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.
Australian renewable energy firm Epuron has acquired the 1MW Uterne PV plant — which is said to be Australia’s largest tracking solar power plant — from US PV manufacturer SunPower Corporation. The acquisition was financed by Australian financial services company Commonwealth Bank, making it the country’s first major bank to support a solar project of this size.
Sumitomo Corporation of America (SCOA) and its parent company Sumitomo Corporation have invested in the 550MW Desert Sunlight Solar Farm which is currently under construction in the Californian desert in the US. As a result, the companies have acquired a 25% share in the project.
PSEG Solar Source advised that its 25.2MW DC (19MW AC) Queen Creek Solar Farm has reached commercial operation. Located in Queen Creek, Arizona, the solar plant is built on 148 acres of land and uses nearly 90,000 crystalline solar panels, which operate on a single axis tracking system.
Flexopower Energies a South Africa based system integrator is using PV modules from ET Solar and a range of rooftop projects in the country. The projects include both residential and commercial rooftops which are expected to be completed this quarter.
The Export-Import Bank of the US has agreed to provide a 10-year guarantee for a PNC Bank loan worth US$6.4 million. The loan will be used to finance the export of PV modules from SolarWorld Americas, based on the west coast if the US, to Barbados-based Williams Industries-Williams evergreen Ltd.
