REC Systems, business unit of REC, has sold its 6 MW solar power plant in Bitterfeld, Germany, to two investment companies, part of the Chorus Group. The project was originally developed by Grüne Energien (Germany), but REC took full ownership of the project in autumn 2011, with more than 50% of the project left incomplete.
SunEdison, subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, recently announced the activation of a 25 MW solar power plant in Gujarat, India. The solar park features 89,000 solar PV modules, and was completed after four months of construction.
Panasonic recently announced the company has established Panasonic Eco Solutions North America. The new business unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America will put focus on renewable energy projects, with activities involving everything from design and implementation to financing of RE project as well as energy efficiency projects. Activities will cover the US and Canada as the primary markets.
Enel Green Power and Sharp have added a total of 14 MW of new solar capacity in Italy by the end of March this year. The two companies operate in Italy under an equally shared JV called ESSE (Enel Green Power and Sharp Solar Energy). A total of five new PV plants were put into operation.
Centrica and DONG Energy have formed a joint venture for pursuing joint development of offshore wind capacity in the Irish Sea wind development zone, part of the Round 3 of offshore wind development projects awarded by the Crown Estate. This zone has potential for about 4.2 GW of new capacity.
China Ming Yang Wind Power Group has opened a research and development center in the US, on the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University. The focus area of research of the new center will be the offshore wind sector, with the aim to enhance offshore wind turbine energy output and further reduce the cost of electricity generated this way.
Mitsubishi Corporation, as part of its strategy to grow its presence in the field of renewable energy, is acquiring a 34% stake in the Mareña Renovables wind project in Mexico, which is to have 396 MW of installed capacity, becoming one of, if not the largest wind energy project in Latin America.
Iberdrola and National Grid (transmission system operator in Great Britain) have awarded the EUR 1 billion contract for building the first ever subsea transmission link between Scotland and England to Siemens. The new subsea link will increase the available transmission capacity by about 2 GW, and create conditions for the development of more renewable energy projects in Scotland.
Ormat Technologies has been awarded its first well head power plant in the Menengai geothermal field in Kenya, as part of the country's tender for geothermal development concessions. The project is to be executed on a build-operates-transfer (BOT) principle. The geothermal field is located about 180 km West of the country' capital of Nairobi.
JinkoSolar, based in China, has added a new subsidiary in Australia. JinkoSolar Australia is based in Queensland, and will serve as a sales and delivery hub for the Australian market, housing about 5 MW of modules for the region.
