U.S.-based PV installer Sunvalley Solar has added modules from TianWei SolarFilms to its list of product offerings. Sunvalley Solar has supply agreements for Canadian Solar's poly- and monocrystalline panels as well as for CEEG. TianWei SolarFilms will supply an unspecified amount of a-Si thin-film modules to Sunvalley Solar, which are now CEC (California Energy Commission) certified.
Akeena Solar, d/b/a Westinghouse Solar, will be leaving its solar panel installation business in California behind as it begins its exclusive focus on manufacturing and distribution in the state. Since the company will no longer be in the California installation business, it has advised that its third quarter 2010 records will show a restructuring charge of around US$2.5 million. This amount accounts for headcount reductions, equipment and inventory write-offs, lease accelerations and write-off of goodwill, which will mainly be non-cash charges.
Taking a page from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the California Energy Commission gave its approval for three loans, which total more than $10.5 million, to three California-based PV companies: Stion, Soliant Energy, and Energy Innovations. The low-interest loans fall under California’s Clean Energy Business Financing Program (CEBFP), which is supplying around $30 million in federal stimulus money to businesses that create or preserve clean energy manufacturing jobs in the state.
At least 100 new jobs are being created as Dow Chemical prepares volume production of its ‘Powerhouse’ Solar Shingles at its facility in Midland, Michigan, which will start to be marketed in 2011. This is a first-phase program to create over 1,200 jobs in Midland in the coming years.
Power-One has chosen Phoenix, AZ, as the site for its new manufacturing facility. The plant, which is expected to begin operations in October, will produce the company's PV and wind inverters, including single- (2-6KW) and three-phase string inverters, as well as NEMA 3R 250KW, 300KW, and 400KW central inverters.
ESA Renewables is to provide a 1MW turnkey photovoltaic system in Culberson, NC, approximately 200 miles southwest of Charlotte, NC. The electricity generated by the system will be sold to Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) under a 10 year power purchase agreement (PPA).
During the past two years, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has opened new facilities in San Jose, California, Suzhou, China and Zeppelinheim, Neu-Isenburg, Germany to better serve the PV community. Recently, UL added a new facility to that list with the opening of its testing and certification center for PV equipment in Ise City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. The center will not only test PV equipment for performance and safety standards, but also provide technical support for Japanese PV equipment manufacturers.
Once Mossadiq Umedaly, the interim CEO of Enecsys, returns to his original role as executive chairman, Henrik Raunkjaer will step in as the new CEO and board member for the company. The changes will be effective starting November 1, 2010. Raunkjaer has over 24 years’ of experience in the electronics industry, has held several leadership positions in the solar business and earned a BS in electronic engineering.
In order to better service its customers in the Czech Republic, Premier Power Renewable Energy has opened the doors of its newest office in Prague. “The opening of this new office in Prague firmly establishes our presence in and dedication to the solar electric power generation market in the Czech Republic,” said Dean R. Marks, chief executive officer of Premier Power...
AES Sole Italia revealed that it had selected Schneider Electric as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for a PV solar system in the Puglia region in Italy. The plant will have a yearly power output of 56GWh and a total power of 43MW during its peak. Over 600,000 solar panels on 250 acres will be used for the construction of the solar plant.
