[BETA] Fortnightly

Alstom introduces a new 3-MW wind turbine, one of the world’s most powerful for onshore installations; Solyndra reports its larges-ever rooftop installation of cylindrical photovoltaic (PV) systems — a 704-kW project in New Jersey; Plug Power reports that its GenDrive fuel cell units will power Walmart Canada’s fleet of electric lift trucks at a Alberta distribution center.

Generation

Alstom introduced its 3-MW ECO 110 wind turbine, one of the most powerful onshore wind turbines in the world, specifically designed to ensure the highest energy production on low- to medium-wind speed sites throughout Europe and worldwide. The ECO 110 features a 110-meter rotor diameter, one of the largest rotors available today for onshore applications. The ECO 110 can produce enough energy for 2,000 households, and avoid the production of 7,000 tonnes a year of CO2. Its 53-meter-long blades capture more power more effectively, meaning fewer turbines and less land space required for the equivalent output. The ECO 110 is the second model of Alstom’s new 3-MW ECO 100 platform.

Alternate Energy Holdings Inc. (AEHI) entered the final stage of gaining local approval to build a nuclear power plant, the Payette County Plant, also called the Idaho Energy Complex. Recently the Payette County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a county-wide zoning change that was designed for AEHI, specifically to allow for a nuclear power plant. The property in question could be rezoned from agricultural to industrial, but only if a nuclear power plant is built there. AEHI says residents who testified in favor of the rezoning outnumbered the opposition at least three-to-one during every public meeting.

Solyndra Inc. , a manufacturer of cylindrical photovoltaic (PV) systems for commercial rooftops, announced that LPS Industries has completed the largest Solyndra installation in the United States to date, a 704-kW project in Moonachie, N.J. The LPS installation consists of approximately 3,800 Solyndra solar panels, producing more than 825,000 kWh of electricity and eliminating more than 1.1 million pounds of CO2 emissions annually—enough to power more than 100 residential homes per year according to U.S. EPA calculations. Solis Partners designed, engineered and installed the system in combination with a new white cool roof system. Solis worked with Allied Building Products on procurement, financing, and logistics. The panels use cylindrical modules that capture sunlight across a 360-degree PV surface capable of converting into electricity direct, diffuse and reflected sunlight from the rooftop.

China-based DongFang recently licensed all the solar-tracking technologies of Titan Tracker, including the company’s systems for flat photovoltaics (PV), high concentrating photovoltaics (CPV), concentrating solar power (CSP) central receiver and Stirling dish systems. Dongfang Electric continues its relationships with leading technology providers in the energy sector such as Hitachi, Mitsubishi in Japan; ABB, Alstom and Foxboro in France; Repower in Germany, Windtec in Austria and now with Titan Tracker in the solar market.

Duke Energy announced the financing of assets in its commercial renewable power portfolio to help fund investments in additional clean energy projects. Duke Energy Generation Services (DEGS), a Duke Energy commercial businesses unit that owns and develops renewable power assets, raised approximately $45 million