Eskom contracted Siemens Energy to supply the Sere wind power plant on the west coast of South Africa. The scope of supply includes the delivery and installation of 46 SWT-2.3-108 wind turbines on 115-meter towers. The deal also includes a five-year-service agreement. Installation is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2013, with startup expected during first half of 2014.
SolarCity raised lease financing from Goldman Sachs to fund more than $500 million in solar power projects – an estimated 110 MW in generation capacity – for homeowners and businesses. The agreement was initiated in 2012 and expanded per its initial terms at the end of April. Solar City says the combined lease financing is the largest of its kind announced in the U.S. for homeowners’ rooftops. About 26 MW has already been deployed under the lease program.
The Santa Clara City Library installed two new EV charging stations, supplied by ECOtality and Silicon Valley Power (SVP). Blink EV charging stations at the library will provide electricity at both Level 3 (480-volt DC fast charging) and Level 2 (208/240-volt AC charging) power levels, and will accept either credit cards or a ChargePass pre-paid card. The library EV charger project was primarily funded via a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant to ECOtality of San Francisco and it’s the nationwide EV Project.
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power dedicated the 150-MW first phase of the Mesquite Solar facility, located in Arlington, Ariz., about 40 miles west of Phoenix. Sempra says that when it’s complete, the Mesquite Solar Complex will be North America’s largest PV installation. Construction began in June 2011 Pacific Gas & Electric will purchase the output under a 20-year contract. With Mesquite 1 operating, Sempra U.S. Gas & Power’sportfolio reaches 300 MW.
IKEA officially plugged-in its solar energy system installed, developed and designed by REC Solar, at its store in Stoughton, Massachusetts. The 118,000-square-foot photovoltaic (PV) array consists of a 590.8-kW (DC) system, built with 4,220 laminated panels. IKEA owns and operates each of its solar PV energy systems atop its buildings – as opposed to a solar lease or PPA – and globally has allocated $1.8 billion to invest in renewable energy through 2015.
GE will supply 59 of its new 1.7-100 brilliant wind turbine to NextEra Energy Resources for a planned Michigan wind farm. GE’s latest development in wind turbine technology increases the rating on the 1.6-100 from 1.6 MW to 1.7 MW, boosting the power by 6 percent. With blades that extend 100 meters – a height of 33 stories – the 1.7-100 has the ability to capture additional energy, making it well suited to a variety of wind farm locations.
Xcel Energy expanded an agreement with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) for renewable energy forecasting. In the next two years, NCAR scientists and engineers will develop custom forecasting systems to enable Xcel Energy control centers in Minneapolis, Denver, Golden, Colo., and Amarillo, Tex., to anticipate sudden changes in wind, shut down turbines ahead of potentially damaging icing events and even predict the amount of energy generated by private solar panels.
MidAmerican Energy will add up to 1,050 MW of wind generation, consisting of up to 656 new wind turbines, in Iowa by year-end 2015. If the expansion is approved by the Iowa Utilities Board, MidAmerican Energy will own and operate approximately 3,335 MW of wind generation capacity in Iowa by year-end 2015.
LS Power to officially open the Arlington Valley (AV) Solar II utility-scale installation in southwest Arizona. Kyocera Solar provided 25 MW of solar modules for the 127-MW PV installation. Block 1 of the five-section installation is now live, with the remaining sections expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2013. Once complete, the project’s 127-MW-generating capacity will place it among the largest solar PV installations in North America.
Sweetwater Wind awarded a $2.6-million contract to S&C Electric, to upgrade a portion of its 585-MW wind farm in Sweetwater, Texas. This upgrade will enable Sweetwater Wind to meet new renewable energy generation interconnection standards that have been enacted in Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The new standards require Sweetwater Wind to provide a lagging power factor capability of 0.95 or less, and a leading power factor capability of 0.95 or less at the point of interconnection (POI).