The California Energy Commission has given approval for a total of 959 MW of solar PV capacity for development in California. The capacity is to be developed through two large scale solar projects – the Genesis Solar Energy Project (250 MW) and the Imperial Valley Solar Project (709 MW).
Artistic impression of the new solar park in Arizona.
Arizona Public Service (APS) announced a plan to develop an 18 MW PV solar park, about 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, Arizona, in Gila Bend. The solar park will be owned by APS. The permitting process for this location will take only about three months, as opposed to the usual one to two years. This is due to the fact that the park will be located within the Solar Overlay Zone in Arizona. Construction of the project could begin in early 2011, with completion in November 2011.
A-Power Energy Generation Systems has entered into an agreement with Baishan Long Run Water Conserancy Development (China) for a three-phase EPC contract, involving work on a 12.8 MW water control project, a 64 MW hydropower plant in Baishan, and two 16 MW small hydropower plants on the Baijianghe River, also in Baishan.
Refill Energy announced strategic alliance agreements with Petersen Inc., Combustion Resources Inc., and Morris Electric LLC. The new agreement will open some very large doors for Refill Energy, giving the company an opportunity to indirectly connect with such industry giants as Boeing, Bechtel and Chevron.
NextEra announced its subsidiary Wild Prairie Wind has secured about USD 297 million for financing 249 MW of wind energy developments in Iowa and North Dakota, US. The loan has a variable interest rate and matures in September 2028. NextEra will use the proceeds of the loan for reimbursement of capital contributions made by the company for the development and construction of wind energy assets and transmission lines.
[source: NextEra Energy Resources]
Mr. Alexander Gudmundsson, Chairman of Enex China signed the agreement, with the representatives from the A Er Shan Municipality. Present at the signing ceremony were Mr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland and Iceland‘s Ambassador to China, Mrs. Kristín Árnadóttir. Dr. Zhan Qi, President of Sinopec Star and Benedikt Hoskuldsson, Head of Energy Affairs, from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Iceland.
A geothermal development cooperation agreement has been signed between Icelandic-Chinese partners, Enex China (owned by Geysir Energy – 80.5%, and Reykjavik Energy – 19.5%) and Sinopec Star Petroleum, which will assist the province of Inner Mongolia (northest China), to perform a geothermal survey in the A Er Shan region of the province. The survey will be used to assess opportunities for using geothermal energy for heating and power generation.
The signing ceremony was held at Iceland Ambassador's Beijing residence.
[source: Geysir Energy]
New Hampshire (USA) based energy storage start-up, SustainX, has been issued a patent for its energy storage technology which uses compressed air to store excess generated power (energy) for utility-scale usage. The patent will remain in effect until June 2028. It contains methods for keeping compressed air at a constant temperature (approximately), as the air is expanded or compressed in cylinders – isothermal compression or expansion.
Eneco, a Dutch renewable energy company, announced the opening of the company's first wind farm in the UK. The 17 MW, GBP 26 million, Tullo wind farm is located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Power generated at the facility is enough to supply about 9000 average homes in the area with clean electricity.
The Carbon Trust launched a global challenge in order to find the leading solutions for the problem of transferring engineers and equipment safely from vessels to wind turbines, which are located as far as 300 km offshore, in waters having 3 m waves. According to the Carbon Trust, achieving better and safer transfer conditions will result in about a 4% increase in turbine availability (less power generation downtime), which in money terms represents a loss of about GBP 3 billion annually.
Terra-Gen announced the company has closed USD 286 lease financing for the 67 MW Dixie Valley geothermal power plant in Churchill County, Nevada, USA.
Power generated at the facility will be sold under a long-term PPA to Southern California Edison, all the way through 2038. The power plant's capacity should be enough to supply about 60,000 average homes with clean electricity.
[source: Terra-Gen]
