Solar Power Plants
First Solar Granted PPA for 50MW Solar Plant in New Mexico
06 June 2013POSTED IN Business News
First Solar, Inc. and New Mexico State Land Commissioner announced today that First Solar, Inc. has been granted a power purchase agreement (PPA) from the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission, clearing the way for First Solar to begin construction on the state's largest solar power plant to be located on State Trust Land in Luna County. The PPA will provide El Paso Electric Power with 50MW of solar energy for 25 years.
Solar Powered Mining Operation in Chile
30 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Minera El Tesoro (MET), part of one ofthe largest mining groups in Chile, has built the first pilot plant in South America with Soitec Solar technology, installing four of its highly efficient concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systemsat a site in Chile’s Sierra Gorda district to provide renewable energy for a remote copper-mining operation.
CPV Enters the Utility-Scale Energy Market
26 May 2013POSTED IN Applications Features
Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology entered the market with the ambitious promise to provide the world with clean, sustainable electricity on a large scale. As a first step, CPV manufacturers established a niche within the fast-growing PV industry dominated by mass-produced silicon PV by installing mid-sized CPV power plants ranging up to a few megawatts (MW) and gaining important field experience. Now the turning point for CPV has come. The technology is ready for, and indeed has begun, utility-scale deployment.
Crescent Dunes Visit During CSP Today
24 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Attendees of the conference, CSP Today USA 2013, (26-27 June, Las Vegas, Nevada) will be given a unique opportunity to visit SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project on 28 June, a 110MW molten salt power tower plant currently under construction near Tonopah, Nevada.
UK Solar Firm, Lightsource, Acquires 6.3MW Solar Farm from SolarCentury
23 May 2013POSTED IN Business News
Lightsource Renewable Energy, a UK-based solar energy generator, announces the acquisition of a new 6.3MW solar farm developed and built in West End, Southampton by Solarcentury.
Gehrlicher Solar Heads to Mexico
23 May 2013POSTED IN Business News
Gehrlicher Solar announced the company’s expansion into Mexico, having set up an office in Mexico City where the company will work closely with local developers, commercial customers, government agencies and the local utility, the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (Federal Electricity Commission) to engineer, procure and construct high performance PV systems specifically for the Mexican market.
Spain: 1.2MW solar plants for water company, sports facilities and schools
20 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
In Spain, 9 public facilities, including some schools, sports facilities, a water company and government buildings are going solar. In the future, more than 5000 solar modules installed on the roofs of these buildings, which Conergy supplied to its partner and general contractor Gamma Solutions, will deliver a total of 1.8 million kilowatt hours of clean solar power a year, sufficient to supply over 500 Spanish households.
Upsolar Develops First Project in Greece
15 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Upsolar, a provider of solar PV modules, today announced the completion of a 1.5MW solar electric system in Kozani, capital of the West Macedonia region in Greece. This marks the first installation in the region completed by Upsolar’s Project Development Department.
Conergy Builds Second 2MW Solar Plant in Romania
07 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Conergy is currently building another 2MW solar power plant in the Romanian region of Slobozia. It was only in January this year that the PV solution and service provider had announced its entry into the market in the Eastern European country with a 2.2MW solar park.
Solar Farm on Andaman and Nicobar Islands Powered by Proinso Modules
06 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
A solar farm located on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a Union territory of India, was built by Cirus Solar, a Proinso strategic partner in the Indian market.
Massachusetts Surpasses its Solar Goal
02 May 2013POSTED IN Politics and Policy News
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) applauded an announcement that the US state of Massachusetts has surpassed Governor Deval Patrick’s goal of installing 250 megawatts (MW) of solar energy by 2017 and the Administration plans to expand the Massachusetts solar carve-out goal to 1.6 gigawatts (GW). The 250 MW benchmark has been met nearly four years ahead of schedule.
Conergy Enters Solar Market in South Africa
02 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
In Cape Town, South Africa, Conergy and its partner Solsquare have built a solar plant that provides power to a home for disabled people.
Soitec Secures Financing for CPV Solar Plant in South Africa
01 May 2013POSTED IN Business News
Soitec (Euronext Paris), a specialist in generating and manufacturing revolutionary semiconductor materials for energy and electronics successfully finalised the ZAR 1,000,000,000 (more than $100 millions) solar financing bond issued by CPV Power Plant No.1 Bond SPV (RF) Ltd, an affiliate of Soitec Solar GmbH. The bonds will finance the construction of a 44 MWp utility-scale concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar power plant in Touwsrivier, South Africa.
Unirac Helps Power up Volkswagen Solar Energy Complex
30 April 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Unirac, Inc., a Hilti Group company that provides mounting solutions to the solar industry in North America, is involved in powering up a large solar park for Volkswagen. The project involves Volkswagen’s recently constructed 33,600-panel solar park in Chattanooga, Tennessee (US). The solar park, which sits on 33 acres (~13.4 hectares) next to the factory where the mid-size VW Passat is produced, will provide nearly 13% of the plant’s energy, an amount that could power 1200 households per year.
IBM Develops Economical Sunflower CPV System
29 April 2013POSTED IN Research
IBM’s solar concentrator system — called an economical High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system — could revolutionise solar energy. Mounted on innovative concrete solar trackers, the sunflower-inspired parabolic dish uses a multitude of mirror facets to concentrate sunlight onto several microchannel-liquid cooled receivers with photovoltaic converter chips. Scientists are hoping to develop an affordable photovoltaic system that can collect and convert 75–80% of the incoming solar radiation into energy.
Conergy Completes 4.5MW Solar Plant in the UK
24 April 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Conergy announced today the completion of a 4.5MW solar farm at the end of March for the UK’s largest solar PV developer, Lightsource Renewable Energy. Conergy was the general contractor, responsible for engineering and layout, construction and component supply for the plant, which will be owned and operated by Lightsource for the next 25 years. Connection to the grid comes only weeks after Conergy supplied four other solar farms with a total capacity of 15 megawatts in the UK, which is experiencing rapid growth in large-scale solar deployment.
First Solar Sells 139MW Campo Verde Solar Project
24 April 2013POSTED IN Business News
First Solar, Inc. announced it has sold the 139-megawattAC (MW) Campo Verde Solar Project to Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy. Under the terms of the agreement, First Solarwill complete construction of the project and will operate and maintain the power plant for 10 years. Construction of the Campo Verde project began in December 2012 and commercial operation is expected in fall 2013.
Greek Solar Distributor Sungate Partners with REC Group
19 April 2013POSTED IN Business News
REC, a European supplier of solar panels, announces Sungate, a distributor of solar products, as its first Platinum Partner in Greece.
Desertec Foundation: Criteria for implementing large solar projects
18 April 2013POSTED IN Applications News
After several years of development, the Desertec Foundation today releases a set of criteria that ensure the social and environmental responsibility of large solar projects in desert regions. With this step, the foundation offers practical measures to achieve one of the cornerstones of the Desertec Concept: ensuring through that local people benefit from the development of concrete renewable energy projects.
SunEdison and Petrobras to Build Large PV Plant in Brazil
18 April 2013POSTED IN Applications News
SunEdison, a leading global solar energy services provider and subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., has signed an agreement with Petrobras to build one of the largest solar photovoltaic power plants in Brazil. The plant will be located in Alto do Rodrigues, Rio Grande do Norte. Once completed, the SunEdison Renewable Operations Center will manage the ongoing operations of the plant. The energy generated will be destined to the National Interconnected System (SIN).
