LaGeo, a Salvadoran geothermal company, has decided to start geothermal exploration in El Salvador in order to find new geothermal wells for power generation. After a pause of several years, LaGeo has allocated USD 41 million for this purpose in 2012. The investment plan includes exploration, recovery and maintenance of the wells. The main focus areas of the exploration are the fields of Chinameca and St. Vincent.
Vestas has closed 2011 with several orders for its wind turbines, amounting to about 560 MW of capacity. The orders from from various markets, including Pakistan, the company's first in this Asian country. Still, even though the company has had a successful year in terms of order intake, totalling about 7.4 GW, the revenue for 2011 still had to be downgraded by about EUR 400 million to be about EUR 6 billion. The company also encountered some unexpected costs in its development activities involving the V112-3.0 MW and the GridStreamer technology for the 2 MW family of turbines.
Cool Planet BioFuels announced that BP Technology Ventures has made an investment in the biofuels startup, as part of the company's C Round of investments. BP has this way joined General Electric, Google Ventures, ConocoPhillips, NRG and North Bridge Venture Partners as investors. GE, NRG and ConocoPhillips have made a joint venture investment company in early 2011, with a plan to invest in 30 venture and growth stage companies, including Cool Planet BioFuels.
JA Solar has entered into a supply agreement for 19 MW of PV modules for the Allstedt I solar park in Halle, Germany. The solar park is being developed by Solarhybrid, a German renewable energy developer.
Gamesa has sold two of its wind farms Lugo and Tarragona, in Spain to Gas Natural. The combined capacity of Alto do Seixal and Les Forques II is 42 MW.
Sempra Generation has installed 42 MW of solar panels at the Mesquite Solar 1 project. These solar panels are now generating electricity, which is delivered to the power grid.
Enel Green Power NA has put the Caney River wind farm into operation. The 200 MW wind farm, located in Kansas, USA, features 111 V90-1.8 MW wind turbines.
Tata Power has entered into a shares purchase agreement with BP Alternative Holdings for the acquisition of BP's 51% of shares in the Tata BP Solar joint venture. This effectively puts Tata Power as the sole owner of Tata BP Solar.
Gamesa has won the supply contract for a total of 200 MW of wind turbines, to be installed at wind farm projects in the Gulf of El-Zayt, on Egypt's Red Sea coast. The contract was awarded by the New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) of Egypt, after a public tender.
3SUN, a joint venture between Enel Green Power, Sharp Electronics and STMicroelectronics, has begun production at the new PV panel facility in Catania, Italy. The new production plant for PV panels has 160 MW of annual production capacity, becoming the largest such production facility in Italy.
