Siemens Energy has connected the 31MW Les Mées solar farm in southern France to the grid. The farm, which is owned by Eco Delta Développement (EDD) and comprised of six separate turnkey systems with 112,000 modules, is one of the largest PV installations in the country.
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has been increasingly active in announcing planned PV projects as part of its utility-owned generation (UOG) program. In July this year, PG&E chose the three project developers charged with installing its 50MW Californian solar portfolio, which included; Recurrent Energy, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and Westlands Solar Farms; that would be built in Kings County (20MW), Kern County (12MW) and Fresno County (18MW) respectively.
Cupertino Electric has been chosen by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to design and build the 20MW Huron, California PV project. Engineering for the utility’s solar PV project has begun and construction is dually underway with the project expected to be completed and inter-connected by mid-2012.
Three schools in Arizona's Buckeye Union high school district are to be the recipients of a PV installation. REgeneration Finance, LLC, an experienced solar finance and development firm, has arranged the financing for an estimated 4.29MWp (DC) solar project.
Camp Perry Ohio National Guard Base in Port Clinton, Ohio is home to 2,750 of Nanosolar’s utility panels, which are helping to power the recently completed 538kW solar installation. Ramanoff Electric managed the engineering, procurement and construction of the project.
KDC Solar has joined forces with SunDurance Energy and the County of Middlesex, New Jersey to build a 6.7MW solar array. The ground-mounted system will generate 8.45 million kWh of solar electricity a year, catering for all of the energy requirements of the Middlesex Apple Orchard Complex in North Brunswick where it is being built.
Renewvia Energy advised that it had commissioned its 1.26MW solar system at the Northport Industrial Centre in New Jersey. Working with Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) and two of Renewvia’s partners, , the solar project has brought PSE&G’s Solar Loan program over the US$100 million mark for solar financing in New Jersey.
Martifer Solar has signed a contract to install a 22MW PV project in Portugal. The system, which will be the largest in Portugal when completed next year, is being commissioned by an unnamed client of BNP Paribas Clean Energy Partners.
Although better known as one of the world's largest suppliers of oil, Saudi Arabia continues to join the solar age with the inauguration of one of its first larger-scale photovoltaic power plants on October 1. The facility, a 500KW system comprised of Solar Frontier CI(G)S thin-film modules, is located on Farasan Island and was installed by the Saudi Electricity Co. and Solar Frontier's parent company, Showa Shell Sekiyu (which is partially owned by the Saudi Arabian Oil Co.).
Although the financial costs remain unknown, an agreement has been reached over conservation issues arising from the 550MW Topaz Solar Farm project that First Solar is developing in San Luis Obispo County, California. A lawsuit against the project started by North County Watch and Carrizo Commons is expected to be dropped.
