According to a report by PV Magazine, Azure Power has advised that it has commissioned its third solar plant in just under two years. Located in Rajasthan, the latest 5MW plant will be found in Kathauti village and is said to be the first 5MW plant under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).
EnterSolar advised that the installation of an 877kW rooftop PV system at Chelten House Products’ Bridgeport, New Jersey, facility had been completed. The system uses over 3,650 solar panels and is set to produce over 1,000,000kWh of electricity per year. Over the next 25-years the PV project is expected to generate 26 million kWh of electricity, which is said to be enough to power over 125 homes.
First Solar recently held its inaugural annual Supplier Recognition Day, which was said to have been attended by approximately 60 companies that were considered critical suppliers to the company. At the event, encapsulant supplier, STR Holdings, was recognised as one of three suppliers, with the NOVA award, designed to recognise premier suppliers that significantly support its mission.
Israel’s Public Utility Authority has awarded licences to build two solar thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 180MW. The larger of the plants has a capacity of 120MW and is being installed by Israel’s largest construction firm, Shikun & Binui. The contract for the smaller, 60MW station was handed out to a subsidiary of US investment company Two Sigma.
PDI Global will provide an electric energy storage system to a social housing project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With the intention to supply at least 300,000 homes with solar power, a contract with Korea-based Leo Motors has been concluded. Leo Motors will supply 20,000 units of e-Box to the project.
Adani Group has commissioned a new large-scale PV project in the Kutch district of Gujarat. With a capacity of 40MW, it is India’s largest solar installation to date and Adani is planning to ramp it up to 100MW in the future.
According to a new report by Pike Research, “Remote Microgrids”, the worldwide market for remote microgrids over the next six years will expand from 349MW of generation capacity to over 1.1GW by 2017. The catalyst behind the increase will be the integration of solar PV, which Pike advised would help reduce diesel fuel consumption.
Lux Research’s latest Solar Demand Forecaster claims Portugal’s installations cap to be the most alluring in Europe to investors. The country’s internal rates of returns (IRR) for the six major solar technologies remain high in 2011 along with Cyprus and Greece, though the financial crisis in Europe could significantly hinder that market.
PV inverter supplier, Satcon Technology is realigning its business operations and significantly cutting operating expenses to reach breakeven mid-year. Europe and Canada business efforts are being scaled back, which includes the closure of its manufacturing facility in Ontario, Canada and an overall headcount reduction of 140 worldwide, or approximately 35%. Satcon will also stop production of its Solstice product line.
SAG Solarstrom has sold its 48MW Serenissima PV plant in Northern Italy to an unnamed institutional investor. The purchase contract, valued “in line with the market rate in the triple-digit million-euro range”, was signed on December 31, 2011 and is subject to the usual conditions precedent. Payment will be made to SAG Solarstrom sometime in Q1.
