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First Solar to Build 48MW Power Plant for Sempra

The project marks the second power project construction deal between First Solar and Sempra Generation. First Solar is taking on a project at a time when it also is developing a 550-megawatt plant and other projects that came with its acquisition of OptiSolar’s project pipeline.

First Solar (NSDQ: FSLR) said Wednesday it has signed a deal to build a 48-megawatt power project for Sempra Generation, which intends to sell the electricity from the plant to a utility.

The deal marked the second time Sempra hired First Solar to build a solar power plant. First Solar, whose primarily business is making thin-film solar panels, built a 10-megawatt project next Sempra's existing, 480-megawatt natural-gas power plant about 40 miles… Read More ›

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Abound Solar Opens Factory, Claims Under $1/Watt Cost

The Colorado startup that makes cadmium-telluride solar panels will start commercial production soon, and says its production cost will be comparable to First Solar's.

Abound Solar wants to gallop past competitors right out of the gate.

The two-year-old company can make cadmium-telluride solar panels at under $1 per watt several months from now, a figure that will be comparable to what its much larger competitor, First Solar, has achieved, said Pascal Noronha, CEO of Abound Solar.

It took First Solar about four years of commercial production and multiple factories to achieve the low cost by the end of 2008… Read More ›

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Inside OptiSolar’s Grand Ambitions

The solar startup had raised millions to revolutionize solar manufacturing. But things did not go as planned.

It all made sense. On paper.

OptiSolar, the mushrooming solar outfit that seemed destined for success just weeks before its dotcom-like implosion, had raised millions – at least $322 million according to a review of Securities and Exchange Commission documents – to realize a vision of solar manufacturing laid out nearly five years ago in a paper published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The paper by Marvin Keshner, a Hewlett-Packard… Read More ›

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'Solar City' Planned for Sunshine State

Florida Power & Light wants to build a $350 million, 75-megawatt photovoltaic solar power plant to power the $2 billion Babcock Ranch planned community near Fort Myers. Whether Florida's real estate market will support the development remains to be seen.

A Florida developer wants to build a $2 billion planned community in southwest Florida. If the plans go through, the community would be the first to be entirely powered by the sun.

The Babcock Ranch development, proposed by developer Kitson & Partners, would be integrated with a 75-megawatt, $350 million photovoltaic solar power plant to be built by utility Florida Power & Light.

That's more power than the proposed 17,000-acre, 45,000-resident… Read More ›

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Will Renewables Represent 90% of New Capacity by 2012?

Wind and solar are growing. Coal is not. As a result, those new electrons in the U.S. are green, says a new report from the Prometheus Institute.

The U.S. still derives the vast majority of its electricity from coal, natural gas and nuclear reactors, but the growth is all in renewables.

Approximately 90 percent of the new electrical capacity that will be brought on line in the U.S. in 2012 will come from renewables like solar,… Read More ›

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Euro Patent Office Revokes Oerlikon Solar Patent

The patent office's decision is a win for customers of Applied Materials. Oerlikon Solar has licensed the patent for making amorphous silicon/microcrystalline solar cells, and filed suit against an Applied customer.

The European Patent Office dealt a blow to Oerlikon Solar on Tuesday by revoking a patent licensed by the Swiss company for manufacturing thin-film panels.

The patent office ruled that the patent, held by the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, was invalid. The decision is bad news for Oerlikon, which holds the exclusive license for the patent and filed suit last year against Sunfilm for allegedly infringing on the patent (see Oerlikon Solar… Read More ›

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California PUC Mulls Changes to SoCal Edison's Rooftop Project

SoCal Edison wants to own and operate the 250-megawatt rooftop project, but state regulators might require the utility to allow other power producers to take on 90 megawatts of the plan.

For utilities that want to build their own solar power projects, the message from some state regulators is: Sharing, it's a good thing.

The California Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday is set to hear a debate on whether the Southern California Edison should be required to allow independent power producers to participate in a proposed 250-megawatt rooftop project.

The utility announced in March last year a plan to place solar panels on 65… Read More ›

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Solar Tuesday: First Solar, SunPower Get Bigger

Solar installations are getting larger, while the field remains dominated by a few names. U.S. solar manufacturers are gravitating toward utility-scale solar parks and large-scale projects.

First Solar has entered into a contract with the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Authority to build a 30-megawatt solar farm in New Mexico, according to a report.

The deal that will likely push this wing of First Solar's business up to 200 megawatts by 2010, according to Jeff Osborne of Thomas Weisel Partners. The New Mexico contract is worth around $98 million to $113 million, he added in a research note. The California Public Utilities… Read More ›

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GreenVolts Delays its 2MW Solar Field

Part of the project was supposed to be finished last year, but the deadline for the entire project has been pushed to mid-2010 to allow for tinkering.

GreenVolts will delay completing a 2-megawatt project to mid-2010 in order to improve the design of its concentrating solar power system.

When the company first announced its plan to build the power plant and sell the electricity to Pacific Gas and Electric two years ago, it had aimed to complete the entire project by the end of 2009. The San Francisco-based startup thought it could deliver the first megawatt of the project by the end of 2008… Read More ›

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BrightSource Locks Up Nevada Land for Solar Thermal Power

The developer plans to build a power plant with up to 600MW in capacity on land owned by a private real estate developer. The power plant could supply electricity to BrightSource's other customers as well, such as SoCal Edison and PG&E.

BrightSource Energy has signed a land lease agreement with a real estate developer in Nevada to build a solar power plant with a capacity to generate up to 600 megawatts, another big power deal for the solar thermal specialist.

The Oakland, Calif.-based BrightSource inked the deal with Coyote Springs Land Co., which is building a 43,000-acre planned community about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The developer already has built a PGA golf… Read More ›

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Recurrent Energy Buys 350MW Solar Project Pipeline

The San Francisco developer has taken over projects previously being developed by UPC Solar. A large number of the projects are located in Canada's Ontario province, where the government is setting new, lucrative prices for solar electricity.

Recurrent Energy has bought a portfolio of solar power projects from UPC Solar, a deal will allow Recurrent to complete developing up to 350 megawatts worth of power plants in North America.

San Francisco-based Recurrent has paid an undisclosed amount of money to Chicago-based UPC Solar for the pipeline of unfinished projects, and it plans to develop, own and operate these projects and sell electricity to utilities through long-term power… Read More ›

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eSolar's Transformation Continues With Indian Deal

The California startup is getting $30 million to license its technology to Acme Group, which plans to build 1 gigawatt worth of solar-thermal power plants using eSolar's equipment and designs.

eSolar is licensing its technology to Acme Group, which plans to use it to build solar thermal power plants in India.

In return, Acme Group is investing $30 million in eSolar, a Pasadena, Calif.-based startup that recently sold is unfinished solar power projects in the United States. Although the company still wants to pursue opportunities to build and operate power plants in the country, it's focusing on selling equipment for building power… Read More ›

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First Solar Buys OptiSolar's Power Projects

First Solar plans to spend $400 million to take over projects that were previously under development by OptiSolar, including a 550MW deal to sell power to PG&E. OptiSolar will continue its other love: making thin-film solar panels.

First Solar is spending $400 million to scoop up the solar energy projects being developed by OptiSolar, which has had trouble raising money to carry out the projects and recently fired half of its staff.

The deal is a coup for First Solar because it comes with projects in more advanced stages of development, including a 550-megawatt plan that recently won the approval of the California Public Utilities Commission, said Mike Ahearn, First… Read More ›

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Fotowatio Buys MMA Renewable Ventures

The $19.7 million deal with Spain's Fotowatio gives the company a larger presence in the U.S. commercial solar energy market. MMA's joint venture with Suntech will continue under the new ownership.

Spain's Fotowatio said Monday it has agreed to buy MMA Renewable Ventures, one of the best known solar power project developers in the United States.

The Baltimore, Md.-based Municipal Mortgage & Equity (MuniMae), owner of MMA Renewable, has signed the contract to sell the majority of MMA Renewable's assets for $19.7 million. The deal will cover about 35 megawatts worth of solar projects currently in operation, including the 14-megawatt plant at… Read More ›

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PG&E to Build and Own Solar Power Plants

The utility has made a long-awaited announcement that it plans to develop 250 megawatts of photovoltaic solar projects that it will own itself, along with another 250 megawatts to be built and owned by independent developers.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is getting into the solar business as an owner.

The utility announced Tuesday a $1.4 billion plan to build, own and operate 250 megawatts of photovoltaic solar power plants – part of a 500-megawatt solar power initiative it hopes regulators will approve this year.

With this move, PG&E joins fellow utilities Southern California Edison, Duke Energy and Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) in entering the solar… Read More ›

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With NRG Deal, eSolar Shifts From Power Provider to Equipment Maker

eSolar has sold its rights to solar thermal projects in the desert to concentrate on just the technology. A sign of things to come?

Power provider NRG Energy has signed a deal with solar thermal startup eSolar under which NRG has acquired the rights to build solar thermal power plants on three areas earlier secured by eSolar.  In turn, eSolar will provide the equipment for the projects. The first solar plants from this deal should be operational by 2011. NRG is paying $10 million to eSolar for the rights to the projects as well as an equity investment in the company.

When… Read More ›

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Nanosolar Broke Ground on 1MW Power Plant, Launched German Panel Factory

The CIGS startup's CEO provides an update of the company's production and project development plans in response to a scathing story in the magazine Photon International, which says Nanosolar has had little to show for.

Nanosolar and Beck Energy began building a 1-megawatt solar power plant in Germany last October, a delay that was caused by the permitting process and poor weather conditions, said Nanosolar CEO Martin Roscheisen Thursday.

Roscheisen provided some updates of the company's progress in manufacturing and power plant development in response to a story in the January issue of Photon International that is critical of the company. Roscheisen disputed… Read More ›

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BrightSource Inks 1.3GW SoCal Edison Deal

The solar energy developer plans to build seven solar thermal power plants with the first in California's Mojave Desert.

The California desert will bloom again, this time with large solar power plants.

BrightSource Energy has inked a deal with Southern California Edison (SCE) to sell electricity from seven solar power plants that will have a total capacity of 1.3 gigawatts. SCE and BrightSource call the agreement the largest solar deal in the world.

BrightSource, based in Oakland, Calif., is developing a technology that uses the sun's heat, rather than light, to… Read More ›

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New Jersey Utility Proposes $773M Solar Project

PSE&G is joining other utilities in the country to invest, own and operate its own solar power generation rather than buying solar electricity from third-party developers.

New Jersey's largest utility on Tuesday proposed a $773 million project to install solar panels on its own properties, utility poles and public schools.

The Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) said the project would add 120 megawatts of capacity and help it meet a state mandate to generate 22.5 percent of all of its power from renewable sources. The project would meet nearly 7 percent of the statewide goal, the company said.

The utility… Read More ›