Solar Energy News Roundup (5 Stories)
April 4th, 2012 by Zachary Shahan
Top solar energy news from around the interwebs (other than what we’ve covered):
60.4-MWp Solar Power Plant in Bulgaria. (PRNewsFoto/SunEdison)
1. SunEdison has announced the completion of a €155-million non-recourse debt financing arrangement with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and UniCredit Group for SunEdison’s 60.4-MWp solar power plant in Bulgaria.
“SunEdison expects to complete the sale of the equity of this power plant in 2012…. Construction of the 60.4 MWp / 50 MWac plant began in September 2011, and it was interconnected in March 2012. Located in Karadzhalovo – a village in the municipality of Parvomay, about 160 km southeast of the capital city Sofia – the project covers an area of 100 hectares (equivalent to 100 football fields) and uses more than 214,000 solar modules. In the first full year of operation, the system is expected to generate sufficient energy to power 27,000 homes and avoid 37,400 tons of CO2 – the equivalent of removing more than 7,000 cars from the road.”
2. First Solar has announced the commissioning of a 40-megawatt (MW), ground-mounted solar photovoltaic power plant in the state of Rajasthan. The solar power project will serve clean energy to Mumbai. The project was built in just five months, includes 500,000 First Solar thin-film modules, and is one of India’s largest solar power projects to date.
“Covering 350 acres, it is 23 times the size of Calcutta’s famous Eden Gardens cricket grounds and is expected to satisfy the annual electricity needs of more than 70,000 average Indian households. It will displace more than 60,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, the equivalent of taking more than 25,000 cars off the road.”
3. China Sunergy, a specialized solar cell and module manufacturer, has started “assembling solar modules in France through OEM cooperation with KDG Energy, a French manufacturer of high quality PV modules…. In October 2011, China Sunergy initiated OEM cooperation with KDG Energy. Both parties entered into a memorandum of understanding in November 2011, under which KDG Energy will manufacture solar modules for China Sunergy in France, under CSUN’s brand name. China Sunergy will send the required components to KDG for the fabrication of such modules.”
4. Renewable Resources Group (RRG) has received final Environmental Impact Review (EIR) approval for its 650-megawatt Antelope Valley Solar (AVS) project.
“AVS will span the Antelope Valley Water Bank, an underground water storage facility built by RRG. The solar project, RRG’s first renewable undertaking, will necessitate water use for panel cleaning once or twice a year and for vegetation and dust management. That will, according to RRG, be a fraction of a farm’s water use…. AVS’s 36-month construction is expected to provide up to 650 jobs and a windfall of local business activity and revenue. Operations and maintenance will provide 15 permanent, full-time jobs for the life of the project. RRG has repeatedly promised to retain locals as employees, sub-contractors and vendors.”
5. GreenVolts this week announced “the availability of its solar energy management software for iPad® and iPhone® mobile digital devices…. The new ISIS™ Mobile is a natural extension of the Internet-based ISIS energy management software and enables unprecedented management capabilities for utility scale solar power plants.”
“ISIS is the first true solar information network, where every module, motor, tracker, and inverter is part of a comprehensive network architecture that includes GPS and Wi-Fi. As a secure, cloud-based application, ISIS eliminates the need for users to maintain servers, back-up, disaster recovery, or software updates. Scalability is virtually infinite, software and data maintenance reduced to zero, and access is ubiquitous for the users.”
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About the Author
Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.
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