SunPower and Wells Fargo have joined together in a new collaborative effort to fund as much as $100 million in SunPower commercial-scale solar photovoltaic systems. Under the financing program, the partners say that SunPower will sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) with qualified customers, and the bank will finance the PV systems, which will be designed, built, operated, and maintained by the solar company.
In a political victory for President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and their allies in Congress, one of the strongest pieces of energy and environmental legislation in American history narrowly won passage in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday. After a flurry of last-minute intense lobbying and political deal-making, HR 2454--the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES)--passed by a close 219-212 tally, which included 44 Democrats voting against the measure and 8 Republicans voting in favor of it. The bill now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to go through some potentially major revisions and may have a tough time being approved. President Barack Obama and solar industry leaders praised the U.S. House’s passage of ACES.
Abound Solar is looking for a new CEO, as Pascal Noronha is stepping down as chief executive while taking over the role of chairman of the board of the CdTe thin-film PV company. Current chairman John Hill will remain on the board as a founding director.
Trina Solar and Spire have both improved their financial positions by securing new or expanding existing lines of credit. Trina said it has landed new credit facilities totaling $57 million from Standard Chartered Bank (China), consisting of trade financing and defensive hedging products. Spire said it has amended its current $3 million revolving credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank, adding another $5 million revolver, which adds up to $8 million available to the company over the next year.
ASYS is offering solar-cell metallization line upgrades to its customers, improvements that the tool and automation supplier says will increase capacity by as much as 22%. The upgrade kit consists of hardware and software changes and can be installed in three days.
Advanced Energy said that its suite of Solaron photovoltaic inverters has again achieved record-setting ratings in the California Energy Commission list of approved inverters. The company said that its inverters exceeded their own record of 97% CEC-weighted efficiency by posting a 97.5% CEC efficiency rating last month—an achievement claimed to be unmatched by any other line of grid-tie, commercial, and utility-scale inverters.
Astronergy and its partners have formally launched the first 10MW phase of a planned 100MW solar photovoltaic power station in central China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Initially covering two square kilometers in Shizuishan City in the arid Gobi Desert region, the project is expected to be completed within three years.
SCI Engineered Materials has received a $1 million order for thin-film photovoltaic products from an unspecified customer. The physical vapor deposition-related materials are expected to be manufactured and shipped during the second half of 2009, the company said.
TÜV Rheinland has opened a state-of-the-art test center for solar photovoltaic modules in Cologne, Germany. The company has invested around €4 million in the new 1800m2 building as well as a suite of technical equipment for checking the safety, quality, and energy efficiency of PV panels and solar collectors.
One of the most ambitious solarpower projects in the U.S. received the regulatory greenlight Thursday from the California Public Utilities Commission. The commission voted unanimously to approve Southern California Edison’s plan to install scores of 1-2MW photovoltaic grid-connected systems on the rooftops of commercial buildings throughout the utility’s Southern California service area. Under the terms of the approved measure, SCE will own, install, operate, and maintain 250MW of PV panels in the next five years and will solicit bids from independent suppliers to deploy another 250MW. Together, the added solar capacity will provide enough electricity to meet the needs of up to 320,000 Southern California households.
