It has been reported that France is going to finance the Moroccan solar energy plan with EUR 103 million, in order to help the country develop its solar energy potential. This was announced by the French Minister of Industry and Energy Eric Besson, during his visit to the North African country this week. The financing will be disbursed by the French Development Agency, aimed at a project he described as the focus of the Mediterranean solar plan.
Antelope Valley Solar Ranch 1 location map.
The US Deparment of Energy announced offers of conditional loan guarantee commitments for a total of USD 4.5 billion aimed at three solar PV projects in California, with a combined capacity of 1330 MW. All three projects will use Cadmium-Telluride (Cd-Te) thin film PV modules.
The government of Aragon province, in Spain, has issued a tender for 1.2 GW of new wind power capacity, of which 127 MW has been awarded to EDP Renovaveis. This corresponds to about 11% of the total capacity awarded. The development of the projects awarded is subject to the licensing and approval process, according to the regulatory framework for wind energy development in Spain. It is expected that these projects will reach construction phase readiness in 2013.
[source: EDP Renovaveis]
The US Department of Energy announced the availability of USD 7.5 million as funding for six research project in four states – California, Colorado, Florida and New York – aimed at producing next generation designs for wind turbine drivetrains. This core component of a wind turbine is what transfers the mechanical energy of rotor rotation to the electrical generator, and is usually made up of a gearbox and a generator. The goal of the research is to provide new technology that could give a competitive edge to the US wind industry, and further reduce the cost of wind generated electricity. Additionally, these new technologies could be used for deployment in the US offshore wind sector.
The Spanish government has awarded a tender for a solar thermal project to Termosolar Alcazar's 50 MW solar thermal project in Alcazar de San Juan. Termosolar Alcazar is an evenly owned joint venture between SolarReserve and Preneal. The new power plant will use solar thermal technology combined with molten salt as a heat storage system, allowing power generation during low-insolation hours.
EDF Energies Nouvelles has been granted authorization to build and operate the Saint-Robert-Bellarmin wind farm in Quebec, by the Government of Quebec. The project, once completed will generate electrical energy equivalent to the annual consumption of about 18,000 average households.
Fraunhofer's existing blade testing facility in Bremerhaven.
As part of the country's effort to further expand the use of wind energy, Germany is making further investments into wind energy research and development facilities. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy System Technology (IWES), the German government is building a new research and testing facility in Bremerhaven called the Dynamic Nacelle Laboratory (DyNaLab). The facility will do research and testing on drive powers up to 10 MW in capacity. It will occupy about 2000 square meters of area, and will be used initially to test nacelles with capacities between 2 and 7.5 MW in capacity, covering a broad range of wind turbines aimed at the offshore wind sector.
China Ming Yang Wind Power announced recently the company has entered into a framework agreement with the Ganzhou procinve government (China), granting the company several benefits ranging from priority access to rare earths, exclusive rights for wind farm operation in the province, and priority for installation of wind turbines at wind farm projects in the province. Furthermore, China Ming Yang will be given the right to invest in Ganzhou Rare Earth Mineral Industry Group, a state owned company with rare earth development rights in the several counties of the Ganzhou province.
The US Department of Energy announced conditional loan guarantee commitments for three solar power projects in the US, totalling in more than USD 2 billion. The loan guarantees are aimed at the Mojave Solar Project (USD 1.2 billion; CSP technology), being built by Abengoa Solar, the Genesis Solar Project (USD 681.6 million; CSP technology) to be built by NextEra Energy, and the Mesquite Solar 1 project (USD 359.1 million; PV technology) sponsored by Sempra Generation. All three projects combined will add 650 MW of solar power capacity to the US power grid, and create almost 2000 construction jobs.
The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced that the new feed-in-tariffs for large scale solar and anaerobic digestion projects have been confirmed. This puts more focus on small scale development, on a household and other small scale projects. DECC claims to have adopted the new tariffs in order to protect the money for householders, small business and communities, which would otherwise be burdened with increased costs of energy needed to provide financing for subsidies aimed at large scale solar and anaerobic digestion projects.
