An undisclosed Chinese investment company that is said to own a portfolio of PV power plants in Italy is planning to recoup the investment in a frame agreement signed with 3Power Energy Group.
MPrime, the distribution arm of Martifer Solar, has expanded its parent company’s business in Germany with the opening of new Munich offices. The company advised that working out of Germany will allow it to better serve the worldwide, and especially the German, PV sector.
California’s Vote Solar Initiative advised that January saw a record amount of homes and business in the state going solar. According to the initiative, January saw 42.4MW of behind-the-meter solar installed, which is the largest amount in the history of the California Solar Initiative program. Additionally, 49.5MW of incentive applications were received, and while that number doesn’t mark a record, it is said to be higher than normal.
Chinese Powerway Renewable Energy and Japanese West Holding have partnered to construct a 2MW capacity installation in Japan to fill the nuclear gap. West Holding will provide the investment and Powerway will design and construct the plant using its PowerScrew foundations and mounting structure products.
Last year, the Israeli Ministry of Interior approved a plan for an 8MW solar PV plant to be built adjacent to the Bedouin community of Tarabin in the Abu Basma region of the north west of the Negev Desert, which has finally been given the go ahead. This will be a joint project between the Tarabin tribe and Arava Power Company, costing approximately US$30 million. The plant will cover 15 hectares of privately owned agricultural land.
Preliminary figures from IMS Research indicate that PV inverter shipments reached a new record high in 2011. According to the market research firm, shipments grew by more than 10% and exceeded 26GW for the first time. IMS Research’s preliminary Q4’11 report, projects inverter shipments grew by up to 15% in 2011, with more than 8GW shipped in the last quarter of the year.
IDEA Polysilicon Company has selected centrotherm SiTec to provide basic engineering and the technology concepts for its first 10,000MT capacity polysilicon plant to be built in the city of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. Actual construction timelines were not disclosed.
Private equity firm Element Partners has announced that it is to acquire both Bekaert Advanced Coatings (BAC) and Soleras Ltd, with the two companies merging to form Soleras Advanced Coatings.
PV inverter shipments may have dipped slightly in 2011, according to IHS PV Inverter Market Tracker report, yet shipments are expected to more than double to 52GW in 2015. Shipments of PV inverters fell to the equivalent of 23.4GW in 2011, down 1% from 23.6GW in 2010, according to the market research firm.
SunPower has become entangled in a lawsuit directed at the US Departments of the Interior, Treasury and Navy. Judicial Watch, an organization that investigates government corruption and Human Events, a weekly American conservative magazine, filed a Freedom of Information (FOIA) act to sue the Obama administration on February 1, 2012.
