Lithium-ion battery makers announced plans for four separate manufacturing facilities
in Michigan this week. In all, the plants are expected to bring more
than 6,500 jobs to the state and an investment of roughly $1.7 billion.
The batter makers include Johnson Controls-Saft; LG Chem; a joint
venture of Dow Chemical Co (NYSE: DOW), Townsend Ventures LLC and Kokam America Inc.; and A123 Systems.
In other battery news, Toshiba Corp (6502.) reportedly has developed a quick-charging lithium-ion battery
for electric-powered vehicles that quadruples the power output of
earlier batteries developed by the company. According to a report in
the Japanese financial daily Nikkei, the company will begin building a
plant to make the batteries this fall. The report said the batteries
can be recharged in as little as 90 seconds and can be recharged more
than 10,000 times over the life of the battery.
In related electric vehicle news, the Renault-Nissan alliance for electric vehicle development announced that it will work with the Chinese government
to develop an infrastructure for charging stations in the country. In
recent months, the automakers have announced similar agreements for
select locations in Asia, Europe and the U.S. But this deal is perhaps
the most significant, giving the companies an early foothold for
electric vehicles in the massive Chinese market. The alliance said they
will bring electric vehicles to China in 2011.
Northeast Utilities (NYSE: NU) announced it is in the initial stages of
developing an electric vehicle charging infrastructure
for plug-in electric
vehicles (EVs) in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The power company has
applied for federal funding and two of its companies, Connecticut Light
& Power Company (CL&P) and Western
Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO), are proposing to build a
network of 575 charging stations over the next two years.
In solar news, First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) announced an
agreement to build a 48-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic
(PV) power plant for Sempra Generation (NYSE: SRE). The project will expand the 10MW-power plant near Boulder City, Nevada that First Solar completed
for Sempra Generation in 2008. Upon completion in 2010, it will be the largest solar power plant in the country.
Abound Solar (formerly AVA Solar), a manufacturer of thin-film
photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, has opened its first full-scale
production facility in Longmont, Colorado. The automated facility will create more than 300 new jobs and,
when at capacity, will produce 200 megawatts (MW) of solar modules annually.
International trading house Itochu Corporation (8801.T)
announced an acquisition that gives the company roughly 30% market
share for residential solar power systems in the U.S. The group has agreed to acquire an 85% stake in SolarNet LLC, a
large solar power systems provider that includes DC Power Systems and
Stellar Energy Solutions. The acquisition also positions Itochu as a leading integrator of
commercial-scale solar power systems, with a project pipeline of over
80 MW across the U.S.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Utility Florida Power & Light, a subsidiary of the FPL Group (NYSE:
FPL), and real estate developer Kitson & Partners announced a $2
billion plan to build an environmentally friendly city in southwest
Florida that will be completely powered by a 75-MW solar power system. The planned city is called Babcock Ranch
and will be situated next to the 73,000-acre Babcock Ranch Preserve.
The project plan aims for 19,500 houses and about 6 million square feet
of commercial space.
Subject to state approval, groundbreaking on the FPL solar
facility is targeted for late 2009, with construction of the city
center targeted for mid-2010 and construction of the first residential
and commercial buildings targeted for late 2010.
Loading...