David Goldman and Jay Meridew have joined Solon as executives in the company’s finance division. Goldman has been appointed the new vice president of project finance and strategic planning and will manage all financing for Solon’s commercial and utility-scale solar projects. Meridew will oversee accounting and information technology practices in his role as vice president of finance.
Sempra Generation has officially opened its 48MW Copper Mountain Solar project in Boulder City, Nevada. The company also announced its recently-approved plans to expand the plant by 200MW.
After last week closing seven nuclear plants for at least three months the German Government is now said to be discussing plans to raise the size of its renewable energy fund from €300 million to €1 billion. Amid fears of radiation leaks following Japan's nuclear crisis Chancellor Angela Merkel has ordered safety checks on the country’s plants constructed before 1980.
Malaysian conglomerate Scientex and Japanese materials supplier Mitsui Chemicals Tohcello (MCTI) have signed a joint-venture agreement to manufacture and distribute ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulating materials for PV modules and other applications. A new company will be formed, MCTI Scientex Solar, in which each party holds a 50% equity interest.
SunPower and Xcel Energy have completed and commissioned the 19MW Greater Sandhill solar power plant in Colorado’s Alamosa County. Utilizing SunPower’s Tracker system, the PV power plant began to produce electricity at the end of December 2010.
Monocrystalline solar wafer manufacturer Comtec Solar System Group has finalized and released their financial results for the 2010, posting record revenue and wafer shipment totals for the year. The company cites high demand and a better pricing environment led to their improved financial results. Revenue for 2010 was US$155.15 million (RMB1.02 billion), compared to 2009’s US$77.08 million (RMB506.8 million). Comtec’s total shipments, including sales and processing services, were 175.3MW in 2010, representing a year-long sales volume of 165.5MW – the company’s highest shipments in its history.
Logistics giant DHL has joined forces with Lumeta and Daniel’s Electric to fit a new 88kW building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system on a Californian high school. The 220 Lumeta PowerPly modules were installed over three days on the 35,000-square-foot roof of a recently-built classroom at Banning High School.
Eaga has signed a £300-million equity and debt financing agreement to help it install solar panels on more than 30,000 homes across the U.K., reports Solar Power Portal.
Lodi Unified School District and Cupertino Electric’s alternative energy division have begun building a 2MW PV system in Lodi, California. Cupertino Electric has designed the system, which is comprised of four smaller systems mounted on car park canopies across the district.
PV demand exceeded many analysts' expectations last year but could also cause slower-than-expected growth over the next few years, should figures released from market research firm Solarbuzz prove accurate. Solarbuzz said that global PV market installations reached a new record of 18.2GW in 2010, a massive 139% increase over 2009. The PV industry generated US$82 billion in global revenues in 2010, up 105% year-on-year, from US$40 billion in 2009.
