MEMC Electronic Materials advised that during Q2 2012, it had completed sales contracts for four solar projects in Europe totalling 98MW. The company completed solar projects worth 60MW in Bulgaria and 38MW in Italy.
A car carrier equipped with Panasonic’s hybrid power supply system has been finished, the company has announced. Panasonic supplied the Emerald Ace with a 160kW PV system as well as lithium-ion batteries. The system is primarily used to power the ship while it is at anchor so the diesel generator can be turned off.
DuPont Apollo has delivered its PV modules for a 5MW solar plant in Gujarat owned by Yantra eSolar India. The solar plant, located on 35 acres of land in Village Charankha, Santalpur Taluk, Patan District, is slated to be connected to the grid before the end of August. Upon completion and commissioning, the solar plant is estimates to be able to generate 8 million kWh of electricity per year.
Chinese PV company Sky Solar is planning to invest in a 300MW PV project in Chile, according to a report by Reuters. Sky Solar, in collaboration with Chilean Sigdo Koppers and the Chinese Development Bank, has announced the signing of an agreement on Tuesday, under which Sky Solar is looking to invest US$900 million to construct the 300MW solar power park over three years.
According to a report from Solarplaza, Adenium Solar Energy has bought a portion of a 29MW portfolio of grid-connected, operational solar plants in Italy. The transaction is valued at €125 million with the assets to be managed by Adenium and Foresight. The companies expect for their joint venture to increase the portfolio within the next 12 months to a total of 100MW.
Expansion of Brazil’s Tauá project is underway thanks to a continued partnership between MPX, E.ON and GE Energy. GE will supply all the equipment and PV technology systems for the plant’s expansion, including the delivery of more than 8,000 solar panels. Upon completion, Tauá will have nearly 13,000 solar panels helping to produce energy.
The US’s largest solar and wind project developer, NextEra, has placed the successful bid to purchase the unbuilt 1GW Blythe solar project in Riverside County, California. The plant is another of the projects – both built and unbuilt – being auctioned off from the assets of bankrupt Solar Trust of America. The agreed price of the project was not revealed.
First Solar has reached an agreement regarding the DoE loan funded AV Solar Ranch One in Antelope Valley, the company has announced. The company has resumed the installation of its PV modules at the PV plant after being forced to cease construction in order to deal with module code certification issues. First Solar and the Los Angeles Country Department of Public Works have now reached an agreement about the PV module installation and First Solar is able to continue constructing the 230MW project. Construction of the PV plant began in August 2011 and the project is expected to be completed in 2013.
Solar thermal project developer BrightSource Energy has placed the top bid for Palen, a 500MW solar thermal plant, at a Delaware auction of property of Solar Trust of America, which went bankrupt in April this year. The as-yet unbuilt solar thermal plant is said to have been bought by BrightSource for an unconfirmed amount of up to US$30 million.
Canadian solar power producer Etrion has opened an office in Santiago, Chile, the company has announced. The company is trying to break into the Chilean market and is currently in negotiations for a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the construction of a 5MW PV project in Chile. Etrion is expecting to sign more PPAs for possible PV projects throughout the year.
