Solutia has been awarded a contract to supply its Therminol VP-1 synthetic heat transfer fluid for the US$2 billion Solana solar power plant project, which is being developed by Abengoa. Once complete the Arizona-based plant is expected to be the largest parabolic trough concentrating solar plant in the world, and the first large-scale solar plant in the US capable of storing energy for continued power generation during periods of low light.
Solectria Renewables has been selected by Tecta Solar to supply four Massachusetts rooftop installations with SGI series inverters. As part of the 5.3MW deal, Solectria will provide one SGI 300 (300kW) and 10 SGI 500 (500kW) inverters.
Satcon has been selected by Solon to supply 12 of its 1.25MW Prism Platforms for Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) 15MW ground mount installation near Fresno, CA. Each Prism Platform will be configured to include Satcon Equinox inverters, which deliver 98.5% efficiency combined with the industry’s widest thermal operating range.
Constellation Energy has announced its partnership with Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E) for the production of a 4.5MW solar installation in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The installation is stated as being the largest in western Massachusetts is expected to begin commercial operation this summer. Using 18,400 SolarWorld PV ground-mounted panels at two locations, the power system will generate 5.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has signed contracts with subsidiaries of Soitec Solar Development to build three solar projects in San Diego County with a combined capacity of 30MW. All three systems will use Soitec Concentrix technology and are currently awaiting approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.
In future weeks, SunPower will almost certainly be marking April 12 as not only an eventful day, but a successful one as well. Not only did the company celebrate the opening of its Milpitas module manufacturing plant, but also announced that the US Department of Energy (DOE) has offered the company a conditional loan guarantee for its California Valley Solar Ranch power plant.
Clean Energy Pathways and Green Mountain Properties have signed a joint venture agreement that will see the companies collaborate on a 4MW, US$28 million, solar PV plant in Green Mountain, North Carolina. Green Mountain will supply the 40 acres of land where the facility will be built, while Clean Energy acts as lead developer.
Wacker Chemie's long-planned construction of a 15,000MT per annum polysilicon plant in Cleveland, Tennessee, has officially broken ground. The project is said to cost around US$1.5 billion and will create some 650 new jobs when the plant become operational in late 2013. With other planned capacity expansions in Germany, Wacker reiterated that it expects to reach an annual polysilicon capacity of 67,000MT in 2014.
United Solar and Advanced Green Technologies (AGT) have finished work on a new 807kW system spanning six school rooftops in New York’s South Country School District. Each school will generate around 158,000 kWh of electricity per annum and save over US$25,000 in the process.
Standard Solar is calling its new 753kW carport PV system at Maryland’s Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) the largest PV system of its kind in Maryland and one of the biggest PV carport systems on the East Coast. Using a Protek Park PV canopy system, the solar installation will be built on top of the community college’s parking structure. Suniva will provide over 3,100 solar panels for the project, which is anticipated to generate around one million kilowatt hours of electricity in its first operational year.
