India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has proposed plans to turn 60 Indian cities into so-called “solar cities”. The region of Tripura, in north east India, located next door to Bangladesh, has been selected as a pilot to this scheme with an investment of Rs.452.32 crore, according to a ministry official. The MNRE is expected to bear 90% of the cost and the remaining would be shouldered by the Tripura government.
According to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Vote Solar Initiative, US retail giant Walmart ranks number one in a list which identifies the top corporate companies using solar energy in the US for on-site consumption.
Renewable Energy Corporation (REC), a European supplier of PV modules, has completed the construction of a 4MW solar project in Greece for EuroEnergy, a renewable energy investment firm and a subsidiary of Libra Group.
SunEdison, a provider of solar energy services, has announced that it has secured an additional US$40 million for its project finance revolving credit facility, bringing the total capacity of the facility to US$150 million.
SunEdison announced that, along with Firelight Infrastructure Partners, it has attained financial close for a 10MW solar project being built in Ontario. Completed through a construction and term debt credit facility, the project is owned by SunEdison and Firelight as equity partners. Deutsche Bank worked as the private placement agent for the transaction, which was supported by a consortium of lenders.
Valos Solar Ventures continue to tie up the loose ends for its 20MW SKIC Solar 1 project; most recently with the signing of a 20-year PPA with Pacific Gas & Electric. The solar project, located near Bakersfield, California, is expected to receive approval from the California Public Utility Commission in October, with construction starting no later than August 2013.
Italian solar firm Aion Renewables has signed a preliminary agreement to sell 30MW of PV projects to Luxembourg-based Avelos. Aion Renewables is a specialist in the design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of PV systems.
With plans to achieve a 100MW pipeline in 2012, Martifer Solar USA has reported a success at its 460kW system in Breckenridge, Colorado. The company claims the arrays have been consistently performing at an average of 10% above expectations since their commissioning in January.
Q-Cells North America has recently completed a total of 108MW PV projects in North America. It built a 69MW PV project in Ontario, Canada and several PV projects in California, US, which have a total capacity of 39MW.
Canadian Solar, Suntech Power, Trina Solar and Yingli Green’s almost immediate response to the EU anti-dumping complaints has triggered JA Solar’s rebuttal.
