Already incorrectly type-cast by the mainstream media as the illegitimate love child of failed copper indium gallium di selenide (CIGS) thin-film manufacturer, Solyndra, flexible CIGS thin-film start-up SoloPower has officially opened its first volume production plant in Portland, Oregon. Unlike other CIGS start-ups, SoloPower uses proprietary roll-to-roll processes via electro-deposition processing as its differentiator.
IKEA’s New Haven Connecticut store has officially launched its 940.8kW rooftop PV system, making it the Swedish company’s 32nd completed US solar project. Built across 118,000 square feet, the PV array uses 3,920 panels and is anticipated to produce nearly 1,099,800kWh of energy per year.
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has unveiled, it claims, the country’s first zero net-energy residential test facility, which is located at its campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The institute invited local, federal and state officials to mark the occasion by attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
AlsoEnergy revealed that it is currently monitoring over 200 solar installations throughout the US and Canada. The installations are found on public schools, colleges and universities, with the company providing energy production monitoring data, along with educational kiosks at each location.
The board of directors for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the US government’s development finance institution, recently gave its approval of providing up to US$250 million for OPIC’s first solar power project in South Africa.
After Arizona Public Service (APS) chose McCarthy Building to engineer, procure and construct its 14MW Hyder II Solar Power Plant in Hyder Arizona, the two companies noted that they have begun the permitting process for the new solar site.
ReneSola will soon be shipping 512kW of its solar modules to Cummings Properties, a commercial real-estate developer and property management organization in Massachusetts. The panels will be installed on the rooftop solar system of the Cummings Centre, which acts as a corporate campus and retail centre for Cummings Properties in Beverly, Massachusetts.
The National Post is reporting that the city of Toronto has entered an agreement with Toronto Hydro in order to install 8,800 solar panels on 10 city-owned arenas and community centres. The panels are expected to produce around 2,600MWh of electricity per year over the next 20 years.
According to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Vote Solar Initiative, US retail giant Walmart ranks number one in a list which identifies the top corporate companies using solar energy in the US for on-site consumption.
SunEdison, a provider of solar energy services, has announced that it has secured an additional US$40 million for its project finance revolving credit facility, bringing the total capacity of the facility to US$150 million.
