News Bonanza: Solar Power News & Wind Power News Link Love
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Some more solar and wind power news from the past couple weeks:
Solar Power
Solar Price Hits All-Time Low In Australia: “The Solar Choice Price Index provides a monthly update of the cost of solar across Australia. It’s a very useful tool for keeping up to date with Australia solar price trends, which are some of the most exciting in the world. Australia rooftop solar actually competes with German rooftop solar in some arenas…. The latest update from the Solar Choice Price Index shows that solar PV systems in my home country of Australia have reached an all-time low for residential and commercial customers.”
Solmessis Plans 20MW Solar Plant in Queensland – with No Government Money: “An Australian solar developer is proposing to build a 20MW solar PV plant in central Queensland, the first utility scale solar farm in the country to be constructed without drawing on subsidies or incentives beyond the renewable energy target.”
Is the Solar Industry Being Blindsided by Utilities?: “Beware of people bearing gifts, the old saying goes. And beware of politicians bearing promises of a reduction in electricity bills.
“The Federal Government last Friday announced the early closure of its Solar Credits scheme which offered a multiplier in the number of renewable energy certificate issued for the output of a rooftop solar PV systems.
“It justified this on the basis that it would save Australian electricity consumers between $80 and $100 million in 2013. But this amounts to be just $10 a year, or 20c per household a week, in an average bill of more than $2,000. If the government were really serious about reducing the impact on electricity bills from the scheme, there were numerous other options.”
US Solar Market Insight: Quotes From the Solar Panels: “dozens of senior solar professionals served as panelists at the GTM Research Solar Market Insight event and offered a snapshot of today’s solar industry and some hints of what the solar industry will look like in 2013 and 2014. The panelists weighed in on soft costs, balance-of-system costs, product quality, and a new era in financing solar projects. Here are some viewpoints from the experts on this week’s panels.”
Concentrator PV (CPV) Supplier SolFocus Restructures for Sale of the Company: “SolFocus, Inc, one of the leading manufacturers of Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) systems, announced today that the company has restructured its operations in line with an effort to sell the company over the next few months. As part of its restructuring, the company has reduced its workforce to a core group who will take the company forward toward this goal.”
Principal Solar Institute Publishes White Paper Outlining Industry’s Ratings System for Creating, Testing, Monitoring Solar PV Modules: Principal Solar has released an online reference center and resource guide for the commercial and utility scale solar market, “Solar Industry Goes Mainstream: New PV Module Rating System Empowers Solar Professionals.” Not sold yet? Here’s some more info on the white paper: “The paper outlines the industry’s first and only comprehensive, independent performance rating standard based on lifetime energy production of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, which is designed to assist large-scale solar consumers. The white paper was authored by Ken Allen, Rick Borry, Dan Bedell, Kirk Blankenship, and Matthew A. Thompson, director of The Principal Solar Institute.”
The CSP Storage Technology Race Heats Up: “The race for the lead in concentrating solar power (CSP) development accelerated in recent weeks with major advances from SolarReserve, BrightSource Energy and Abengoa, the three primary contenders. Each advance moves solar power plant technology closer to its future.”
New Solar Power Plant Completed In Modesto: “The Modesto Irrigation District in California is now home to the 25-megawatt McHenry Solar Plant designed and constructed by SunPower and currently providing power for approximately 6,000 homes.
“The project created nearly 150 construction jobs and is owned by K Road Power Holdings. SunPower is providing operations and maintenance services for the site, and the Modesto Irrigation District is buying the power generated by the McHenry Sola Plant under a 25-year power purchase agreement.”
ET Solar Builds 50MW Solar PV Projects in Romania: “ET Solar Group Corp. (“ET Solar”), a leading one-stop solar PV solution provider, [yesterday announced] that they have been awarded to build various PV plants in Romania totaling 50MW for Tinmar-Ind S.A. (“Tinmar”), one of the top Romanian power supplier and energy trading companies.”
Wind Power
Scotland Is Reportedly Getting a Wind Turbine Factory for French Nuclear & Renewables Company Areva: As reported previously here on CleanTechnica, Scotland has some huge renewable energy goals (it may get 50% of its power from renewable sources by 2015!), so it’s not all that surprising that a wind turbine factory is setting up shop there. Apparently, the factory is projected to create “750 engineering jobs at the new site and further jobs in the wider supply chain.”
Vestas receives 39 MW order in Italy: “Vestas has received an order for a total capacity of 39 MW consisting of 13 units of the V112-3.0 MW turbine for the Matisse wind power plant, which will be located in the Apulia region in Italy.”
Vestas Confirms 3,000 More Job Cuts: “However difficult it is to make further cost savings and also further reduce the workforce, it is simply necessary in order to create an even leaner and more agile Vestas to ensure the company’s continued profitability in a very uncertain and unstable wind turbine market,” says Ditlev Engel and concludes: “I am however pleased to say that we expect a part of these reductions to happen through divestments, which means that our employees will maintain their jobs, only they will be working for a different employer than Vestas.”
Gamesa to Supply 47.6 MW to an Indian Wind Power Project of SJVN, a Joint Venture with Goverment of India: Gamesa has signed an “Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build the project and supply 47.6 MW to a wind farm from SJVN Limited, in District Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India. SJVN is a Mini Ratna CPSU (Central Public Sector Undertaking) and a joint venture with Government of India and Government of Himachal Pradesh.”
Image Source: David Clarke
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