MidAmerican and First Solar have announced the beginning of major construction work on the site of the 550MW Topaz Solar Farm in San Luis Obispo County, California. Both companies congregated about the construction schedule as well as environmental issues and future plans to involve communities and private landowners in the project.
K Road Power has bought the 25MW McHenry solar project in California from SunPower, it has been announced. The project has been designed and is currently being constructed by SunPower in Modesto, California, and it is expected to commence commercial production in September 2012. Modesto Irrigation District (MID) will buy the generated energy under a 25-year PPA.
ESA Renewables, US project developer, has been contracted by Jamaica-based Caribbean Energies Group (CEG) to construct a 24MW PV plant in Jamaica. ESA is responsible for the design and the maintenance of the plant as well as the legal permits and other requirements.
Declining prices whether on the spot market or long-term supply agreements are making business conditions very tough for polysilicon producers, regardless of their market size or purity of the material they produce. According to the latest financial results of Dow Corning, its JV subsidiary, Hemlock Semiconductor expects overcapacity in the sector to continue throughout 2012.
US President Barack Obama has said that the US plans to strengthen its cooperation on energy issues with Japan. Obama made the comments at the White House earlier this week after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
ReneSola has announced that its chief strategy officer, Charles Bai, has left the company as his contract comes to an end. The departure is effective May 1, 2012.
Representatives from SunPower and the Mount Diablo Unified School District in California acknowledged the completion of 40 solar systems installed across district schools and facilities. By the end of the year, the partnership will see a total of 51 solar systems, representing 12.1MW in capacity, installed across district sites, which will reduce the district’s electricity costs by over US$3 million per year.
Talesun Solar USA, a subsidiary of Chinese solar cell and module producer Zhongli-Talesun Solar will partner with US green-tech integrator VRDT Corp (Verdant) to develop and integrate PV management and energy storage systems. The two companies will also work together on other new projects that as yet remain unnamed.
Since 2010, Haiti has been struggling to recover from the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck on January 12. A part of the country’s rehabilitation is the construction of the Mirebalais Hospital, a soon to be finished 320-bed hospital, which is stated to offer a new level of care not previously available at a public facility. The hospital’s roof is being outfitted with 1,800 solar panels.
Following reports on First Solar shutting down production in Germany, it has contracted German PV services provider Adler Solar to take over responsibility for European warranties.
