Yingli Green Energy's Americas unit has signed a new PV module supply agreement with Borrego Solar Systems. Under the terms of the deal, 20MW of Yingli Solar crystalline-silicon modules will be provided to the San Diego-based PV systems installer in 2011. Borrego plans to use the panels for commercial projects across the U.S.
Campbell Soup has signed power purchase and land lease agreements with BNB Napoleon Solar to build a 9.8MW solar power generation system on 60 acres of the company’s largest plant in Napoleon, OH. Campbell will lease the land to BNB, which will own the system and be responsible for its financing, construction, operation, and maintenance.
San Diego Gas & Electric has entered into a 25-year contract with NRG Solar to buy 26MW of solar energy from a proposed facility in San Diego County, CA. The new project, said to be the largest solar PV site that the utility has signed for within its service area, will be located in Borrego Springs.
Building work on the largest privately-held PV system in Florida is close to completion as Sybac Solar adds the final touches to its 2MW array in Gainesville.
A twenty-year veteran in the electric utility and electric equipment manufacturing industry, Dr. Ali Chowdhury, is the new vice president of transmission and interconnection planning for 8minutenergy Renewables. In his new role, Chowdhury will oversee the development and business features necessary to bring solar PV projects to their full realization in a swift period of time.
Utility-scale developer SolarReserve has been awarded its final Certificates of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) from the Arizona Corporation Commission for its 150MW Crossroads Solar Energy Project to be built near Gila Bend. The approval includes the associated transmission line connecting the CSP project to Arizona Public Service’s transmission grid.
HelioPower has started construction of its 516kW (DC) solar power system at the Giumarra Vineyards production and cold storage facility in Bakersfield, California. The system will use over 2,296 PV modules to produce 1GWh of electricity per year.
Founder and President Emeritus of SunPower, Richard Swanson, has been selected as the recipient for the 2011 Karl Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit. The honor comes with a cash award of US$50,000, which is funded by the Karl Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit Trust. The Medal is given every two years to an individual that has made ground-breaking contributions towards the promotion of solar energy through research, development or economic enterprise or to an individual that has proven themselves with valuable and enduring contributions to the solar energy field.
During its fourth quarter in 2010, Clear Skies Solar released that it was expanding its market focus with a new division that would focus on solar installation projects in the sub-300kW division for commercial and residential installations. Moving forward with this resolution, the company has added new members to its sales and management teams including Allen Sosis as vice president of sales and marketing and John Conte as the national vice president of residential sales.
Over the next 18-months Georgia Power and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) will be performing a study that will assess how solar PV power systems affect Georgia Power’s distribution system. Testing will be conducted at fifty PV systems that will be installed in cities around Georgia including: Augusta, Columbus, Conley, Macon, Rome, Savannah and Valdosta. The panels installed will be owned by EPRI and installed by Georgia Power.
