Serbia will soon become the latest member of Europe’s burgeoning PV industry after state utility EPS began construction of the country’s first solar power plant. The 5MW system, located in the western Zlatibor region, is the first of 50 renewable ventures planned by EPS as it attempts to revamp the Balkan country’s energy network.
First Solar’s AV Solar Ranch One project has come up against some last-minute concerns voiced by local residents, according to a report on Greentech Media. Plans to begin construction of the Antelope Valley, CA, solar plant in early July could be pushed back if townspeople of nearby Fairmont file an injunction to delay the effort.
IKEA has connected the 573kW solar array at its West Sacramento store to the Californian electricity grid. The 65,000-square foot rooftop array was installed by Gloria Solar and it will generate nearly 800,000 kWh of electricity a year.
Deutsche Bank’s 7.56MW solar park in the southeast Italian commune of Torre Santa Susanna has been officially opened. Torre Santa Susanna is one of the largest tracking solar systems in Europe and is powered by 32,202 Sanyo’s HIT solar modules fitted on Ideematec safetrack technology.
The 6.7MW solar installation at the US General Services Administration (GSA) Denver Federal Center (DFC) is almost complete with all solar installations on the GSA DFC campus anticipated to be online by the end of the year. The latest solar installation has been combined with DFC’s 1.2MW solar park, which was installed in 2007. GSA secured added funding in 2009 to construct the 6.7MW solar installation that is currently being completed.
Solar Frontier has won a contract with juwi solar to provide 3.8MW of its thin-film solar modules for a solar project in the northeast US. The solar installation is set to be completed by the end of the year and will be operated by a regulated northeast utility. Solar Frontier’s new Kunitomi plant in Miyazaki, Japan will manufacture the CIS modules for the solar project.
Independent Energy Solutions (IES) has installed a 936kW solar carport at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in southern California. The utility scale system, located at Pendleton's new Bachelor Enlisted Quarters, can generate around 1.3 million kWh of electricity annually.
Solar-Konzept has started building work on its 28MW solar park in Giebelstadt, Germany. The project, located on the site of a former NATO airport, will be equipped with 120,000 REC modules, making it one of the largest in the whole of Bavaria.
Construction on the world’s largest solar thermal power plant was officially begun at a groundbreaking ceremony held on Friday June 17th. Attending the ceremony for the Blythe solar power plant facility was US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, California’s Governor Jerry Brown and Joseph DeConinck, Blythe’s mayor, as well as representatives of the Solar Trust of America and Solar Millennium.
Etrion and Phoenix Solar are joining forces to build a 2.6MW PV system in Nettuno, Italy. The plant is scheduled to be completed by the end of August and consequently will not be affected by the changes introduced under the recently-passed Conto Energia IV bill.
