Projects

The up-and-coming solar market of India has received a boost with the news that the US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) has agreed to fund a 2MW solar PV project in Gujarat. CIGS module manufacturer MiaSolé will supply the project, being developed by Universal Solar Systems, with modules for the park, which will bring India’s National Solar Mission (NSM) a step closer to its aim of establishing 20GW of grid-connected solar capacity by 2022.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have issued Rockford Solar Partners, a joint venture between Wanxiang American and New Generation Power, the FONSI, “Finding of No Significant Impact” for the proposed 20MW solar farm at the Rockford Airport. The project will be able to utilize 70 acres of land at the Chicago-Rockford International Airport for what is being called the largest commercial airport-based solar project in the US.

Enel Green Power advised that its 5MW solar plant in Barrafranca, in the province of Enna, Italy, has been completed, bringing its total installed capacity to nearly 77MW worldwide. The Sicilian PV plant uses over 20, 000 solar panels to generate 7.2 million kWh of electricity every year.

Chevron Energy Solutions has completed the installation of a 1.15MW PV system at Dinuba’s wastewater treatment plant. The ground-mounted array, which sits atop a capped landfill adjacent to the plant, is made up of 4,704 modules and is expected to help cut the city’s electrical utility consumption by 70%.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s high-desert Adelanto Switching and Converter Station has started to take shape. Located on a 42-acre site, about 65 miles north of Los Angeles, construction on the project began in February this year, after the Board of Water and Power Commissioners granted final approval for the project in December 2010.

National Solar Power and Hardee County, Florida have advised that with the signing of a developer agreement, National Solar Power plans to build a 200MW solar farm in the county. The project is said to have a US$700 million price tag and will be the company’s second solar farm. While the Hardee County Commission recently approved the agreement, the local and state permitting process is still pending.

Gemma Renewable Power (GRP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gemma Power Systems, which is a subsidiary of Argan, advised that it had executed a US$16.6 million EPC contract with Southern Sky Renewable Energy Canton for the design and construction of a 5.7MW solar project. The installation, which will be built on a closed capped landfill in Canton, Massachusetts, will feature 19,800 PV panels across 12.5 acres. GRP has already received a full release to start construction and engineering activities and aims to have the projected completed by the summer of 2012.

Photon Energy is stepping up its efforts to break into the expanding Eastern European solar market by building Poland’s largest rooftop array. The 311kW system will be installed on a building owned by water utility Górno?l?skie Przedsi?biorstwo Wodoci?gów (GPW) in the city of in Ruda Slaska and is due to go live in mid-2012.

Tentative rumours about technology company Apple’s investment in solar power have been partially confirmed. The Guardian said today that a spokeswoman for Apple would only verify that the company was preparing the ground next to its data centre in California, but not whether it has any intention to leave coal behind and turn to solar power.

Mage Solar has supplied Deichmann Logistics Centre in Soltau, Germany, a 605kWp PV system. Over 2,600 polycrystalline Mage powertec plus modules will cover 11,600 square metres of a flat roof area.