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Citing the potential destruction that a war with Iran would produce, Hans Josef Fell and Omid Nouripour have submitted a proposal to Germany’s Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, urging him to support the establishment of a solar program in Iran and the elimination of the country’s nuclear energy development. The document contends that Iran has an extensive supply of fossil fuels, but, further, that it has a large potential for renewable energies.
Q-Cells and the Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) have completed an off-grid PV installation in the Abu Dhabi desert, in the United Arab Emirates, the company has announced. This rooftop installation is the first off-grid installation in UAE and generates 368kW. It is equipped with 1,536 Q-Cells multicrystalline PV modules.
Solar Capital Dear 3 (PTY), owned by the JV Moncada Energy Group, has been announced as the second tender for the state incentives under the IPP Procurement Program. The company has been awarded the incentive rate with a solar power project of 94.5MWp gross (75MW net) requiring an investment of €200 million. The South African incentive rate has a duration of twenty years and the irradiation rate of the selected areas is about 2000 hours per year.
Solar Frontier and Showa Shell Sekiyu have announced a pilot project between Japan Cooporation Center, Petroleum (JCCP) and Takreer (an Abu Dhabi oil refining company). Takreer will be installaing PV systems at its facilities. The installations will generate a total of 36.4kW and they will be equipped with Solar Frontier thin-film modules and installed in four locations, including a rooftop.
The South African Department of Energy (DoE) has awarded a further 88MW of PV projects to the consortium consisting of SolarReserve, the Kensani Group and Intikon Energy. After the two 75MW projects Letsatsi and Lesedi Power Project, the Jasper solar energy project in Northern Cape is the third project the consortium has been awarded preferred bidder status. This brings the total of the projects to 238MW.
Israeli developer Arava Power Company has received funding for eight PV projects worth US$204 million in total, across Israel, the company has announced. In a statement, the company issued that it has closed deals on two PV plants in the Negev region, totaling 58MW. The company aims at installing over 400MW within Israel and completed the country’s largest solar park last June.
American-based company Petra Solar has announced that it will install 5MW solar energy across a number of locations in Bahrain. The company is collaborating with the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), Caspian Energy Holding and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO).
Qatar Solar Technologies and Qatar Electricity and Water have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop solar power in Qatar. QST is currently constructing a US$1.1 billion polysilicon manufacturing plant in the Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar.
First Solar has announced plans to open an office in the United Arab Emirates, according to Bloomberg reports, in order to meet the demand for solar energy in the Middle East. The company is currently negotiating with potential partners about contracts and a possible production plant in the UAE, as First Solar’s technical development manager Karim Asali commented.
Following Saudi Arabia’s revelation of a US$109 billion plan to create a solar industry in the country that will produce a third of its electricity within the next twenty years, Five Star Equities has released reports on the potential outlook for companies in the solar industry, including First Solar and SunPower.
