A new survey by the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) has ranked Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) as the US’s top electric utility in the amount of solar power added to its system in 2011. PG&E is first in the Annual Solar Megawatts category of the more than 240 utilities that participated in SEPA's 2011 Utility Solar Rankings survey.
Nicaragua’s Ministry of Energy and Mines has started construction on a 1.38MW project in the west of the country. The solar farm, located 12km from the city of Diriamba, will be partly funded by the Japanese, with an investment of US$12 million. According to Nicaraguan newspaper El Nuavo Diario, the PV installation will become the largest in Central America.
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Edison need to explain their methods in calculating the quantity of net-metered energy to the grid, the Californian Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has announced.
Subsequent to the announcement last week of Los Angeles’ approval of a feed-in tariff, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has signed an ordinance authorizing the city’s Department of Water and Power to now establish a pilot program. Approval of the program by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners has been scheduled for April 17.
Despite our reports in March and earlier this month, the Brazilian Secretary of Energy Planning and Development of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Altino Ventura Filho, has announced that solar energy will not form part of auctions in order to augment generation of solar power.
Following the retirement of José Villarreal, a member of the board since 2007, First Solar has taken the opportunity to expand its board membership from nine to 11 members. The company has nominated George “Chip” Hambro, former First Solar COO, and Richard “Rick” Chapman, CFO of Walton Enterprises, Inc., to stand for election at its annual stockholder meeting on May 23, the latter as an independent director.
One of the largest installations in the Southeast US has been completed using US-based Suniva modules. The 5MW solar power plant located in Haywood County, Tennessee was Designed and built by Signal Energy, and managed by the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF).
Isofoton advised that it has signed a joint development agreement with Korea’s Posco Plant Engineering for the international development of solar projects. The EPC company and solar module company noted that the projects will mainly be focused in the US, a locale in which Isofoton plans to install a 100MW solar plant later this year. Isofoton acknowledged that this partnership was a way to help broaden its international presence.
Six Wal-Mart stores in Colorado are sporting new solar installations thanks in part to SolarCity. The company installed 2MWon three stores in Westminster and 1MW at stores in Lakewood, Highlands Ranch and Lafayette. The projects all contribute to Colorado’s goal to generate 30% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
PV inverter manufacturer, Satcon Technology has said that new orders have increased 130% in the first quarter of 2012 compared to previous quarter, reaching a bookings value of approximately US$45 million. The company said the quarter had been the most successful bookings period in four quarters, with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.9:1.
