Saint-Gobain has begun construction on its first manufacturing plant in North America. Located in Goodyear, Arizona, the facility will house the company’s mirror line for solar thermal power stations and supply the domestic US market. The plant, with an estimated production capacity that corresponds to an annual thermal output of 300MW, is anticipated to be online by the 2011 fourth quarter.
China Datang is planning to use solar modules from Tianwei New Energy for the first time on a 10MW ground-mounted project project in Delhi, Qinghai Province, China. The module supply agreement requires Tianwei to ship between September and October the full 10MW of modules directly to the project.
US pharmacy Walgreens has chosen SoCore Energy to install PV systems at 90 of its stores in Ohio. This new portfolio will have a capacity of 2MW and increase the number of arrays on Walgreens stores to 136; the first 53 in this next wave of installations are due to be completed by November 11. The individual systems are being leased for 10 years to Walgreens, which will equip them with Power-One inverters and SolarWorld’s 240W crystalline silicon panels.
Cleantech finance company De Lage Landen has finalized an agreement that will see the company’s Clean Technology Group team up with Tioga Energy to provide long-term financing for an 856kW solar project in Honolulu, Hawaii. Built for Oceanic Time Warner at its Mililani Tech Park, the project is a combination rooftop and solar parking canopy and is said to be the largest of its kind in the state of Hawaii.
Commercial operation has begun at Western Wind Energy’s Kingman I wind and solar project in Mohave County, Arizona. The 10.5MW system is the first purpose-built joint wind and solar project in North America and the electricity generated will be sold to Unisource Electric Services.
A new report from Greenpeace has claimed that a switch to renewable energy sources would allow Japan to permanently close its entire nuclear portfolio by 2012 without jeopardizing economic growth. Findings from the "Advanced Energy [R]evolution Report for Japan" have put a further nail in the coffin of an industry still reeling from the fallout of March’s Fukushima nuclear plant disaster.
OPEL Solar has advised of its recent agreement with Energi Insurance Services, which will see the solar company buy Energi’s Manufacturer’s Product Warranty (MPW) Insurance for its TF-800 solar tracking systems. The additional insurance will supplement the company’s five-year limited, or optional 10-year extension, warranty, for material and equipment.
Southern California Edison (SCE) will install the largest single-building solar rooftop system in the US at an industrial property in Perris, California. Dexus Property Group has signed a 20-year lease with SCE for the 513,588m2 rooftop space, which will soon be home to 36,000 solar panels. The record-breaking system, which will have a peak capacity of 10MW, is part of a network of solar plants SCE is building throughout southern and central California.
The Renewable Energy Corporation has terminated a long-term wafer sales contract with an unnamed customer. The Norweigan PV giant will receive USD$40 million in compensation, which will be paid out in Q3.
Several days of angry demonstrations by local residents after a fluoride leak from a JinkoSolar-owned cell manufacturing plant have led to the plant closing. According to reports, the plant had been warned of environmental noncompliance earlier this year, but after residents broke through gates, overturning cars and ransacking offices, local government officials have ordered the closure of the plant in Hongxiao, China.
