First Solar to Invest $81 Million Building Factory in France
First Solar Inc. is investing 66 million euros ($81 million) to build a factory near Bordeaux in France to produce solar panels, La Tribune reported, without saying where it got the information.
Half the cost will be funded by the renewable energies unit of French power company Electricite de France SA, the newspaper said.
Source: Bloomberg
Labels: First Solar Inc, FSLR, Solar News, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks
PG&E partners with SunRun to finance home solar photovoltaics
PG&E Corp. is partnering with yet another Bay Area solar company, investing $100 million to help pay for the installation of more than 3,500 home photovoltaic arrays.
This time, the parent of the Pacific Gas & Electric utility is pairing with San Francisco-based SunRun Inc. to create a tax equity fund. But the company had already stepped into the banker role in January, when it put $60 million into a similar fund for Foster City-based SolarCity Corp.
Pacific Energy Capital II, a subsidiary of PG&E, will manage the financing vehicle, which the companies claim is the largest of its kind to date.
SunRun, which like SolarCity offers solar leases to homeowners, will use the money too install panels throughout 2010 and 2011 in at least five states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts and New Jersey. The PG&E subsidiary will get any government tax credits associated with the home projects.
Once the panels are installed – at low or no cost to homeowners – SunRun owns the photovoltaics while customers pay a set rate for the generated power. The arrays would otherwise cost tens of thousands of dollars for homeowners to buy outright and install.The announcement is the latest in a string of developments in the home solar leasing market. SolarCity revealed a $90 million fund with U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp., a division of U.S. Bancorp, in March. Homebuilder Lennar Corp. said last week that it was partnering with SunPower Corp. on a solar leasing option for some of its homes.
SourceLabels: solar cells, Solar Energy, Solar Projects, SunRun
China To Launch 2-GW Solar Power Project
A large-scale contract has been signed between an American solar power company and a Chinese power systems producer in this respect.It will result in the setting up of solar thermal power facilities on several locations in China that will produce more than 2 GW of power.
The agreement was reached last week in the Chinese State Council building, will join U.S. solar power plant developer eSolar to Penglai Electric for implementing what is expected to be China's biggest concentrating solar power project so far.
The first round of the program, which will build a solar power facility that will be operated by Chinese Shaanxi Yulin Huayang New Energy Company and will produce 92 MW of power, will start this year.
SourceLabels: China, Solar News, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks
Key Developments For Suntech Power Holdings Co, Ltd
Suntech Power Headlines in Reuters.com:
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. Signs 17 MW Deal With Ontario Installer-ReutersTuesday, 1 Dec 2009 06:08pm EST
Reuters reported that Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. has landed a 17 megawatt supply deal for 2010 with Canada's Pure energies, the Company said. Under the deal, Toronto-based Pure energies, which installs, leases and operates solar power systems, will market and use Suntech's panels for residential solar systems in Ontario. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies said in a statement their memorandum of understanding continues through 2011.
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. Tie Up In 115 MW Sales Deal-ReutersTuesday, 3 Nov 2009 07:51pm EST
Reuters reported that Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. will sell 115 megawatts worth of solar panels in 2010 to EDF Energies Nouvelles. The panels will head to enXco's projects in the United States and Canada for rooftop and utility-scale projects, enXco in a statement.
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. Collaborates With AEDB To Deliver Solar To PakistanThursday, 15 Oct 2009 06:30am EDT
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Pakistan's Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) to work towards the widespread use of solar energy technologies to meet the energy shortage in Pakistan. The objective of the MOU is to facilitate cooperation between Suntech and the public sector and private companies in Pakistan to help implement solar programs including the AEDB's Rural Electrification Program; the development of Solar Power Pumping Systems with the AEDB and the World Bank; and Solar Power Telecom Projects in collaboration with Pakistani telecom companies. The MOU sets forth the agreement in principle of the parties concerning the project and related activities. Final agreement between the parties is subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements among the parties.
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. Launches 60 Cell Module For Residential and Commercial Rooftop SystemsMonday, 21 Sep 2009 02:00am EDT
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. announced the introduction of a 60 cell multi crystalline PV module to be marketed under the product name Wd. The new Wd module series features positive peak power tolerance of 0/+5 watts, which will assure that all Wd modules will produce at, or outperform, the nominal power rating.
Full ArticleLabels: Solar News, solar panels, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks, STP, Suntech Power
Egypt eyes solar power exports, costs too high now
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt, which plans to start its first solar power unit in 2010, said on Tuesday it wanted to expand solar power production for export but that costs of the technology would need to fall first to make it feasible.
The North African country, a gas and oil producer, aims to generate 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. It already has installed wind capacity of 430 megawatts and is adding 120 megawatts by mid 2010.
Wind farms are expected to meet 12 percent of Egypt's power needs by 2020 but solar power projects have lagged.
"Solar energy is four times as expensive as energy generated from combined cycles so when this figure starts going down to three or two times as much, this is when we will see developing countries go heavily into the business," Electricity and Energy Minister Hassan Younes told Reuters.
Source: Reuters
Labels: Solar News, Solar power, Solar Projects
First Solar sizes up project sales, Solarion beams plastic CIGS, MiaSolé decloak
Solar Short Takes on pv--tech.org:
This edition of Solar Short Takes does a bit of number crunching of the recent project sell-off news from First Solar, checks progress by Solarion on the CIGS-on-plastic front, notes MiaSole’s recent re-emergence from the PR closet, finds Trina saying yes to MES, questions Applied Materials’ buy of Advent Solar, and offers the aloha lowdown on next year’s tropically inclined IEEE PVSC event.
The sale of the 21MW (AC) Blythe PV power plant to NRG marks the second move by First Solar to cash in on some of its hundreds of millions of potential dollars in project assets, following the announcement in early October to sell off the 20MW Sarnia, Ontario, site to Enbridge.
Both projects, when completed by the end of 2009 (yup, that's right--First's Alan Bernheimer confirmed they'll be done next month), will be among the largest active PV systems--and certainly thelargest thin-film arrays--in North America. Florida Power & Light’s recently activated crystalline-silicon-powered 25MW DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center--which made me smile even before I had my morning coffee when I saw President Obama speaking at the center on CNN last month, with its thousands of solar panels lined up behind him--is the biggest in the States, at least for now.
Two more projects in First Solar’s pipeline will come online by the end of 2010 that will dwarf the Florida installation—the 30MW (AC) ground-mounted system being built for electric power supplier Tri-State in New Mexico and the 48MW (AC) added to the existing 10MW at the Sempra Boulder City/Copper Mountain site in Nevada. Although double-digit megawatt-scale PV systems remain rare, especially in North America, in a few years they will become more commonplace and triple-digit beasts will start to colonize the earth.
Since a Short Takes blog would not be complete without mention of the copper-indium-gallium-(di)selenide TFPV community, congrats to German CIGS-on-plastic company Solarion for successfully (and internally) testing its flex cells under the rigors of the IEC 61646 damp-heat test regimen--a thousand hours at 85% relative humidity and 85°C. Solarion’s main polymeric competitor, Ascent Solar, made a similar announcement in August. These results as well as recent updates from Global Solar and several materials companies suggest serious progress is being made on the main bugaboo of flexible CIGS—a manufacturable, relatively inexpensive yet durable moisture encapsulation layer.
...
SourceLabels: CIGS, First Solar Inc, FSLR, miasole, Solar News, Solar Projects
India unveils plans for massive solar power boost
India has approved plans for a huge increase in the amount of electricity it generates from solar power.
It aims to boost solar output 1,000-fold over 12 years from its current negligible level. Its 20 gigawatt target would power several big cities.
The government wants to reduce India's dependence on coal and boost the export industry for solar power equipment.
Critics say solar power will supplement - and not replace - fossil fuels even under India's most ambitious plans.
Concerns over land
"The cabinet gave its approval for launching of the Jawaharlal Nehru national solar mission, Solar India," Information Minister Ambika Soni said in Delhi.
The $19bn (£12bn) three-phased plan aims to boost solar power output across the country from close to zero to 20 gigawatts by 2022.
It is hugely ambitious and has been welcomed by the country's renewable energy suppliers, although some say it is unclear where the money will come from, says the BBC's technology correspondent Mark Gregory.
Source:
BBC.co.ukLabels: Solar Energy, Solar News, Solar power, Solar Projects
Suntech Power to Develop 20% of China's Solar Rooftop Program
Suntech Power (STP) continues to gain more solar contracts in their home country, China:
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), the world's leading manufacturer of crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules, today announced that it expects to develop approximately 20% of the 91MW of solar projects that were approved under China's Solar Rooftop Program.
China's Solar Rooftop Program, which was launched in March this year by the Ministry of Finance, is designed to increase the energy efficiency of buildings through the installation of building-attached and building- integrated PV solar systems. The first set of applications was submitted in April, and recently 111 solar projects totaling 91MW across China were approved to receive funds through the program. The system owners are expected to receive a 13-17RMB per watt rebate for all projects approved through the program. Suntech targets to develop approximately 20% of the successful applications and will also participate as the system owner or partial investor in some projects. Suntech has completed 4MW of its approved projects and plans to develop the remainder by mid-2010. Specific project agreements will be signed prior to implementation.
"Building energy use accounts for roughly 28% of total energy consumption in China and is a critical front in the drive to achieve higher energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions," said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman and CEO.
Labels: China, Solar power, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks, STP, Suntech Power
Sahara Desert Solar Power
FRANKFURT -- An international consortium devoted to creating an ambitious solar-power project in the Sahara Desert took the first formal steps of its plan Friday by forming a closely held company and appointing a chief executive.
The creation of the company, dubbed DII GmbH, by an industrial consortium called Desertec Industrial Initiative, is a first step in its plans to cover 16,900 square kilometers of desert with solar thermal power stations - which use the sun to generate heat which is then used to generate electricity. The aim is to provide as much as 15% of Europe's electricity by 2050, as well supplying the growing energy needs in North Africa and the Middle East.
The company also appointed Paul van Son, an executive with around 30 years of experience in management of the European energy industry, as its CEO. He has been managing director of Deutsche Essent GmbH, a German unit of Dutch Essent NV, which has recently been bought by RWE AG, and Dutch Econcern NV. Both companies are developers of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. Van Son is also chairman of the European Federation of Energy Traders and chairman of the Energy4All Foundation, which is active in Africa.
The Club of Rome, a global think tank connected with the project, in a recent study estimated that roughly €400 billion would be needed for the project; €350 billion for the solar power plants and another €50 billion for the high-voltage direct current transmission lines to transport the electricity from northern Africa to Europe.
The initiative was started in July and backed by 12 companies - including financial and power majors such as Germany's Deutsche Bank AG, Siemens AG, RWE AG, ABB Ltd. and E.On AG, Spain's Abengoa Solar and Algeria's Cevital.
Labels: Solar Energy, Solar power, Solar Projects
Solar Powered Catamaran
Solar panel manufacturer SunPower Corp. has announced its solar cells will be used by PlanetSolar's new solar catamaran.
Currently under construction, the motorised vessel is expected to be the largest of its kind and will be powered exclusively by SunPower's high-efficiency solar cells.
PlanetSolar is being built by Knierim Yacht Club, in Kiel, Germany. Construction of the solar powered catamaran is expected to be completed in February 2010 and PlanetSolar will then initially be sailing on the Baltic to conduct a series of tests in real-life conditions. Departure for the world tour from a Mediterranean port will occur in April 2011 and the journey is expected to comprise of around 140 days of navigation.
The catamaran will be home to two sailors during the round-the-world attempt, and can accommodate up to fifty people during the promotional trips planned at each port of call.
Approximately 38,000 of SunPower's solar cells will be included in the skin of the catamaran, with each cell offering a sunlight conversion efficiency of approximately 22 percent.
Labels: Solar power, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks, SPWRA
China to unveil plan for "new energy"
Coal-dependent China will unveil a plan to foster the development of "new energy" sources, including wind, solar and nuclear, by the end of this year, state media on Monday quoted a senior energy policy official as saying.
Sun Qin, vice head of the National Energy Administration (NEA), told a forum in southern Guangzhou city that a guide for developing energy technologies would also be released, but gave no further details.
The development and utilization of clean coal technologies would be an important part in the "new energy" plan, Sun was quoted as saying.
China has long been seeking to diversify away from coal, which currently provides over 70 percent of its power, but produces large amounts of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and pollutants like acid-rain causing sulfur dioxide
Source:
ReutersLabels: China, Solar News, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks
Renewable Ventures
The project developer, now part of Fotowatio, says it has enough funds to finance about 35 megawatts of projects. Meanwhile, Borrego Solar says it has lined up $30 million to make solar more affordable.
Renewable Ventures said Monday it has raised roughly $200 million to finance commercial and government solar projects in the United States.
The San Francisco project developer has pegged a 2-megawatt project in Colorado as the first to be funded by this new Solar Fund V.
The company has changed its corporate profile ever since it told Greentech Media in January this year that it was raising Solar Fund V and had lined up most of the projects (see MMA Renewable Ventures to Raise Its Fifth Solar Fund).
Greentech MediaLabels: Solar News, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks, Solar Technology
Premier Power Signs Spanish Solar Deals
Premier Power Renewable Energy says it signed contracts for more than 1 MW of solar photovoltaic rooftop installations in Spain during June.
These commercial rooftop projects will utilize crystalline modules provided by General Electric and cylindrical thin-film provided by Solyndra. This 1 MW of installations will be installed only on commercial rooftops, which remain the majority of the current installation market in Spain.
"We continue to see substantial growth opportunity in Spain, reflecting the tremendous demand for rooftop and building integrated solar energy systems that are easily integrated into the existing energy transmission infrastructure,"
Bjorn Persson, executive vice president of European operations for Premier Power
SourceLabels: Solar News, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks
Solar Power News
In the news:
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. Gets Four Solar Projects In China-ReutersReuters reported that Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. reached agreements to develop four solar power plants in China. Suntech struck the 1.8 gigawatts of solar power deals with the governments of Shaanxi and Qinghai provinces as well as the Shizuishan and Panzhihua city governments. The Shaanxi development will be 300 megawatts, while the remaining three projects will be 500 MW each.
Source: Reuters
Energy Department to pay $52.5 million for 24/7 solar powerThe U.S. Department of Energy will pay $52.5 million for research, development and demonstration of concentrating solar power systems that can deliver power 24/7. Concentrating solar power systems concentrate the sun’s rays onto a fixed point and use the heat produced to create steam that turns turbines to produce energy.
SourceLabels: Solar News, Solar Plant, Solar power, solar power plants, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks
Shift in Solar Demand to Asian Heavy Weights
"Weakened demand for solar power projects in major markets like Europe and the United States as a result of the global credit crunch has resulted in production overcapacity of solar panels, says a new report by analysis firm.
As a consequence of this, says Frost & Sullivan’s Asia Pacific program manager of Energy & Power Systems Practice, Irina Sidneva, “The current financial crisis has lowered the amount of funds available for high-cost solar power projects, forcing many companies to re-evaluate their position in the key solar power markets of Europe and the United States, as well as to re-focus their strategic moves.”
SourceLabels: Solar News, Solar power, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks
SunPower Corp in $100M solar deal
Wells Fargo & Co. and SunPower Corp. on Monday announced a collaborative effort to fund up to $100 million in SunPower commercial-scale solar systems.
San Francisco-based Wells (NYSE:WFC) and San Jose-based SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWRA) and (NASDAQ:SPWRB) said SunPower will enter into power purchase agreements with qualified customers and Wells Fargo will finance the solar power systems that SunPower will design, build, operate, and maintain.
Customers hosting the systems will buy the electricity from SunPower "at prices that are competitive with retail rates, providing them with a long-term hedge against rising power prices and the ability to take advantage of the environmental and financial benefits of solar power with no initial capital investment," the companies said.
SourceLabels: solar panels, Solar Projects, solarstocks, SPWRA, SunPower Corp, Wells Fargo
Developer plots Solar City in Florida
A Florida developer unveiled plans today to build the nation's first solar-powered city -- a cluster of homes, offices and factories less than 20 miles from Fort Myers on the Gulf Coast.
"Babcock Ranch" would be built on 17,000 acres in Charlotte and Lee counties, with more than half of the land set aside for nature preserves, agriculture and other open space. Florida Power & Light Co. would build a 75-megawatt solar photovoltaic array to supply electricity to the development's 6 million square feet of residential, industrial and retail buildings.
The big question: If you build it in this economy, will buyers come?
NY Times Full articleLabels: home solar panels, solar panels, Solar power, Solar Projects
INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY ESTABLISHED (IRENA)
Officials from participating countries are expected to sign a treaty to officially create the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an international organization created to promote renewable energy options on a global scale. The founding conference for IRENA is being held this week in Bonn, Germany.
Acting as the global voice for renewable energies, IRENA will provide practical advice and support for both industrialized and developing countries, help them improve their regulatory frameworks and build capacity, the organization says. The agency will facilitate access to all relevant information, including reliable data on the potential of renewable energy, best practices, effective financial mechanisms and technological expertise.
"The creation of IRENA sends a clear signal to markets worldwide that renewable energy will be a public policy priority for many years to come and shows that policy-makers are serious about fighting global warming," comments Mike Ahearn, CEO of First Solar. "We encourage the United States and all other nations that have not yet committed to join IRENA to actively support its vision of a more sustainable environment for future generations."
On other sources:
First Solar Applauds International Renewable Energy InitiativeSolar IndustryLabels: First Solar Inc, International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA, News, Solar Energy, Solar Industry, Solar Projects
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) and Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP) to Jointly Power a Landmark Middle Eastern Solar Project
With the giant sell-off in the markets today, as Obama sweared-in, many solar stocks are suffering, STP and JASO are taking the big hits while FSLR and SOLF are having a normal down day.
Considering the normally high volatility of solarstocks, it could be worse, since the S&P500 and NASDAQ are down more than 4.5%
Some yesterday's news:
Rival photovoltaic (PV) modules manufacturers, First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR ) and Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP ) will complement their efforts to power a $15 billion futuristic city of Masdar, under construction in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The firms have been approved by Masdar Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company to supply 5 MW of thin film solar modules each, for a 10 MW solar power farm that is being developed by Enviromena Power Systems based in the oil-rich Abu Dhabi emirate. Expected to be the biggest in the whole of Middle East region, the system will generate electricity for what is supposed to be the world’s only carbon neutral and zero-waste city.
Solar energy will be used as a first choice power solution by more than 50 000 residents and 1 500 businesses that are expected to be part of Masdar upon its completion. Electric travel pods, waste and water recycling, as well as natural ventilation, will be some of the environmentally friendly measures to be used in the city.
SourceLabels: First Solar Inc, FSLR, NASDAQ, News, Solar Plant, Solar power, Solar Projects, SP500, STP, Suntech Power
Ota Solar City in Japan
By Mayumi Negishi
OTA, Japan (Reuters) - Solar panels glisten across Ota City's tiny Pal Town neighbourhood, nestled among strawberry fields in one of Japan's sunniest spots, a testament to the allure of renewable energy in this resource-poor country.
Three-quarters of Pal Town's homes are covered by solar panels, which are distributed for free and have become one of the main draw-cards for residents keen to minimise their power bills.
A great example for other countries to follow, even in a country were the sun doesn't most of the year. Mediterranean Europe and the south states of USA are the perfect locations for this model city to be built.
Full news article at
ReutersLabels: home solar panels, Japan, solar, Solar Energy, solar panels, Solar Projects
