International Power Canada’s (IPC) 10MW Brockville Solar project has begun construction in Leeds County, Ontario. The project site has been cleared and final engineering has commenced. The company expects for civil works to continue through the summer in order to construct the racks for the modules.
In 2011, California became the first US state to install more than 1GW of customer-generated solar energy, according to figures published by the California Public Utilities Commission. The report, California Solar Initiative (CSI) also demonstrates that 311MW were installed in the investor-owned utility territories last year. The CSI program has received a budget of US$2.4 billion and is aiming to reach 1,940MW of solar capacity by the end of 2016.
Inverter supplier Santerno has been awarded a supply contract worth 155MW for its skid inverter stations to be installed in an Imperial Valley, California solar plant. The company is yet to disclose further details on the project.
Ontario’s Thunder Bay Airport Solar Park has been chosen as a finalist in Intersolar North America’s 2012 Solar Project Award competition. The project, owned and developed by SkyPower and EPC-contracted to Canadian Solar was hand-selected by an expert panel as one of entries under the “Solar Projects North America” category.
Continuing market constraints and unattainable cost bases have conspired to force Schott Solar’s management to withdraw from c-Si PV manufacturing completely. Although the company’s thin-film and CSP activities are unaffected by this news, this exit from the c-Si sector will affect around 870 employees as well as its Mainz and Alzenau plants in Germany, Valasske Mezirici in the Czech Republic and Albuquerque in New Mexico.
It appears that the next victim of this most ruthless of competitions – the solar shakeout – is CdTe thin-film manufacturer Abound Solar. Another controversial recipient of a DOE loan guarantee, the company will be closing its doors next week, a claim that has been confirmed on the DOE's website today. According to a GTM Research report, the company will finally cave to cost pressure from CdTe leader First Solar and the general plummeting product costs across the PV manufacturing board.
New Jersey has passed a law that requires companies to purchase more solar energy, it has been announced. According to the bill, companies have to obtain 2.05% of their total energy from solar in the energy year (EY) 2014 under the new renewable portfolio standard. After that, the amount of solar energy required will be raised every year to 4.10% by 2028.
Cupertino Electric advised that its San Jose, California, headquarters will soon sport a solar technology evaluation laboratory featuring 18 technologies installed in a construction site-type of environment. The lab will generate data on performance, price, installation technique, longevity and quality.
Chinese PV company Sky Solar is planning to invest in a 300MW PV project in Chile, according to a report by Reuters. Sky Solar, in collaboration with Chilean Sigdo Koppers and the Chinese Development Bank, has announced the signing of an agreement on Tuesday, under which Sky Solar is looking to invest US$900 million to construct the 300MW solar power park over three years.
Expansion of Brazil’s Tauá project is underway thanks to a continued partnership between MPX, E.ON and GE Energy. GE will supply all the equipment and PV technology systems for the plant’s expansion, including the delivery of more than 8,000 solar panels. Upon completion, Tauá will have nearly 13,000 solar panels helping to produce energy.
