We’ve got a lot of solar news this week.
South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) signed a $700 million contract to build two
utility-scale solar power plants in Arizona. At 150 megawatts (MW) one of the planned projects would be the largest photovoltaic (PV) power plant in North America. The other plant is planned for 25 MW and both are scheduled for completion by the end of 2012. The contract builds on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with Matinee Energy earlier this year for the development of up to 900 MW of solar power in California and Arizona. Korea’s LG Electronics (LGERF.PK) was also part of that MOU, though the company does not appear to be involved in this project. Hyundai Heavy is also getting into geothermal and electric vehicles with Raser Technologies (NYSE: RZ), and they are building wind turbines based on designs licensed from American Superconductor (Nasdaq: AMSC).
Cogentrix Energy signed a deal to build the first utility-scale concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) power plant in the U.S. and what is likely to be the largest of its kind in the world. The power plant will be located in Southern Colorado, and it will use CPV panels made by Amonix. The panels use optics to focus large amounts of sunlight onto high efficiency
photovoltaic cells. As a result, CPV solar is more efficient, producing
more energy per acre than other solar technology.
CPV has yet to capture much of the solar market, as it is more expensive
to produce. But now that traditional photovoltaics are reaching the
ceiling of their energy conversion efficiencies, CPV is one possible
path to reaching higher output levels. Cogentrix has finalized local permits and is currently in the process of
securing financing for the project. The project is expected to
begin providing electricity in 2Q12 under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL).
BrightSource Energy, a developer of utility-scale solar thermal
power plants, announced that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) issued its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the
company’s Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. The 3,600-acre project is to be located in the desert in San Bernardino
County, California. When constructed, it will be one of the world’s
largest solar energy projects. At 392-MW in capacity it will nearly double the amount of solar
thermal electricity produced in the U.S. The Ivanpah project is one of several dozen "fast-track" priorities for the BLM, and BrightSource said it expects to have all of the final permits to begin construction this fall.
California-based Nanosys, Inc., a company involved in the development of
advanced materials, announced a strategic alliance and licensing arrangement with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SSNLF.PK). The two companies will work to accelerate
the development of commercial applications of nano-materials for the electronics and thin film solar markets. In addition to solar, they will focus on LEDs, semiconductors, memory and display technologies. Samsung’s venture capital arm also is investing $15 million in Nanosys.
Germany’s Q-Cells SE (QCE.DE) returned to profitability in 2Q10, as the company continues restructuring efforts following major financial losses in 2009. The company reported 2Q earnings of EUR 35.2 million. The solar cell company lost EUR 24 million 1Q10, but that is only a drop in the bucket, after the company lost about EUR 1.4 billion in 2009. Since then the company has jettisoned its thin-film venture, moved module production to Malaysia, brought in a new CEO and ventured into downstream project development. 2Q revenue increased 44% quarter-over-quarter to a total of EUR 333.5 million.
Siemens (NYSE: SI) and Samsung (005930.KS) have signed a supply agreement for 600 MW worth of wind turbines.
The turbines will be deployed at wind projects in southern Ontario, and Siemens also announced it will establish a a blade manufacturing site in Canada. That facility will most likely be in Ontario to respond to the domestic content requirements set by the province’s feed-in tariff for renewable power. Samsung plans to develop 2,000 MW of wind power in Ontario over the next six years.
AES Corp. (NYSE: AES) has ordered 44 MW of Smart Grid Stabilization Systems (SGSS) from
A123 Systems’ (Nasdaq: AONE). The systems, which use lithium-ion batteries to store and release excess electricity on the power grid, will be deployed in numerous projects, including one in Johnson City, N.Y. which last week received a $17 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. Thought A123 still has agreements with electric car makers in the U.S. and China, the company seems focused on riding the wave of smart grid investment over the next decade, and the supply deal with AES is a big step in that direction.
Algae-to-fuel company Solazyme, Inc. announced that it has raised $52 million in Series D financing. The San Francisco-based company’s technology used algae to produce oil and biomaterials for biofuel production, chemicals and foods. Morgan Stanley joined previous investors, including Braemar Energy Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and the venture capital arm of Chevron (NYSE: CVX). In July, Solazyme delivered 1,500 gallons of 100% algae-based jet fuel to the U.S. Navy for testing. And the company also has a research and development agreement with Unilever (NYSE: UN) to develop oil for use in soaps and other personal care products.
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