The US Department of Energy (DOE) advised that it had awarded a US$737 million loan guarantee to Tonopah Solar Energy for its 110MW Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project. Sponsored by SolarReserve, the 100MW CSP solar power tower is said to be the first of its kind in the US and the tallest molten salt tower in the world. The project will be built on land leased from the Bureau of Land Management in Tonopah, Nevada.
Solon revealed that its 12.3MW distributed solar project in Italy has been successfully completed with installations having been developed on 18 buildings and 7 carparks for Interporto di Padova. The €50 million project is said to be the largest of its kind in Italy and received financial support from several institutions including, BIIS and Banca Popolare di Verona.
China Guangdong Nuclear Solar Energy Development has awarded the module supply contract for its upcoming projects in Dunhuang and Qinghe County to JinkoSolar. As sole supplier, Jinko will provide 38MW of its PV modules, with the first 18MW shipment scheduled to be delivered by October 25.
Citing recently undertaken ‘channel checks,’ Jefferies equity analyst Jesse Pichel said in an investor note that both Tier 1 & 2 China-based module manufacturers were running at ~50% utilization rates due to overcapacity and weak demand, especially in light of the lack of financing for PV projects across Europe. With respect to Tier 3 producers, Jeffries said that some have effectively stopped production and shut down plants.
Effective September 22, Steven Pleging was named chief executive officer, president and director of Quantum Solar Power. Pleging has served as the company’s chairman of the board of directors since July. Quantum’s former president and CEO, Daryl Ehrmantraut, will continue working with the company as its chief operating officer and director of operational and administrative functions.
Continuing to build its project pipeline, First Solar has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a 130MW solar park to be built in Imperial County, California. Tenaska Solar Ventures, the solar energy affiliate of independent utility company Tenaska, will operate the park and has a 25-year power-purchase agreement (PPA) with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), which was announced in March 2011.
Sopogy’s Concentrating Solar Collectors have received OG-100 classification from the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC). The certification qualifies Sopogy’s collectors for the solar programmes of a number of US states and validates the performance of Sopogy’s collector technology. The SRCC is the US’s independent accreditor for solar thermal products and Sopogy’s MicroCSP collector passed all of the third-party laboratory and outdoor tests; it was awarded the OG-100 certification after meeting all durability, safety and thermal performance requirements.
In a bid to generate 5% of the emirate’s electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030, Dubai authorities were cited by a Reuters India report as being on the verge of announcing details of a large solar power plant in the region. Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer, vice chairman of Dubai's Supreme Council of Energy, has said that although the 5% target will comprise several forms of renewable energy sources, “[t]his is mainly going to be solar”.
Despite a survey from Mercom Capital Group revealing that just 56% of Indians have heard of renewable energy, nearly three-quarters of the country's energy customers are willing to pay more for uninterrupted power and the opportunity to use renewable sources. These findings will help dispel the misconception at government level in India that the public are unwilling to pay more for electricity and offers further encouragement to India’s renewable energy sector.
Earlier this year, National Solar Power announced that it had narrowed its list of potential sites for its 400MW solar project to seven counties in the US southeast. After months of deliberation the company made its final decision with plans to build what is being called the largest solar farm in the US southeast in Gadsden County, Florida. While its final decision has been made, National Solar Power does note that the six other counties in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina will continue to be considered for future solar farm projects.
