Norwegian-based Scatec Solar and IFC InfraVentures have entered an agreement to develop a number of PV plants in West and Central Africa, the companies have announced. IFC will be financing the projects while Scatec will be responsible for designing, developing, constructing and operating PV plants with a capacity of 10MW or more in different African countries. Among the first countries in which Scatec and IFC are planning to develop solar power plants are Benin, Cameroon, Togo, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Arxikon, the Greece-based project developer, has requested a shipment of 7.5MW of Solon’s PV modules for installation in various solar projects in the northern Greek cities of Kavala, Xanthi, Kastoria and Drama. The order will see around 30,000 of Solon’s Black 220/16 and 230/07 modules supplied for the projects that are scheduled for grid connection in July and August.
A specialized AC cable harness has been jointly developed and designed by ArrayPower and Phoenix Contact using ArrayPower’s Sequenced Inverter technology. Silicon Valley-based electronics company ArrayPower’s sequenced inverter is paired with a solar module to convert the DC power produced by solar cells into grid-ready, three-phase AC power.
Pakistan’s slow economic growth and energy shortage could be coming to an end if proposals from Suntech to establish 100MW in the country are realized. Speaking at a meeting of ministerial officials, Dr Shi Zhengrong, chairman of Suntech, announced plans for the phased installation of plants with a generating capacity of 20MW each.
Having increased the allocation of solar projects to 350MW by 2016, in February this year, Karnataka Renewable Energy Development (KREDL) is in the process of seeking government approval for a solar park, following in the footsteps of states like Gujarat. KREDL wishes to build the 1,000 hectare solar park at Mannur village in Bijapur, India, through a public-private partnership (PPP) model. According to the chairman of KREDL, C.M. Nimbannavar, the site is expected to generate 500MW of solar power.
CNPV Solar Power executives were on hand, May 2, at Enel Green Power’s inauguration ceremony for its solar geothermal hybrid project in Stillwater, Nevada. CNPV supplied its PV modules for the project, which has 33MW of geothermal capacity and 26MW of solar capacity. Initiated and owned by Enel Green Power, the project is said to be the world’s first and only geothermal hybrid project.
Bisol’s latest generation of EasyMount high density polyethylene (HDPE) mounting systems will be launched at Intersolar Europe next week. This second generation of mounting systems are said to be lighter than their predecessor; made specifically for Bisol’s module range, the mounting systems are claimed to allow more efficient cooling of the PV modules they support.
Episolar’s subsidiary, Siginik Energy, advised that it had signed a definitive PPA with the Electricity Company of Ghana for the construction of a 50MW ground-mounted tracking solar installation. The energy produced by the project will be bought by ECG for 25 years. The companies advised that this would be the largest solar installation in West Africa and one of the largest on the continent.
Solaria Energia y Medio Ambiente revealed its plans to build a 60MW solar plant in Calera y Chozas, located in the province of Toledo, Spain. The plant will not have the support of a FiT and plans to deliver its electric output to the local grid, ensuring that it will compete with traditional energy sources.
Tucson Electric Power (TEP) was awarded the 2012 Investor Owned Utility (IOU) of the Year by the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) this week for its leadership and investment in solar energy. TEP has over 45MW of solar generating capacity and expects to have more than 240MW of solar generating capacity by the end of 2014.
