301 Moved Permanently

---

nginx

D.C. Academia Turns On
With Duke PV Boom

The George Washington University, American University and the George Washington University Hospital will receive up to 52 MW of output from three solar photovoltaic plants in North Carolina being developed and managed by Duke Energy Renewables. The Capital Partners Solar Project includes three separate power purchase agreements (PPAs) between Duke and the three entities.

The academic institutions indicate that purchasing solar PV generation provides cost savings and emissions reductions while demonstrating environmental stewardship. For example, the 20-year PPA provides fixed pricing at a lower total price than that of current power alternatives. Further, the savings will become even greater in the future as prices for traditional generation sources will likely increase.

“Thanks to this innovative partnership, the George Washington University will now derive more than half of all its electricity from solar energy,” says Steven Knapp, university president. “This will greatly accelerate our progress toward the carbon neutrality target we had earlier set for 2025.”

Under the agreement, George Washington University will receive roughly 86.6 million kWh, American University will get 30 million kWh and George Washington University Hospital will receive about 6.3 million kWh annually.

Greg Wolf, president of Duke Energy Renewables, says the first of the three solar plants needed for the contract - a 20 MW PV solar project located in Pasquotank County, N.C. - will be completed by the end of the year.

The remaining 32 MW, which will also be built in North Carolina, will be configured to meet the terms of the PPA, Wolf says.

Duke now owns approximately 170 MW of generating capacity at 21 U.S. solar plants, including 14 in North Carolina.

Another notable aspect of the agreement is that the solar power generated in North Carolina will flow to D.C. through Dominion Power’s balancing area via grid operator PJM Interconnection.

“There is a significant amount of solar being built in North Carolina, and we’re glad to be part of that,” Wolf says. “At the same time, we recognize the utilities are working to integrate these new facilities, and they are working to do it with finite resources. We have a good relationship with Dominion and feel this partnership approach will enable our solar assets to achieve interconnection safely and on time.” R

- Mark Del Franco

 

Rocky Mountain Power Buying 320 MW Of Solar

Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp and part of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has finalized 20-year solar power purchase agreements with developer First Wind on four solar projects with a total capacity of 320 MW.

The utility will buy the output of the planned Four Brothers solar development, which includes four separate 80 MW project sites in Beaver and Iron counties, Utah. According to First Wind, the combined Four Brothers solar portfolio represents the largest solar development in Utah to date. Major construction is slated to begin in 2015 and be completed in 2016.

Rocky Mountain Power’s purchase is made in connection with its obligation under the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act and follows seven similar agreements for First Wind’s 20 MW Seven Sisters projects.

 

Canadian Solar Closes 140 MW Solar EPC Deal

Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. has entered into an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with Kingston Solar LP to build a 140 MW solar energy farm in Ontario.

The Kingston solar farm, developed by Samsung Renewable Energy Inc., will include more than 464,000 Canadian Solar Maxpower CS6X modules. When complete, the array is expected to produce approximately 173 GWh of electricity per year. Construction on the project is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2014 and be operational in the third quarter of 2015.

Kingston represents Phase II of Samsung’s 300 MW solar development program in Ontario. Phase I of the program was the 130 MW Grand Renewable Energy Park in Haldimand County, announced in June 2013.

 

Partners To Develop
50 MW In California

PsomasFMG, a California-based provider of turnkey solar solutions, and Constellation, an Exelon company, have announced an agreement to develop up to 50 MW of solar distributed generation projects for California-area schools and municipalities through the end of 2015.

The agreement calls for Constellation to provide financing to build, own and operate the solar power systems and sell the electricity generated by the systems to customers through power purchase agreements.

To date, four solar projects have been completed or are currently under construction in Southern California: an 878 kW system for Castaic Union School District in Valencia, a 7.6 MW portfolio of systems for Chaffey Joint Union High School District in Ontario, a 1 MW system for Keppel Union School District in Pearblossom, and a 976 kW system for the city of Palmdale.

 

Green Power EMC Signs PPA For 20 MW Array

Green Power EMC has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the full output of a 20 MW solar project planned for construction in Georgia.

Silicon Ranch Corp. is developing the ground-mounted solar project near Hazlehurst, Ga., and will own the facility. Construction is scheduled to begin this year with completion in late 2015.

The solar array will occupy approximately 135 acres and will incorporate over 87,000 solar modules. It is expected to generate more than 43 GWh of electricity per year.

Jeff Pratt, president of Green Power EMC, said the Hazlehurst project is the result of a request for proposals issued in late 2013 to add more solar energy to Green Power EMC’s portfolio. The company currently purchases the output of two solar projects: a 115 kW rooftop array near Athens, Ga., and a 150 kW ground-mounted array near Warner Robins, Ga.

 

REC Solar Breaks Ground On 14.5 MW Hawaii Array

REC Solar has commenced construction on a 14.53 MW solar array for Hawaii utility Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC).

The 57,624-panel solar photovoltaic system will be located on a 60-acre site in Anahola, on the northeast side of the island of Kauai. A 6 MW lithium-ion battery energy storage system will be installed alongside the array. Upon completion in 2015, the project is expected to generate 5% of Kauai’s annual energy needs.

The Anahola system is the second project that REC Solar has developed with KIUC, following a 1.2 MW array in Kapaa.

 

PSEG To Acquire 13 MW Texas Project From juwi

PSEG Solar Source, a subsidiary of the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), has announced it will acquire a 13 MW solar project in Texas from juwi solar for $22 million.

To be dubbed the PSEG El Paso Solar Energy Center, the project is located 14 miles north of El Paso. juwi is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project and will operate the facility for PSEG Solar Source upon completion. Construction has already commenced, and the solar farm is slated to be online by year-end. The project will use JA solar panels and has a 30-year power purchase agreement with El Paso Electric Co.

This is the eighth solar project in seven states for PSEG Solar Source, bringing its total portfolio to 106 MW. The company also owns solar projects in California, Arizona, Delaware, Ohio, Florida and New Jersey.

 

Recurrent Energy Wraps Up Ontario Portfolio

Recurrent Energy has announced the commercial operation of the 10 MW Sunningdale solar farm. This represents the final project to reach commercial operation in a 20-project portfolio, totaling 220 MW, that the company has developed in southern Ontario.

In March, Fengate Capital Management Ltd., a Canadian alternative asset management firm, announced the financial close of an investment in the Sunningdale project. The acquisition was completed following commercial operation of the project.

The Sunningdale project, located near the city of London in the Municipality of Thames Centre, will provide its output to the Ontario Power Authority for the next 20 years through feed-in-tariff agreements.

 

Indianapolis Solar Project Crosses Finish Line

Project partners have held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a 9 MW solar farm at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).

The IMS Solar Farm, located adjacent to the backstretch of the facility’s 2.5-mile oval racetrack, features a total of 39,312 solar modules. IMS says it used a portion of its 1,000-acre campus that was underutilized.

San Jose-based SunWize Technologies Inc. and Phoenix-based Blue Renewable Energy co-developed the project: Blue Renewable Energy entered into a land-lease agreement with IMS to build the system on the property, and SunWize designed, engineered and installed the solar project. Under a power purchase agreement, Indianapolis Power & Light Co. will serve as the project’s off-taker and own the solar renewable energy credits.

 

Borrego Begins 8.3 MW Of Calif. Solar Projects

Borrego Solar Systems Inc. has broken ground on the Seneca Solar Projects, an 8.3 MW portfolio of fixed-tilt ground-mounted projects in Victorville, Calif.

Owned by Salt Lake City-based independent power producer sPower, this portfolio is Borrego Solar’s second portfolio of projects under utility Southern California Edison’s (SCE) California Renewable Energy Small Tariff (CREST) program.

The first CREST portfolio, located in Desert Hot Springs, was completed at the end of 2013. Borrego Solar explains it acquired the projects during late-stage development under an agreement to co-develop and provide all of the necessary project financing, engineering, procurement and construction of the solar facilities. Once all development hurdles were overcome, sPower purchased the portfolio.

The energy generated from the Seneca Solar Projects will be sold at a set price to SCE for 20 years as part of the utility’s CREST program.

 

6 MW Solar Project Goes Live In Mass.

Syncarpha Capital and Pacolet Milliken have announced the completion of Fischer Road Solar, a jointly owned 6 MW project in Dartmouth, Mass.

Fischer Road Solar has approximately 20,000 solar panels and is located on a parcel that also contains cranberry bogs and a composting center. Ameresco Inc., a renewable-energy and energy-efficiency company with headquarters in Framingham, Mass., constructed the facility in less than six months and will oversee its operations. The Town of Carver and the Silver Lake School District will purchase the energy over the next 20 years.

 

EDF Starts Up Mass.
Solar Project

EDF Renewable Energy has reached commercial operation at the 5.86 MW Lancaster solar project in Massachusetts. EDF and solar developer Urban Green Technologies LLC signed a membership interest purchase and sale agreement in October 2013 and started construction that December.

The ground-mount, fixed-tilt solar photovoltaic project, located on approximately 30 acres of privately owned land at the former Shirley Airport, features 19,000 Canadian Solar modules. The electricity generated is supplied to the Town of Billerica, Mass., under a long-term power purchase agreement, pursuant to the state’s Virtual Net Metering Credits Program.

EDF Renewable Services will provide long-term operations and maintenance for the facility.

 

PNL To Build Calif.
Landfill Solar Project

Project Navigator Ltd. (PNL), via its solar development group, PV Navigator LLC (PVN), has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Southern California Edison (SCE) for a 3 MW AC solar project to be located on the County of San Bernardino’s closed Milliken Sanitary Landfill in Ontario, Calif.

With established site control, an interconnect agreement and now the PPA, PNL says it will work with the County of San Bernardino in obtaining all necessary land entitlements for the project before construction begins. The Milliken Landfill Solar project is slated to go online in late 2015, and its power will be sold to SCE under the terms of the PPA for a period of 20 years.

 

OnForce Breaks Ground On 2.3 MW Landfill Array

OnForce Solar has started construction on a 2.316 MW solar array to be built on 13 acres of a decommissioned, capped landfill in West Nyack, N.Y. The company says the solar installation will be the first of its kind built on a landfill in the state.

OnForce Solar is investing $6 million to install, operate and maintain the solar installation pursuant to a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Town of Clarkstown, N.Y. Financing for the project also came from a multimillion-dollar award that Clarkstown received from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority through the NY-Sun initiative.

The solar system integrates Orange and Rockland Utilities’ supervisory control and data acquisition monitoring system under a smart grid pilot program. Construction of the solar field is expected to be completed by the end of this summer. When complete, it is expected to generate at least 2.9 GWh of electricity per year.

 

SunShare Sells Out 2 MW Community Solar Project

Colorado-based energy company SunShare has sold out its 2 MW community solar garden project.

Customers include University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, the Pikes Peak Library District, Security Water District and the city of Manitou Springs. SunShare says governmental interest in the project was particularly high.

Colorado Springs Utilities awarded the community solar contract to SunShare under a public bidding process in November 2013. Construction on the project, which will incorporate over 100,000 solar panels, is scheduled to begin this fall.

 

Washington Gas
Completes 1.2 MW Array

Washington Gas Energy Systems has completed a 1.23 MW ground-mounted solar array for Presbyterian Senior Living’s Meadows Retirement Community in Glen Arm, Md.

Italy-based independent power producer Building Energy developed the system, which consists of 4,180 solar panels. New York-based ABM Industries Inc. provided engineering, procurement and construction services for the project. It is expected to generate approximately 1.68 GWh of electricity per year.

Washington Gas Energy Systems will own and operate the array under a 20-year power purchase agreement. Sol Systems, a solar energy finance firm based in Washington, D.C., acted as investment advisor to Washington Gas Energy Systems in the transaction.

 

RGS To Deploy Solar
For N.Y.C. Apartments

RGS Energy, a Real Goods Solar company, has been selected by Georgetown Mews Owners Corp. to design and install 1 MW of solar power systems in Kew Garden Hills, N.Y.

RGS says the systems will be installed on the rooftops of a 60-acre residential cooperative and are expected to offset 35% of the electricity costs for 930 garden apartments.

Financing for the project was supported by a combination of rebates from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, a federal tax credit, a New York City tax abatement, and utility Con Ed’s buyback of solar via net metering.

RGS Energy plans to finish the project by the end of this year.

 

3Tek Completes 1.1 MW Rooftop In Mexico

3Tek Solar has completed a 1.16 MW rooftop solar array for audio equipment manufacturer Plantronics in Tijuana, Mexico.

SolarWorld supplied 4,284 of its solar panels for the project. About 1.14 MW of those panels are mounted on the factory’s industrial metal-seam roof using SolarWorld’s Sunfix Plus racking product. An additional 20 kW are installed atop a covered walkway at the factory’s entrance. The array features SMA Sunny Central inverters.

The installation is expected to produce 1.9 GWh of electricity per year, offsetting approximately 70% of the plant’s energy requirements.

 

First Solar To Build
141 MW PV Plant In Chile

First Solar Inc. has received approval from the U.S. government’s Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) and the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. (IFC) for financing to support construction of the 141 MW Luz del Norte solar power plant in Chile’s Atacama Desert.

The OPIC board approved a loan of up to $230 million; the IFC board approved a $60 million loan. The loans, which are expected to close later this summer, clear the way for First Solar to proceed with construction planning at the site, which is near the city of Copiapo. Electricity from Luz del Norte will be supplied into the Chilean Central Interconnected System.

First Solar says the Luz del Norte project is the first of several projects in its regional development pipeline and will be the company’s initial project to start construction in Chile.

 

SunEdison Closes On
72.8 MW Plant In Chile

SunEdison Inc. has closed a $155 million non-recourse debt financing arrangement for the construction of the 72.8 MW Maria Elena merchant solar power plant in Chile.

The company secured the project financing with OPIC, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Chilean commercial bank CorpBanca, which is also providing a local Chilean Peso VAT facility equivalent to $35 million.

SunEdison expects to complete the project this year and will own and operate the plant. Maria Elena’s output will be fed directly into the Chilean national electricity grid and sold in the spot market without any incentive support.

 

SPI Solar To Build 50 MW Project In China

California-based developer SPI Solar has announced an agreement under which its wholly owned subsidiary, Xinyu Xinwei New Energy Co., will build a 50 MW solar project in China.

Xinyu signed the deal with the government of Fenyi County, China. Under the terms of the agreement, SPI says the government will provide certain guarantees and support to Xinwei for the project’s construction and development phases, in addition to offering certain incentives and other services for the project’s later phases leading up to grid connection.

 

Scatec Completes 40 MW Plant In South Africa

Norway-based Scatec Solar has started commercial operations of a 40 MW PV plant in South Africa.

The Linde project, located in the Northern Cape region, is the second utility-scale solar PV plant Scatec Solar has completed under the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Program, following the 75 MW Kalkbult plant. South African joint venture Scatec Solar SA developed both projects.

According to the company, the Linde project features a single-axis solar tracker system and will produce approximately 94 million kWh per year. The power will be fed into the local grid and sold through a 20-year power purchase agreement with the national utility company, Eskom.

 

Gestamp To Build Utility Project In Japan

Spain-based Gestamp Solar has announced its first utility-scale solar photovoltaic project in Japan. The project, located in the town of Daigo, will have an installed capacity of 31.6 MW and is situated on a former golf course.

To fund the project, Gestamp Solar entered into an agreement with Deutsche Bank AG to secure access to a non-recourse construction loan facility based on international project finance standards of about $110 million.

Gestamp expects to complete construction on the project within a year and commence energy production by April 2015. The project will supply its output to Tokyo Electric Power Co. S