ForVEI investment company revealed that it had bought two solar PV facilities developed by the OPDE Group amounting to a total of 7.93MW. The €33 million (US$45 million) project was financed by Intesa Sanpaolo with the power plants located in the Italian Piedmont region. Both solar farms are fully operational with the 6.19MW Tortona project and the 1.74MW Predosa installation utilizing Trina Solar and Canadian Solar modules, SMA inverters and Mecasolar single-axis solar trackers.
Abengoa has begun ramping up its 280MW CSP Mojave Solar Project after the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) approved its power purchase agreement (PPA) with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E).
Rapidly declining prices for wafers and modules due to overcapacity and weak demand have significantly impacted expected third-quarter results at LDK Solar. The integrated PV manufacturer warned that it expected to write down US$45 to US$50 million of inventories and expected to report negative gross margin between 3.5% and 5.0%. The company lowered revenue guidance to be in the range of US$460–$470 million, down from previous guidance of US$630–$680 million.
Thin film PV company Nanosolar said it has supplied close to 6MW of its CIGS utility panels for two installations in France and Oregon, as part of its partnership with EDF Energies Nouvelles and its US subsidiary, enXco.
Solarbuzz’s new European PV Markets Quarterly predicts that 2011’s fourth quarter will see a quarter-over-quarter rise of 22% in the EU PV market, but 2012 will still be a tough year to navigate. Solarbuzz noted that downstream companies would need to be able to manage a new pricing environment in the midst of flailing incentives and grid parity economics.
The California Public Utilities Commission has approved five power purchase agreements between Soitec Solar Development and San Diego Gas and Electric. Individual project sizes have not yet been disclosed, although the combined total of the PPAs is 155MW.
The US Government-sponsored banks that have helped fund the takeoff of India’s fledgling solar industry may soon move to withdraw their support, according to an official at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
PVA TePla, a manufacturer of crystallization systems for semiconductor and solar silicon as well as vacuum and high-temperature systems, generated sales revenues of €77.3 million in the first nine months of 2011 (previous year: €95.0 million). With a margin of 9.8% (previous year: 10.3%), operating profit (EBIT) totalled €7.6 million (previous year: €9.7 million).
Concern is growing amongst the 800 employees of silicon wafer manufacturer Silico Solar which will be closing the 300MW facility in Puertollano at the end of this month until at least February 2012. Silico has blamed this on the adverse PV market conditions.
Astronergy, a subsidiary of Chint Group, has finished work on a 20MW PV system in Golmud, China. The installation, which is one of the largest in China, takes Astronergy’s portfolio in the country to 60MW.
