Power Plants

Socialist François Hollande has been elected as President of France, bringing further concerns and hopes to the country’s already flagging solar industry. Dubbed “Mr Normal”, he has promised a 25% reduction in nuclear facilities by 2020, an investment in alternative energy generation and improving energy efficiency.

Providing around 90% of the school’s energy requirements, SolarWorld has installed 6.1MW of its PV panels on a 30-acre site adjacent to the Lawrenceville School. The boarding school’s ground-mounted system was initially developed by TurtleEnergy and was purchased in 2011 by KDC Solar, which completed the development and constructed the project.

Renewable energy solutions provider Satcon Technology has entered into a strategic manufacturing agreement with Sanmina-SCI, the company has announced. Under the agreement, Sanmina will begin producing Satcon’s PowerGate Plus 50, 100, 250 and 500kW inverters well as the company’s Prism Platform solutions at it’s Canadian factory. The production of the utility-scale inverters in Ontario, Canada, is necessary to comply with Ontario’s FiT program.

MidAmerican and First Solar have announced the beginning of major construction work on the site of the 550MW Topaz Solar Farm in San Luis Obispo County, California. Both companies congregated about the construction schedule as well as environmental issues and future plans to involve communities and private landowners in the project.

K Road Power has bought the 25MW McHenry solar project in California from SunPower, it has been announced. The project has been designed and is currently being constructed by SunPower in Modesto, California, and it is expected to commence commercial production in September 2012. Modesto Irrigation District (MID) will buy the generated energy under a 25-year PPA.

ESA Renewables, US project developer, has been contracted by Jamaica-based Caribbean Energies Group (CEG) to construct a 24MW PV plant in Jamaica. ESA is responsible for the design and the maintenance of the plant as well as the legal permits and other requirements.

REC has announced that it will supply 20MW PV modules for installations across Bulgaria. The company signed a number of agreements to supply its modules to PV plants.

Navigant’s Solar Services Program advised that its Photovoltaic Manufacturer Shipments, Capacity & Competitive Analysis 2011/2012 is now available. The report gives an analysis of PV industry shipments, capacity and average prices and revenues as well as a five-year forecast of technology shipments.

Declining prices whether on the spot market or long-term supply agreements are making business conditions very tough for polysilicon producers, regardless of their market size or purity of the material they produce. According to the latest financial results of Dow Corning, its JV subsidiary, Hemlock Semiconductor expects overcapacity in the sector to continue throughout 2012.

US President Barack Obama has said that the US plans to strengthen its cooperation on energy issues with Japan. Obama made the comments at the White House earlier this week after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.