FIRST SOLAR OUSTS CEO, SHARES AT 4-1/2-YEAR LOW
Oct 25 (Reuters) - First Solar Inc's board ousted CEO Rob Gillette, replacing him on an interim basis with Chairman Mike Ahearn while the solar panel maker searches for a new leader to steer it through a treacherous time in the industry.
First Solar gave no reason for Gillette's departure, which intensified fears that its performance has faltered as it faces increasingly cutthroat competition.
AFRICA RENEWABLES, VERDO SIGN BIOMASS DEAL
LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - UK-based Africa Renewables Limited (AfriRen) has signed an agreement to supply Danish utility Verdo with an estimated 750,000 metric tonnes of biomass over five years, the company said on Wednesday.
At current European market prices for woodchip, the deal is worth roughly 10 million euros ($14 million) per year, AfriRen told Reuters.
SOLAR SHARE BUYBACKS FAIL TO SOOTHE INVESTORS
Oct 25 (Reuters) - Chinese solar companies are snapping up their own shares amid a brutal selloff in the stock market, spending crucial resources on the effort rather than conserving cash or spending on new strategic projects.
The buyback programs come as the industry struggles to maintain profitability in the face of rapidly falling prices for solar panels that have driven many of the stocks to multi-year lows.
IBERIAN POWER FLAT AS WIND POWER STAYS HIGH
MADRID, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Iberian prompt power was little changed on Tuesday as output of wind power remained at unusually high levels, reducing the grid's reliance on costly coal- and gas-fired generators.
National grid operator REE estimated wind parks in Spain were meeting 29.9 percent of domestic demand, or more than double an average of 15.3 percent for the first nine months of 2011.
SPAIN HYDRO, IRRIGATEON RESERVES DIP BUT ABOVE AVG
MADRID, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Spain has less water than a week ago with which to generate hydropower and irrigate crops and make a dent in its hefty gas and grain import needs, according to the latest official data in the drought-prone country on Tuesday.
Although water stored in reservoirs set aside for hydropower plants was 24.7 percent above average for the last 10 years, a months-long slide has propped up wholesale power prices by forcing costlier coal- and gas-fired plants to work harder.
TEPCO SAYS TO LOWER STAKE IN WIND POWER FIRM
TOKYO, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co will sell part of its stake in Japan's biggest wind power developer, the troubled utility said on Tuesday, as it looks to raise funds to compensate those affected by the ongoing crisis at its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
Japan's trade minister on Monday told Tokyo Electric, known as Tepco, to cut at least 2.5 trillion yen ($33 billion) in costs over 10 years, more than double the amount the firm planned several months ago.
JAPAN'S SOJITZ LAUNCHES 24 MW SOLAR PLANT IN GERMANY
TOKYO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Sojitz Corp said on Monday it had launched a 24 megawatt solar energy project in Germany, one of the country's largest solar plants.
The company said the 55 million euro ($76 million) facility, built in Mixdorf, about 100 km (66 miles) south of Berlin, was completed and began operations in July.
PANASONIC TO DROP JAPAN SOLAR EXPANSION -SOURCE
TOKYO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp will drop a plan to convert a television panel plant in Japan into a solar panel factory, hit by an industry price war and a strong yen that is making exports less competitive, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Panasonic is also in talks with public-private venture Japan Display about selling a liquid-crystal display TV panel plant located in Chiba, not far from Tokyo, said two sources with knowledge of the matter.
CZECHS TO PAY 12 BLN CROWNS FOR RENEWABLES IN '12
PRAGUE, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The Czech government may pay up to 11.7 billion crowns ($641 mln) next year to help limit electricity price increases due to growth in supply of expensive renewable power, a proposal by the Ministry of Industry showed.
The proposal, published on the government website late on Thursday, sees a 4.3 percent rise in electricity prices for households and around a 6 percent increase for businesses after the subsidy is included.
SOLAR COS THAT ESCHEWED SILICON STEP UP THEIR GAME
DALLAS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - As prices on silicon-based solar panels continue to plummet, makers of alternative technologies are tweaking their products and in some cases shifting strategy altogether to make sure they are not left behind in the race to make solar competitive with fossil fuels.
From start-ups such as Miasole and eSolar to industry heavyweights like First Solar Inc , solar companies that use raw materials other than polysilicon are working to preserve both their competitive positions and their survival.
SOLAR EXECUTIVES WARY OF TRADE COMPLAINT VS CHINA
DALLAS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - A trade complaint filed by a group of solar companies against China drew skeptical reviews from inside the industry, with many fearing a trade war could disrupt growth.
On Wednesday, seven U.S. solar manufacturers asked the Obama administration to impose duties of more than 100 percent on China imports, which they said were unfairly undercutting U.S. prices and destroying American jobs.
ITALY SOLAR CAPACITY SEEN UP TO 12.5 GW END-2011
MILAN, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Italy's total installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity is expected to rise to 12.0-12.5 GW by the end of 2011, but the growth will slow next year, the chairman of industry body GIFI said on Thursday.
"By now, we are well above 11 gigawatts of installed capacity ... probably we will be at 12.0-12.5 gigawatts by the end of this year," Valerio Natalizia told a news conference.
WESTERN SOLARS UP THE ANTE AGAINST CHINESE PEERS
ANKFURT/HONG KONG, OCT 20 (REUTERS) - Chinese Solar companies could soon find themselves bereft of some of their biggest foreign markets as Western manufacturers intensify a solar trade war and seek stiff anti-dumping duties on low-cost Chinese products.
German group SolarWorld said on Thursday it was working on steps to curb alleged price dumping by Chinese rivals in Europe.
SOLARWORLD UPS THE ANTE IN GLOBAL SOLAR TRADE WAR
FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF, Oct 20 (Reuters) - German group SolarWorld said it may take steps against alleged price dumping by Chinese rivals in Europe after its U.S. unit filed a complaint, the latest move in the solar trade war.
"We are currently reviewing several options for how to throw this forward over here," SolarWorld Chief Executive Frank Asbeck told Reuters on Thursday.
U.S. SOLAR MANUFACTURERS SEEK DUTIES AGAINST CHINA
WASHINGTON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - U.S. solar manufacturers on Wednesday asked the Obama administration to slap duties of more than 100 percent on imports from China that they said were unfairly undercutting U.S. prices and destroying American jobs.
"Let us be clear, China has a plan for our market -- to gut it and own it," said Gordon Brinser, president of SolarWorld Industries Americas Inc at a news conference.
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