Power Plants

3M and Ceradyne revealed that they have entered a definitive agreement, which will see 3M buy Ceradyne for US$35 per share. The transaction holds an aggregate value of nearly US$860 million, or US$670 million net of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and debt acquired. Ceradyne, a major producer of crucibles used in the production of polysilicon chunks for multicrystalline ingots and then wafers, will join the 3M Energy Advanced Materials Division.

In releasing its latest Polysilicon and Wafer Supply chain Quarterly Report for Q3 2012, NPD Solarbuzz is predicting that polysilicon capacity will grow 22% in 2012 and another 18% in 2013. According to the report, the industry’s polysilicon processes for PV applications are anticipated to drop 52% this year while plant utilization will decline from to 63%, from 77% in 2011. Total polysilicon capacity will be in excess of 385,000 tons this year, of which 70% will be held by a small group of tier 1 producers.

Having entered the Japanese PV market in August, NexPower Technology has announced a 2MW order of its Xtreme+ Series modules for various projects in western Japan. The modules will be distributed via its Japanese distributor, Marubun Corporation. NexPower states that its Xtreme+ Series complies with Japanese JPEC standard as well as being both UL and CEC registered.

The Export-Import Bank of the US has agreed to provide a 10-year guarantee for a PNC Bank loan worth US$6.4 million. The loan will be used to finance the export of PV modules from SolarWorld Americas, based on the west coast if the US, to Barbados-based Williams Industries-Williams evergreen Ltd.

Power Partners MasTec has chosen Solectria Renewables to provide its Megawatt Solar Stations (MSS) for MasTec’s 5MW True North solar farm in Salisbury, Massachusetts. The companies noted that the solar farm will be the largest solar installation in New England and the first direct-to-grid farm in the state.

Kyocera Solar announced that it has been tapped to deliver 30MW of its solar modules for a utility-scale solar plant being constructed in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido, Japan. Nearly 135,000 modules will she shipped for the project, which is being designed and constructed by Yonden Engineering.

Sundog Energy and Kier Construction have officially turned on the 204 kWp rooftop BIPV system at King’s Cross railway station in London, UK. Dubbed as one of the largest and most complex building-integrated PV systems in the UK, it is projected to have an output of around 175,000 kWh per annum.

Power-One advised that it will be taking its partnership with Cologne-based wholesaler Energiebau Solarstromsysteme to international markets. Energiebau will offer Power-One’s Aurora Uno and Trio inverters, as well as the Aurora Assure Plus service, to a more comprehensive network of installers in Germany. The offerings will be available immediately.

Martifer Solar’s plans to expand its PV power plant projects business remains on-track after completing two of the largest PV power plants in Portugal that have a combined capacity of 22.4MWp. The project developer had around €235 million worth of projects in its backlog at the end of the first-half of 2012, with management expectation of increasing installations by a double digit amount this year, compared with around 200MW installed in 2011.

Despite several start-up firm failures and an over-hyped sector, the concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) market is forecast to grow significantly over the next four years, according to the latest report from IMS Research, part of IHS. Though building from a small base, CPV installations are set to almost double in 2012 to around 90MW with a commercial value of US$325 million. By 2016 the market is expected to reach almost 1.2GW.