Currently, the Vénissieux, France location that Bosch Solar Energy plans to set up as a PV module assembly plant is being used as diesel system location where common-rail injection pumps are manufactured. As the demand for such products has declined, Bosch began looking for a new use of the location and eventually, the company decided to bring their assembly plant to the locale.
The Tucson Airport Authority (TAA) and Tucson Electric Power (TEP) will be coming together for a second time since 2007 for the installation of a solar energy project. TAA’s board of directors approved a 20-year land lease with TEP, where TEP will pay a fixed rental rate of US$46,716.50 per year to lease 50 acres of land south of the Tucson International Airport.
Columbus, Indiana is set to welcome a new kid in town found in the form of NuSun. The company is a solar panel manufacturer that prides itself in the building and assembling of U.S. made nanocoated crystalline-silicon PV panels. NuSun will be putting US$8.9 million towards the purchase and set-up of their new Indiana facility, which is slated to begin production in mid-2011.
IB Vogt and Sonthalia have renewed their partnership wherein IB Vogt will embark on a concept study and provide engineering services for a PV factory in Falta Solar Hub area of India. The PV factory is expected to be completed between 2011 and 2012 and is part of the Solar Mission that the Indian government approved for the generation of 20MW of solar power in India by 2022. The size of the contract has not been disclosed by either party.
The 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC) will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2011 and has opened its call for papers to be presented at the June 19th through June 24th conference in Seattle, Washington. Authors who wish to submit their papers should provide a technical abstract by the February 21, 2011 deadline. Details on the abstract submission process can be found here.
Emcore and San’an Optoelectronics Company have come together for an investment and cooperation agreement with the Huainan municipal government. Under the agreement, Emcore and San’an will register and operate their joint venture (JV), Suncore Photovoltaics, in Huainan City for the production of CPV components and systems for terrestrial solar power applications.
The Greater Toronto area will be home to a new solar panel manufacturing facility courtesy of Eclipsall Energy. The company is investing over CAN$10 million for the 64MWp plant, which is anticipated to be operational during the first half of 2011. The need for expansion of the manufacturing line will be evaluated later in 2011.
Suss MicroTec and Rolith have come together to use Rolith’s disruptive nanolithography method in order to develop and construct nanostructuring equipment. Rolith’s nanolithography technology uses near-field optical lithography with cylindrically shaped rolling masks. Sub-wavelength resolution is reached by a phase-interference effect or plasmonic enhancement printing structures. Rolith advises that a continued operation yields a high throughput with low cost production.
Solar Power Partners and JCM Capital have joined forced for the creation of a fund that will develop, finance, own and operate 200MW of Ontario-based solar projects. Although the amount of the dedicated fund was undisclosed, the two companies have already started 20MW of projects, which will begin construction in 2011.
NextEra Energy Resources, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, is in the process of purchasing four solar PV projects, totaling 40MW from First Solar. First Solar will continue with the development of the Sombra and Moore Solar Energy Centers, using their own thin-film solar modules and upon the projects reaching an operational state, NextEra’s Canadian subsidiary, NextEra Energy Canada, will assume full ownership and operation of the four projects.
