Solar Power Plants
SPI 2012: TÜV Rheinland supports solar power plants
05 September 2012POSTED IN Business News
Solar and PV testing company TÜV Rheinland today announced new testing and certification services to support all stages of planning and operating large-scale PV power plants. The services are designed to help assure the quality of power plants to enhance their bankability and increase cost-efficiency, according to the company, which will exhibit at Solar Power International 2012, 10-13 September, in booth 3325.
JinkoSolar to Power South African Off-Grid PV
31 August 2012POSTED IN Applications News
JinkoSolar today announced it will work with EPC partner Solea Renewables to deliver a Limpopo province chrome mine with the first ever off-grid utility scale photovoltaic system in South Africa.
The 1MW plant will produce approximately 1.8GWh of electricity per year and will effectively reduce the mine’s daytime diesel dependency for the next 20 to 30 years.
Gehrlicher Solar Connects 35MW Solar Park to Grid
30 August 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Gehrlicher Solar AG today announced it has completed its 35MW solar park in Perleberg, halfway between Hamburg and Berlin.
Estonian Government Funds Energy Smart Solar Park
29 August 2012POSTED IN Business News
One of the largest solar parks in Estonia and the Baltic region uses DegerEnergie solar-tracking systems. DegerEnergie’s partner, OÜ Energy Smart, has set up and operates 70% of this project, which portion the Estonian government is funding.
Building US Energy Independence on Public Lands
24 August 2012POSTED IN Newsletter Features
The lazy days of summer haven’t been so lazy for the US federal government, which has recently given the green light to several solar projects on federal lands and developed a roadmap for future large-scale solar development in the West.
Canadian Solar Announces 18.7MW Solar Farms
28 August 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Canadian Solar today announced that its subsidiary, Canadian Solar Solutions, has closed an 18.7MW AC engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract and operations and maintenance agreement for the construction and operation of two new solar energy farms in Ontario, Canada for Penn Energy Renewables.
JinkoSolar Modules for Chinese Power Plant
27 August 2012POSTED IN Business News
JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., a vertically integrated solar product manufacturer, today announced that it has won a bid from China Guangdong Nuclear Solar Energy Development Co., Ltd. (CGN-SEDC), which focuses on solar power investment, construction, operation and maintenance.
Canadian Solar Sells Utility-Scale Plant to Stonepeak
27 August 2012POSTED IN Business News
Canadian Solar Inc. completed the sale to Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners of a utility-scale solar power plant for approximately C$48.0 million (US$48.4 million).
Solon Hires VP, Signals Expansion
24 August 2012POSTED IN Business News
Solar power plants and PV products company Solon today announced it has hired Jared Schoch as vice president and general manager of the power plants business.
Schoch will oversee the company’s commercial and utility-scale power plants and focus on expanding Solon’s power plant business in the Americas.
Soltas Energy to Build 620kW Solar System
22 August 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Soltas Energy today announced it has signed an agreement to build a 620kW solar power plant on a historic mill in Leominster, Massachusetts (US).
LightManufacturing Develops Industrial Heliostats
22 August 2012POSTED IN New Products
LightManufacturing today announced its H1 heliostat, which delivers more than 2000 watts of heat and light energy to a target.
Multiple H1s can be combined into powerful arrays, and the sun-tracking mirrors are simple to set up and operate, and feature a low cost per mirror area, the California-based company says.
3.2MW Solar Plant on German Landfill
21 August 2012POSTED IN Applications News
On 17 August 2012, a large photovoltaic (PV) installation on a landfill in Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany was officially opened by the country's Minister of Economy, Eveline Lemke. In her welcome address, the minister emphasised the many benefits that result from the operation of the PV park, pointing out that not only will the park produce clean energy but it will contribute to the economic viability of the landfill at the same time. The operator of the park is the GBS, a company that handles the disposal of hazardous wastes in Rheinland-Pfalz (Gesellschaft zur Beseitigung von Sonderabfällen in Rheinland-Pfalz mbH).
Isofoton Builds First Solar PV Plant in Dominican Republic
14 August 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Isofoton and the Government of the Dominican Republic have signed last weekend a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) giving the company the green light to begin construction of one of Latin America’s largest photovoltaic plants.
First Solar Opens Subsidiary in Thailand
15 August 2012POSTED IN Business News
First Solar, Inc. announced that it has established a Thailand operating subsidiary, First Solar (Thailand) Ltd., and opened an office in Bangkok. Creation of the local subsidiary will better enable First Solar to execute its strategy to expand the market for utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the local market and to deliver value to Thai solar power producers.
Pike Research: Renewable distributed energy to triple by 2017
13 August 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Annual worldwide installations of renewable distributed generation including solar PV will nearly triple between 2012 and 2017, according to a report by Pike Research, reaching 63.5GW a year in 2017.
Nearly 232GW of distributed renewable will be added over that five-year period.
Arizona Public Service Seeks 32MW Solar Project
08 August 2012POSTED IN Business News
Arizona Public Services Co. today announced a request for proposal from solar developers and installers to construct a 32MW solar photovoltaic facility in Gila Bend, Arizona (US). This project will be financed by APS through the company’s AZ Sun Program.
Soitec Participates in Large Solar Plants in France
08 August 2012POSTED IN Business News
In the process of selecting the successful participants in the call for tenders for large solar power plants, launched in September 2011 by the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE, Commission de régulation de l'énergie), Soitec, a manufacturer of semiconductor materials for energy and electronics, is present in most of the eight projects in the sub-category for concentrator solar plants with installed capacity of less than 12 megawatts (MW).
Case Study: Community-owned solar in the UK
18 July 2012POSTED IN Case Studies and Solar Solutions
The directors at Westmill Solar Co-operative in the United Kingdom are well on the way to raising an impressive total of £4 million from individuals and organisations keen to invest in a 5 MW solar park - the first community-owned solar park of its size in the country and one of the largest community-owned solar farms in the world.
ITN Awarded Battery Technology Grant
07 August 2012POSTED IN Business News
ITN Energy Systems has been awarded US $1.725 million in funding from the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop an advanced redox flow battery, in collaboration with the University of Kentucky.
This battery technology is intended to lower costs for grid-scale power systems, and provide affordable energy storage options for small commercial and residential customers.
Solar on College Campuses
31 July 2012POSTED IN Editors Blogs
From SolarOne Solution’s high-powered LEDs in Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s custom bike shelter to Mage Solar modules powering Western Michigan University’s 50kW electric vehicle test project to a solar farm atop the UK’s University of Sheffield, solar installations on college campuses are a bright idea, from both an educational and business standpoint.
