IC Sunshine, a division of Axio Power Holdings, has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Hawaiian Electric wherein IC Sunshine will sell the utility electric power from the soon to be constructed 5MW solar farm in Campbell Industrial Park on Oahu. The PPA is awaiting final approval from the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, but sports a 20-year contract price that is fixed with slight annual increases.
Southern California Edison (SCE) has signed a power purchase agreement with First Solar for its 250MW (AC) Silver State South plant. First Solar’s ground-mounted system, which will be located on 2,500 acres of public land near Primm, Nevada, will start generating electricity in 2014 and be fully operational in May 2017.
Yingli Green Energy's Americas unit has signed a new PV module supply agreement with Borrego Solar Systems. Under the terms of the deal, 20MW of Yingli Solar crystalline-silicon modules will be provided to the San Diego-based PV systems installer in 2011. Borrego plans to use the panels for commercial projects across the U.S.
Campbell Soup has signed power purchase and land lease agreements with BNB Napoleon Solar to build a 9.8MW solar power generation system on 60 acres of the company’s largest plant in Napoleon, OH. Campbell will lease the land to BNB, which will own the system and be responsible for its financing, construction, operation, and maintenance.
San Diego Gas & Electric has entered into a 25-year contract with NRG Solar to buy 26MW of solar energy from a proposed facility in San Diego County, CA. The new project, said to be the largest solar PV site that the utility has signed for within its service area, will be located in Borrego Springs.
Building work on the largest privately-held PV system in Florida is close to completion as Sybac Solar adds the final touches to its 2MW array in Gainesville.
A twenty-year veteran in the electric utility and electric equipment manufacturing industry, Dr. Ali Chowdhury, is the new vice president of transmission and interconnection planning for 8minutenergy Renewables. In his new role, Chowdhury will oversee the development and business features necessary to bring solar PV projects to their full realization in a swift period of time.
Utility-scale developer SolarReserve has been awarded its final Certificates of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) from the Arizona Corporation Commission for its 150MW Crossroads Solar Energy Project to be built near Gila Bend. The approval includes the associated transmission line connecting the CSP project to Arizona Public Service’s transmission grid.
HelioPower has started construction of its 516kW (DC) solar power system at the Giumarra Vineyards production and cold storage facility in Bakersfield, California. The system will use over 2,296 PV modules to produce 1GWh of electricity per year.
Founder and President Emeritus of SunPower, Richard Swanson, has been selected as the recipient for the 2011 Karl Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit. The honor comes with a cash award of US$50,000, which is funded by the Karl Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit Trust. The Medal is given every two years to an individual that has made ground-breaking contributions towards the promotion of solar energy through research, development or economic enterprise or to an individual that has proven themselves with valuable and enduring contributions to the solar energy field.
