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Friday, November 4, 2011 |
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First Solar Doubles German Production Line (Ind. Report) Arizona-based First Solar, the world's largest producer of thin film solar modules, has opened its new plant expansion in Germany. The $200 million investment effectively doubles First Solar's production capacity in Germany to 500 MW annually. Germany Trade & Invest provided its free of charge investor consulting services to assist the company's German market entry.
Germany boasts the largest installed photovoltaic capacity worldwide. Nearly half of all solar installations are located on German rooftops and fields. Photovoltaic energy in Germany recently made headlines for surpassing hydropower in total electricity generation. (Source: Germany Trade & Invest, November, 3, 2011)
DOI Releases Updated Solar Development Roadmap (Ind. Report) U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today made public a supplement to the federal plan to facilitate responsible utility-scale solar development on public lands in six western states Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
The revised plan, the Supplement to the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Solar Energy Development (Solar PEIS), reinforces and improves upon Interior's work to establish meaningful solar energy zones with transmission solutions and incentives for solar energy development within those zones. The blueprint's early, comprehensive analysis will ultimately make for faster, better permitting of large-scale solar projects on public lands.
To ensure that proposed solar energy zones are located in appropriate areas, the Supplement sets forth a more complete description of the process for identifying zones, including an analysis of transmission availability and potential resource conflicts. The Supplement also describes in more detail the incentives for developers to site new projects in solar energy zones - including greater certainty and shorter permitting times - and it identifies on-going regional planning processes that are being used to identify additional solar energy zones.
The Federal Register Notice of Availability for the Supplement begins a 90-day public comment period, after which Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will prepare a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision. The BLM has identified 17 solar energy zones, totaling about 285,000 acres potentially available for development within the zones. The BLM refined or removed zones that had development constraints or serious resource conflicts.The modified preferred alternative also establishes a variance process, going forward, that will allow development of well-sited projects outside of solar energy zones on an additional 20 million acres of public land. The Supplement makes clear that Interior's solar program will incorporate other, state-based planning efforts to establish additional solar energy zones. Planning efforts that are currently looking at establishing new zones include: the Arizona Restoration Energy Design Program, the West Chocolate
Mountains Renewable Energy Evaluation, and the California Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. As it completes the Solar PEIS, the DOI will continue to focus on its parallel, priority initiative to process existing applications for renewable energy development on public lands in a coordinated, focused manner with full environmental analysis and public review. (Source: DOI, November, 2, 2011)
Access Supplement Here
Click here for map SunEdison, Staples Reach Solar Energy Production Milestone (Ind. Report) Worldwide solar energy services provider and MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. subsidiary SunEdison and office supply giant Staples have announced a production milestone of more than 30 million kilowatt-hours of energy produced through solar installations on Staples' properties.
Since the solar hosting program between SunEdison and Staples began in 2005, SunEdison has developed solar installations on 33 Staples sites in California, Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey. The installations include a 1.5 Megawatt array in Hagerstown, Maryland, among the largest in the state. The power from these renewable sources is used across the company's facilities, including Staples retail stores, delivery fulfillment centers, customer service call centers and sales offices. Additional solar installations on Staples' properties are planned.
SunEdison's solar hosting program is made possible through power purchase agreements (PPAs) between Staples and SunEdison. Through these PPAs, SunEdison finances, installs, owns, operates and maintains the solar power systems deployed at Staples facilities, with no upfront costs for Staples. Staples benefits by purchasing the energy produced over 20 years at locked-in rates that are at or below retail market rates, which helps offset its grid demand. (Source: SunEdison, November, 3, 2011) Infigen's Proposed Capital 2 Wind Wins Approval (Ind. Report) In the Land Down Under, the NSW Planning Assessment Commission has approved Sydney-based Infigen Energy's proposed 41 turbine, Capital 2 wind project .
Capital 2 wind farm would significantly add to Infigen's existing Capital Renewable Energy Precinct which currently consists of the Capital wind farm (140.7 MW) and Woodlawn wind farm (48.3 MW). Project Approval for a proposed Capital solar farm (50 MW) was also received in December 2010.
A final investment decision for Capital 2 wind farm is yet to be considered by the Board of Infigen Energy Limited. (Source: Infigen, November, 3, 2011)
Enbridge Takes Stake in Lac Alfred Quebec Wind Farm (M&A) Enbridge has signed an agreement with EDF EN Canada to purchase a 50% interest in the 300MW Lac Alfred wind project in Quebec, at a price of $330 million.
The wind farm consists of 150 REpower wind turbines made with locally-manufactured blades, towers and converters.
Construction is slated to take place in two phases. Phase 1 began in June 2011 and is expected to be finished this December. Phase 2 is estimated for completion in December 2013.
Hydro-Quebec will buy the Lac Alfred power under a 20-year power purchase agreement, as well as construct a 30Km transmission line to connect the project to the grid. (Source: EDF EN Canada, November, 3, 2011) Sauer Reports on Recent Wind Tunnel Tests (Ind. Report) Home and enterprise scale vertical axis wind turbine
(VAWT) systems developer Sauer Energy, Inc. has again taken its WindCharger™ to the University of Washington Aeronautical Laboratory in Seattle, Washington for wind tunnel testing. Test results have confirmed improved performance of the WindCharger ™, the company reports.
Test results showed a tip speed efficiency of 76 percent at 10 mph wind speed. Conversion of torque versus mass has given the WindCharger™a leading edge, and no other turbine company asserts such efficient wind capture at low altitude. A higher rpm at lower wind speeds than earlier results was also documented.
Testing also revealed that minor enhancement modifications to the proprietary generator will significantly add efficiency to the WindCharger™. Those modification are now being made.
Sauer Energy plans to sustain its position in developing a more competitive edge by becoming the residential company that sets the standard for rooftop wind energy turbines.(Source: Sauer Energy, November, 3, 2011)
Siemens Opens Wichita Wind Power Distribution Center (Ind. Report) Siemens Energy has opened a new 73,000 square-foot wind power warehouse and distribution facility in Wichita, Kansas. The center will provide procurement, kitting, storage, refurbishment and distribution for the tooling needed to erect and install wind turbines, as well as storage, repair and distribution for all new unit transport framing and hardware used to move towers, nacelles and blades throughout the region.
The Wichita facility will provide support and distribution services for wind projects throughout the U.S., and locally in Kansas, where Siemens is providing Duke Energy with 73 SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines for its 168 MW, Ironwood wind project in Spearville, scheduled for commissioning to late next summer. Also in Kansas, Siemens is supplying 57 SWT-2.3-108 wind turbines for Duke Energy's Cimarron II wind project in Gray County, Kansas, scheduled for commissioning in May 2012. (Source: Siemens, November, 3, 2011)
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