Plans are in the works to develop and build a 20MW solar PV power plant on property surrounding the Maryland Correctional Institution outside of Hagerstown. The project would be the largest commercial solar facility in the state.
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has signed two more 25-year power purchase agreements (PPA) with Soitec Solar Development, which, this time around, will total 125MW of solar energy produced in SDG&E’s service area. Just last month, the utility signed contracts with Soitec subsidiaries for three solar projects in the San Diego area that amounted to 30MW of solar PV energy. SDG&E stressed that the three previous contracts were separate contracts from those announced today.
The Qwest Field Event Center, home of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, is currently undergoing a “green transformation” with the installation of a rooftop solar PV system. Considered the largest rooftop solar array in Washington to date, the Qwest Field installation will have 3,750 CIGS solar panels manufactured by Solyndra producing over 830,000kWh of solar electricity per year and offset 21% of the Event Center’s annual utility costs.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has pledged US$25 million towards the US-India Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC) over the next five years. The R&D center is part of US President Obama and India Prime Minister Singh’s Partnership to Advance Clean Energy initiative that was revealed in November 2010.
The world’s largest producer of solar panels, Suntech Power, has increased the annual capacity of its new manufacturing facility in Goodyear, Arizona to 50MW. This is the second expansion of the site since it was opened in October 2010 and its new 24/7 operating hours will help raise monthly output to 15,000 panels.
eIQ Energy’s has agreed to supply its Parallel Solar technology for a new 1.2MW solar installation at Granite Construction’s aggregate and hot mix facility in Coalinga, California. Building work on the project began earlier this month and grid connection is expected to be achieved later on this summer.
Constellation Energy will build, own and maintain a 5.38MW rooftop solar installation at Toys R Us’s distribution centre in Flanders, New Jersey. The system, said to be the largest of its kind in the US, will be connected to the grid this summer and all the electricity generated will be purchased by the toy store under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is home to a new 1.56MW parking lot canopy solar system, which uses 6,400 solar panels from SolarWorld. The fifteen solar arrays cover 800 of the 1,000 parking spaces in the zoo’s primary parking lot and are expected to deliver 20% of the zoo’s power needs. The four-acre solar installation was developed, engineered and installed by Melink.
The Solar Trust of America has formed a joint venture with SolarHybrid as it looks to establish itself in the solar industry. The new company, SolarHybrid of America, has already signed a letter of intent to establish a range of utility-scale projects in North America. This portfolio will include stand-alone systems, as well as projects incorporating concentrated solar power (CSP).
Applied Energy Technologies (AET) is further developing its solar-mounting solutions production with the opening of its new 43,100 square foot manufacturing and warehouse facility in Maumee, Ohio. The new facility includes a 41,600 square foot manufacturing and warehouse space, along with 1,500 square feet of office space and triples AET’s US production capacity.
