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October 6th, 2011
United Solar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) ENER +4.17% and a leading global manufacturer of light-weight, flexible thin-film solar modules, announces the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) landfill cover in the world. The one megawatt installation is located at the Hickory Ridge Solid Waste Landfill in Conley, Georgia and is viewable during take-off and landing at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The closed landfill is owned and maintained by Republic Services of Phoenix, Arizona.
The UNI-SOLAR(R) lightweight, flexible solar panels are bonded to a thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) geomembrane manufactured by Carlisle Energy Services, a United Solar channel partner. The integrated system consisting of nearly 7,000 UNI-SOLAR PVL-144 modules over 10-acres of landfill cover is a complete geomembrane cap closure system. The project is expected to provide a carbon offset of 1,374 metric tons per year. In addition, the annual energy generation is enough to supply over 200 households with electricity each year.
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Source: Market Watch
October 6th, 2011
Solar Decathlon 2011, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) solar architecture contest, has wrapped up. While there is an overall winner, there are also winning teams for different topics (e.g. affordability, engineering, communications, home entertainment, and more). All of the winners are below, along with notes on why most of them won.
The overall goal of the Solar Decathlon competitors is to “design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy efficient and attractive,” as my colleague over at Green Building Elements nicely summarizes.
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Source: Reuters
September 27th, 2011
The state-owned New York Power Authority (NYPA) said on Tuesday it had ended the proposed Great Lakes Offshore Wind Project due to high costs and the weak economy.
Development of a 150-megawatt Great Lakes project would have resulted in an estimated annual subsidy of between $60 million and $100 million, NYPA said in a statement.
“It would not be fiscally prudent for the Power Authority to commit to the initiative,” the statement said.
NYPA said it was still participating in other efforts by regional groups along the Great Lakes and in the Long Island-New York City Offshore Wind Project.
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Source: Reuters
September 27th, 2011
Czech day ahead power fell on Tuesday due to higher solar power production in the region while the front-year contract rose slightly, following fuels, traders said.
Electricity for Wednesday delivery fell to 55.10 euros ($74.22) per megawatt-hour from the Tuesday delivery price of 57.80 euros in the over-the-counter market.
Day ahead cleared down more than 13 percent to 50.91 euros on Czech market operator OTE’s daily auction.
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Source: Reuters
September 27th, 2011
Google Inc (GOOG.O) on Tuesday said it would partner with start-up Clean Power Finance to create a $75 million fund for residential solar power projects.
The investment by Google is a key vote of confidence for Clean Power Finance’s software that allows solar panel installers to o ffer financing to homeowners.
That financing will enable up to 3,000 homeowners who do not want to make a large upfront investment in a solar system to have solar panels installed on their roofs, the companies said in a joint statement.
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Source: Reuters
September 21st, 2011
The Obama administration will continue its push for solar energy despite growing controversy over a $528 million loan to a now-bankrupt California solar panel maker, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday.
Salazar said in an interview with The Associated Press that the Solyndra Inc. case and a delay in the massive Blythe solar project in California illustrate the challenges facing the solar industry. But he remained upbeat about the potential for solar power. The Obama administration has spent billions of dollars to promote it as part of a push for renewable energy.
“I think the future for solar energy is bright,” Salazar said, predicting that success would come over the next several years and convince even cynics that solar can be an affordable alternative to coal-fired power plants and other traditional forms of energy.
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Source: Reuters
September 21st, 2011
Iberian spot power prices rose to their second 33-month high in a week on Wednesday due to persistently tight supplies of cheap hydro electricity and weak wind power.
The OMIE spot exchange fixed the day-ahead pool price at 63.43 euros ($86.97) per megawatt-hour, its highest since setting a rate of 64.43 euros for Dec. 12, 2008.
Hydroelectric power stations were supply just 5.3 percent of Spain’s energy needs, according to national grid operator REE , or well below an average of 13.2 percent for the first eight months of the year.
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Source: Reuters
September 20th, 2011
Iberian wholesale prompt power added to prior gains on Tuesday due to prospects wind power would decline further and make costlier gas- and coal-burning generators work harder.
Wind parks in Spain — which accounts for 85 percent of the Iberian Electricity Market (Mibel) — were set to cut output to as little as 1,933 megawatts on Wednesday, from some 4,000 MW on Tuesday morning, according to estimates by national grid operator REE .
The Mibel’s Spanish-based spot exchange, Omie, fixed the day-ahead “pool” price for Spain at 62.55 euros per megawatt-hour after a daily auction matching offers by producers and bids from distributors.
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Source: Reuters
September 20th, 2011
Protesters have camped outside an east China-based solar panel manufacturer accusing it of dumping toxic waste into a river, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.
The protests began on Thursday in the city of Haining in Zhejiang province, when as many as 500 people stormed a compound owned by the New York-listed Jinko Solar Holding Co and overturned vehicles before being dispersed by police, Xinhua said.
Toxic waste from the factory, which manufactures photovoltaic panels, cells and wafers, killed large numbers of fish in a nearby river, and authorities had already ordered the company to suspend operations, the news agency said.
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Source: Reuters
September 17th, 2011
SMA Solar, Germany’s largest solar company by sales, said it would be a challenge to reach its operating margin target for 2011 and it counted on a strong pickup in demand in the next few weeks.
“We stick to our guidance, both for sales and our EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) margin,” Chief Executive Pierre-Pascal Urbon told Reuters on Friday, but added that reaching the EBIT margin target would be a “bigger challenge” after a relatively weak first half of the year.
Shares in the company extended losses after the news and were down 5.5 percent, at the bottom of Frankfurt’s technology index.
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Source: Reuters
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