K Road Power has bought the 25MW McHenry solar project in California from SunPower, it has been announced. The project has been designed and is currently being constructed by SunPower in Modesto, California, and it is expected to commence commercial production in September 2012. Modesto Irrigation District (MID) will buy the generated energy under a 25-year PPA.
ESA Renewables, US project developer, has been contracted by Jamaica-based Caribbean Energies Group (CEG) to construct a 24MW PV plant in Jamaica. ESA is responsible for the design and the maintenance of the plant as well as the legal permits and other requirements.
REC has announced that it will supply 20MW PV modules for installations across Bulgaria. The company signed a number of agreements to supply its modules to PV plants.
Conergy has announced that it will install PV projects totalling more than 4MW at a number of schools in Hawaii. All projects are expected to be completed by 2014.
Hailed as one of the largest solar parks in Greece, Schneider Electric has helped complete a 4.99MW solar park at Kourtesi, which was developed by Enel Green Power and constructed by Cantreva. The solar project is expected to produce over 7GWh of electricity per year.
Representatives from SunPower and the Mount Diablo Unified School District in California acknowledged the completion of 40 solar systems installed across district schools and facilities. By the end of the year, the partnership will see a total of 51 solar systems, representing 12.1MW in capacity, installed across district sites, which will reduce the district’s electricity costs by over US$3 million per year.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Angola has revealed its plans to invest in around 130 solar projects. The solar installations will help power schools and health centres as reported by Agencia Angola Press. Energy Minister Joao Baptista Borges noted that solar power equipment suppliers may benefit from tax incentives.
Since 2010, Haiti has been struggling to recover from the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck on January 12. A part of the country’s rehabilitation is the construction of the Mirebalais Hospital, a soon to be finished 320-bed hospital, which is stated to offer a new level of care not previously available at a public facility. The hospital’s roof is being outfitted with 1,800 solar panels.
Northland Power and the Aecon Group have announced a collaboration to construct PV plants generating 60MW of energy. Miwel Construction, a subsidiary of Aecon, is currently building the six PV plants across Ontario, Canada. The projects are located in Smith Falls, Belleville as well as Burke’s Falls and, once completed, each will generate 10MW of energy. The plants are each equipped with more than 40,000 PV modules, on sites of nearly 85 acres.
As Phase 1 of India’s National Solar Mission reaches half way, India stops to take stock of its progress with an independent report conducted by the National Resources Defence Council (NRDC) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEQ). The report has been drawn from extensive discussions with stakeholders and research and analysis of national, state and international programs, with the aim of aiding the government in overcoming obstacles to achieving the Mission’s goal of 20GW by 2022.
