San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has signed a 20-year power-purchase agreement with an LS Power subsidiary to secure up to 130MW of solar energy from the intended Centinela Solar Energy facility in Imperial Valley. The contract runs through 2033, wherein the PV facility will produce enough renewable energy for around 45,000 households. Final approval from the California Public Utilities Commission is still required.
Southern California Edison (SCE) and SunLink announced the signing of a master supply agreement for the use of SunLink’s rooftop solar mounting solution. The SunLink system will be used in the next step of SCE’s solar generation program.
Due to a high demand in the second half of 2010, Solarfun Power Holdings will be expanding its module capacity to 900MW, having already reached its original announced capacity of 700MW. The company also announced that it has purchased a cell line from SMIC to increase its cell capacity to above 500MW by July 1.
P. Energy has supplied an automated PV assembly line with a 5MW per year production capacity to KACST in Saudi Arabia. This new PV line is the first ever installed in the country.
Amtech Systems has released its financial results for its fiscal 2010 second quarter, which ended March 31. Net revenue totalled $16.1 million, a 4% increase from the previous $15.5 million. Solar revenue came in at $10.9 million, compared to $11.9 million sequentially. Operating income was reported as $422, 000 from $128,000 sequentially.
For the duration of a three-year collaborative research project, Suntech Power, Silex Solar and the University of New South Wales will research advanced technology for the enhancement of power conversion efficiencies in crystalline silicon solar cells. AU$5 million was granted to the project from the Australian Solar Institute, making this the largest grant for any grant applicant in the ASI funding call.
Secretary for the US Department of Energy, Steven Chu, announced the selection of thirteen projects, which combined will receive up to $62 million over five years for the research, development and demonstration of concentrating solar power (CSP) systems to provide low-cost electrical power. The projects will focus on improving component and design systems to extend the operation time to an average of 18 hours per day.
Spire has announced its new 6m × 1.3m solar simulator, the 6013, which was developed off of the company’s Single Long Pulse series. The first unit is scheduled to be delivered to SoloPower in San Jose, CA, for use in CIGS modules.
Kyocera announced that it will be supplying 9,000 solar modules for the Matsuyama solar power plant in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The modules will total 1.7MW for the spring 2011 on-line target of the plant. The Matsuyama plant is combining with the existing 2MW installation to become the biggest solar installation in Shikoku, Japan.
Camstar Systems announced that its first quarter license revenue has more than doubled compared to the previous year. The company accounts this increase to a stronger demand and manufacturing sector throughout the world.
