha Solar One
Solarfun Power Holdings Co. Ltd., a China-based vertically integrated manufacturer of silicon ingots, wafers and photovoltaic cells and modules, says its board of directors has approved its name change to Hanwha Solar One.
According to the company, the name change reflects the company's ongoing efforts to strengthen its brand worldwide and the strategic business partnership with Hanwha Chemical, which currently owns 49.99% of Solarfun.
SOURCE: Solarfun
According to the company, the name change reflects the company's ongoing efforts to strengthen its brand worldwide and the strategic business partnership with Hanwha Chemical, which currently owns 49.99% of Solarfun.
SOURCE: Solarfun
UK Solar Job Index – Jan 2011
Here is a breakdown of solar jobs in the UK - as of the end of 2010. This is fairly typical of most areas.
As you can see your best prospects for landing a solar energy job are in sales. To learn more about how you can prepare yourself for a career in Solar Energy read the Solar Careers article we published in our website.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Miracle of the Sun
The Miracle of the Sun, witnessed by as many 100,000 people on 13 October 1917 in the Cova da Iria fields near Fátima, Portugal. Those in attendance had assembled to observe what the Portuguese secular newspapers had been ridiculing for months as the absurd claim of three shepherd children that a miracle was going to occur at high-noon in the Cova da Iria on October 13, 1917.
According to many witness statements, after a downfall of rain, the dark clouds broke and the sun appeared as an opaque, spinning disk in the sky. It was said to be significantly less bright than normal, and cast multicolored lights across the landscape, the shadows on the landscape, the people, and the surrounding clouds. The sun was then reported to have careened towards the earth in a zigzag pattern, frightening some of those present who thought it meant the end of the world.
According to one noted witness:
"The sun's disc did not remain immobile. This was not the sparkling of a heavenly body, for it spun round on itself in a mad whirl, when suddenly a clamor was heard from all the people. The sun, whirling, seemed to loosen itself from the firmament and advance threateningly upon the earth as if to crush us with its huge fiery weight. The sensation during those moments was terrible." - Dr. Almeida Garrett, Professor of Natural Sciences at Coimbra University - Fatima October 13, 1917
According to many witness statements, after a downfall of rain, the dark clouds broke and the sun appeared as an opaque, spinning disk in the sky. It was said to be significantly less bright than normal, and cast multicolored lights across the landscape, the shadows on the landscape, the people, and the surrounding clouds. The sun was then reported to have careened towards the earth in a zigzag pattern, frightening some of those present who thought it meant the end of the world.
According to one noted witness:
"The sun's disc did not remain immobile. This was not the sparkling of a heavenly body, for it spun round on itself in a mad whirl, when suddenly a clamor was heard from all the people. The sun, whirling, seemed to loosen itself from the firmament and advance threateningly upon the earth as if to crush us with its huge fiery weight. The sensation during those moments was terrible." - Dr. Almeida Garrett, Professor of Natural Sciences at Coimbra University - Fatima October 13, 1917
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