Utility-scale solar thermal developer BrightSource Energy has signed a major deal with another California utility company. The company announced a series of contracts with Southern California Edison
for 1,300 megawatts (MW) of solar thermal power, enough to serve nearly
845,000 homes. The power will be spread out over seven power plants in
the Mojave Desert. The first 100 MW under contract will be delivered
from a 400-MW plant south of Las Vegas, Nevada. The other 300 MW from
that plant have already been sold to Pacific Gas and Electric (NYSE: PCG) as part of a 900-MW contract signed in April 2008.
On the east coast, Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) asked New Jersey regulators to approve a $773-million proposal
for 120 megawatts (MW) of solar power throughout its service territory.
The utility’s "Solar 4 All" would include a $264 million investment to
put solar panels on 200,000 utility poles and streetlights and $273
million for solar power systems at public schools and muncipal
facilities. PSE&G intends to own and operate all of the systems.
In the European solar industry, the juwi group raised its profile by securing a long-term cooperation agreement with Segro plc
(SGRO.L), one of Europe’s leading property investment companies. Juwi
will assist Segro with rooftop solar installations. Segro owns more
than a million square meters of of commercial real estate in Germany
alone.
ITC Holdings Corp . (NYSE: ITC) on Monday unveiled plans to build a $10 billion to $12 billion transmission network
to move wind power from the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa to Midwest load
centers, like Chicago. The Green Power Express, as the company is
calling it would include about 3,000 miles of extra high-voltage
transmission capable of carrying 12,000 (MW) of electricity.
American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) is working with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the economics of a 10-MW class superconductor wind turbines.
AMSC is separately developing designs and components for the wind
turbines using high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire for the
generator’s rotor. The company thinks the lighter-weight material will
allow it to break the 6-MW ceiling for wind turbines, which is largely
a factor of size and weight.
United Kingdom’s Tanfield Group is inolved in two major deals for
the development of electric vehicles in the U.S. The company announced
the establishment of a U.S.-based company to sell the elecitric light
commercial trucks produced by Smith Electric Vehicles. Tanfield wil own
49% of Smith Electric Vehicles US Corporation, while 51% will be
American-owned, making it eligible for government funding.
Tanfield also will be working with Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), to help the U.S. automaker launch its first electric vehicle–a light commercial truck–in 2010.
Houston-Texas based CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) has selected eMeter of San Mateo, California to supply software support for the roll-out of two million smart meters
to begin in March 2009. eMeter’s EnergyIP meter data management system
(MDMS) will be integrated with hardware and technology made by Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI) and IBM (NYSE: IBM). Installations are expect to be completed by 2013.
U.S.-based power firm China Hydroelectric, plans to raise up to $200 million in an initial public offering
of shares in Hong Kong. The company, which was set up in 2006 to buy
and operate hydropower assests in China did not give details or a
timetable for the IPO. China reportedly plans to triple its
hydroelectric power by 2020.
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