GE Energy Financial Services announced that over the past year, the company has more than doubled its global solar power investment commitments to US$1.4 billion, leading to nearly US$ 5 billion in projects. The company notes that its 1GW portfolio spans 48 solar power plants in six countries, including Australia, Canada, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the US.
The US Commerce Department has yet again postponed a ruling on tariffs to be imposed on imported PV modules from China. An announcement was expected today, after a previous postponement due to the complexity of the case. The new proposed date for tariff details is expected on March 19, 2012.
Ongoing overcapacity and capital spending constraints within the PV industry continued to impact revenue at BTU International. The equipment supplier reported fourth quarter net sales of US$14.9 million, down 11.8% compared to US$16.9 million in the prior quarter. Net loss for the fourth quarter was US$2.3 million. BTU also posted net sales for 2011 of US$76.1 million, down 6.7% compared to US$81.6 million for the year 2010. Net loss for 2011 was US$2.7 million.
MetLife and Longsol Holdings US advised that they had mutually bought SunEdison’s 30MW Webberville, Texas solar project, for an undisclosed amount, in December 2011. The project was activated in December 2011 and is said to be the largest active solar plant in Texas. Constructed by RES Americas, who will also operate and maintain the project for the next five years, the solar farm is anticipated to produce over 1.4 billion kWh of electricity over 25 years.
In order to better serve customers in the North American region, JinkoSolar Holding’s has opened a new office in Ontario, Canada. Furthermore, to satisfy Canada’s local content manufacturing requirement, the company has paired up with local manufacturer Heliene. Heliene will produce Jinko modules in Ontario helping it meet the “Made in Ontario” requirements.
The completion of the 3.4MW solar installation on Edwards Air Force Base in California, US, marks Borrego Solar’s first military installation. It was financed through a 10-year PPA.
The University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) new 200kW solar system is sporting seven of Ideal Power Converters (IPC) 30kW PV inverters. Each inverter weighs only 94 pounds, compared to traditional inverters, which can weigh nearly 1,200 pounds. IPC’s inverter delivers 480V AC 3-phase power and supports grounded solar arrays without an internal or external transformer.
Intertek’s Lake Forest, California laboratory has been designated as a certified body testing laboratory for IEC 62108 with the company receiving accreditation by the IECEE to issue IEC Certification Body (CB) reports for CPV modules to IEC the standard. The certification enables Intertek to provide CPV manufacturers with a CB certification and test reports, which, it notes, can be used to obtain global certifications with IECEE member countries and participating certification bodies on top of receiving North American certification.
Market research firms Boston Consulting and Pike Research, have estimated a growth of more than US$10 billion over the next five years for the stationary energy storage market. An increased use of advanced battery technologies and new smart-grid technologies to enable the wide-scale use of wind and solar energy has could lead to as much as a 30% increase.
The Bankruptcy Court overseeing Solyndra's insolvency has assigned Jones Lang LaSalle to undertake the sale of its manufacturing plant in Fremont, California. The 450,000-square-foot manufacturing facility was said to be designed to exceed California seismic standards and can be operating immediately following a seismic event, though not at the levels created by the current solar industry shakeout.
