The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has approved loan facilities worth R9,668.50 billion (US$980 million) earmarked for 13 solar projects in South Africa. Combined, the projects have a total capacity of 762.6MW.
SRU Solar and Berlin-based Parabel have jointly completed a 29MW solar farm between the cities of Eisleben Wimmelburg, bringing back to life a 100ha former metal works site.
The surge in solar activities in Japan is continuing with Tokyo-based Marubeni Corporation announcing plans to create a “mega-solar power business” by building an 81.5MW solar plant in Oita City, Japan.
Housing charity Habitat for Humanity is launching an initiative to provide solar installations for households in Ofunato, a Japanese city that was badly hit by last year’s tsunami.
Bloomberg has reported that JFE Holdings was awarded a contract from Mitsui & Co. and Tokio Marine Asset Management, which will see the company build three solar plants in Japan through subsidiaries. Four of JFE Steel’s units will provide for the Japanese solar plants with a combined 8.3MW capacity.
US solar giant First Solar and Indonesia’s PT. Pembangkitan Jawa Bali Services (PJB Services) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development of 100MW utility-scale PV projects in Indonesia in order to meet the country’s growing energy demand.
ReneSola has shipped 10MW of modules to German-based PV project developer, saferay for a new PV power plant being built in Schwarzheide in Brandenburg, Germany. Saferay is using ReneSola’s 245W and 250W multicrystalline solar modules for the project.
German project developer Conergy and local firm Spercheios S.A. have constructed four PV plants for private Greek investors with a combined capacity of 1.9MW and a total output of 2.8 million kWh of solar power every year.
Through a subsidiary, S.A.G. Solarstrom will be partnering with Valsolar 2006 and Cavalum SGPS to develop and construct four PV plants in Badajoz, Spain (in the region of Extremadura), as part of their newly developed joint venture. The plants will have a total output of around 440MWp with the project holding a total investment volume in the three-digit million range.
