NextEra Energy Resources has commissioned the Hatch Solar Center, a 5 MW concentracted PV facility in Hatch, New Mexico. This power plant is currently the largest CPV power plant in operation in the US. It features 84 Amonix 60 kW power generation units.
Suzlon's North American subsidiary has opened a traning center for wind technicians working in the North American wind market. The facility will provide training for about 300 technicians annually, who will be involved in service and maintenance of more than 1200 Suzlon wind turbines installed throughout the US and Canada.
Enel Green Power has started commercial operation at the 4.9 MW Kourtesi I PV power plant in Greece. The power plant is estimated to be able to produce 7 GWh of electrical energy annually, and is touted as the largest PV power plant in operation in Greece at the moment.
Pacific Gas & Electric has chosen Q-Cells as the preferred partner for the utility owned generation program (UOP), which involves the development of 250 MW of solar capacity. The capacity is to be installed in 50 MW phases, over a five-year period. During 2012, Q-Cells will install two facilities, one with 10 MW and another with 20 MW of installed capacity, both in Central Valley, California.
[source: Q-Cells]
BrightSource Energy has filed an Application of Certification for three solar power plants to be built in Riverside County, California. The three projects, each with 250 MW of capacity, are all part of the same Rio Mesa project. If approved by the California Energ Commission, the project could bring a total of 750 MW of clean electrical power to the state's power grid. This amount of power, and corresponding annual electrical energy production, is enough to supply about 300,000 average homes.
GE has announced plans to build a solar panel factory in the US with an annual production of capacity of 400 MW, representing an investment of about USD 600 million. The company, best known for its top position as wind turbine manufacturer, is diversifying its clean energy business, by further investing in the solar sector. The new production facility will be one of the largest in the US, and will be built in Aurora (Colorado), near the company's solar center of excellence.
solarhybrid and the University of Applied Sciences in Eberswalde (Germany) have jointly launched a unique concomitant research project involving 13 years of conservation monitoring of the one of Europe's largest PV power plants, the FinowTower, in Finowfurt (Brandenburg, Germany). The project's first phase has been completed (FinowTower I 24.3 MW), and is now set to be expanded to reach 60.2 MW of installed capacity (FinowTower II). The project will eventually grow to reach a total of 84.5 MW (FinowTower I+II) of installed capacity in the future. Its total net value is estimated at about EUR 120 million.
Neo solar Power, a Taiwan based solar cell manufacturer, has signed a letter of intent for equity participation in BlueChip Energy's Sorrento solar farm which is to have 120 MW of installed capacity. Under the future agreement, at least 10 MW of Neo Solar Power's solar cells will be deployed at the project, in exchange for an equity stake in the project.
SolarWorld and its partners have awarded the construction contract for the 8,000 ton per year silicon factory in Qatar, to Punj Lloyd Group (India), as the general contractor. The new production facility will produce silicon suitable for processing into solar wafers. SolarWorld has estabslished a joint venture agreement with Qatar Solar and the Qatar Development Bank for this project.
SunPower announced the company is expecting to start construction of the 25 MW McHenry solar park in Modesto, California by the end of the year. The project was approved in mid-September by the local planning commission, so the project can enter construction as soon as final remaining building permits are issued.
