According to Hellenic Transmission System Operator SA (HTSO), Greece has installed an additional 75MW of PV in July which brings its total amount of installed PV capacity in the first six months of the year to 319MW. This was a slight drop compared to last month, when statistics showed that the country installed a total of 97MW in PV capacity.
Jumping on the bandwagon, Inpex Corporation has made its first move into the solar power generation business and has announced plans to build a large-scale 2MW PV plant in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The proposed plant, called Inpex Mega Solar Joetsu, represents Inpex’s first large-scale solar power generation project.
Two and a half months after starting construction, Gehrlicher Solar advised that it has completed its Perleberg solar park, located between Hamburg and Berlin. The system holds a 35MWp nominal capacity and is anticipated to generate nearly 33 million kWh of power per year. The company noted that because of the solar park’s high capacity, it also built a separate expandable 110kV transformer station, which connected the solar installation to the grid on August 23.
Sunways seemed hopeful today that by 2014, and on, it will once again be producing operating profits, thanks to LDK Solar taking over as its new majority shareholder. For its solar modules business, Sunways looks to continue building on its brand and service quality with LDK Solar, while in the solar cells segment, Sunways is expected to play a large role as a technology excellence centre within the LDK Solar Group.
Chinese PV firm Suntech Power Holdings faces more trouble in Italy after an Italian court reportedly filed a lawsuit against the company’s Global Solar Fund (GSF). The lawsuit alleges that the investment fund illegally built solar farms in the country in order to exploit Italy’s subsidies, Reuters has revealed.
Solar Universe Network and Sunrun entered a strategic partnership, which will bring Sunrun’s solar service to more US customers. The partnership will be offered to homeowners in California, Arizona, Hawaii, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Oregon.
Westinghouse Solar and CBD Energy have formed a joint venture with an intent to design, engineer, procure and construct commercial PV projects in Italy. Westinghouse Solar will have a 25% stake, with the option to take up to a 50% stake, in the profits from CBD’s commercial project pipeline in Italy in exchange for an investment of US$1.5 million (with an option to invest an additional US$1.5 million).
Constellation Solar announced that its 16.1MW (DC) PV project in Emmitsburg, Maryland has been completed and connected to the grid. The project, part of Maryland’s Generating Clean Horizons initiative, is financed, owned and operated by Constellation. The US$50 million solar site will sell its electricity to the Department of General Services and the University System of Maryland under a 20-year PPA with Constellation.
Phoenix Solar, a developer of large-scale PV projects, has started to install more than 33,000 PV modules at Volkswagon’s plant in Chattanooga in Tennessee, US, WDEF News 12 has reported. The ground-mounted project, which costs in the region of US$30 million, is said to be Tennessee’s largest solar park when complete.
BYD and Juwi-Gruppe have announced that their 47MW solar project in Germany has officially started its commercial operation after it was successfully connected to the grid.
