NEW DELHI, INDIA: Moser Baer India Ltd is developing a one megawatt solar project in Chandrapur, Maharashtra. It has been has been awarded an EPC contract to this effect by Mahagenco, a Government of Maharashtra power generation company.
The solar power plant was awarded on the basis of a global tender, in which 20 global companies participated. The project will be commissioned in consortium with SunEnergy GMBH, a specialised PV systems company based in Germany. The Chandrapur solar farm is among the largest projects anywhere in the world using amorphous silicon (thin film) photovoltaic technology.
The agreement terms include commissioning of the project by January 2010 and maintenance of the project thereafter.
Ratul Puri, Executive Director, of Moser Baer India, said: “It is a matter of pride for us that Moser Baer is pioneering the setting up of large scale solar farms in India. This project, I am sure, will herald the widespread deployment of such solar farms in the country. What this project, which is being undertaken by a utility company of the Maharashtra government, also underlines the role utility companies can play in adopting large solar PV farms in India.”
Rajiv Arya, the Chief Executive Officer of Moser Baer’s photovoltaic business, said: “This project provides a significant opportunity towards showcasing our EPC and project development capabilities. It is heartening that solar energy is being seen as an affordable source of energy in India and Moser Baer has been instrumental in bringing about this change.”
SunEnergy has more than ten years of experience in commissioning large solar projects.
Photovoltaic industry growth
Higher cost of project financing and lower cost of natural gas, both outgrowths of the current economic setup, have made it tough for the solar industry in recent months. However, the key long term industry variables continue to be strong with countries continuing to implement solar-friendly incentive and feed-in tariff programmes.
Continued demand for clean and renewable energy is expected to drive solar energy costs towards grid parity in the next couple of years. Moreover, the drop in prices for solar power equipment could make solar energy more competitive with burning fossil fuels to generate electricity.
Currently, less than one per cent of the world’s electricity comes from solar power. While investors are very selective due to the low finance availability, they still see PV as a low-risk asset class.
Being a densely populated region in the sunny tropical belt, the Indian subcontinent has the ideal combination of high solar insolation, a big potential consumer base density and government-led subsidy schemes. Apart from the 50 MW Government of India incentive scheme, the forthcoming National Solar Mission aims to make India a global leader in solar energy and envisages an installed solar generation capacity of 20,000 MW by 2020.
Moser Baer Photovoltaic Ltd (MBPV) and PV Technologies India Ltd (PVTIL), subsidiaries of Moser Baer India Ltd, are in the business of manufacturing photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules and developing integrated PV systems. They manufacture solar cells and modules by straddling multiple technologies, including crystalline silicon, concentrators and thin films. The companies currently have production lines in crystalline silicon cell manufacturing and thin film in the renewable energy SEZ in Greater Noida in the National Capital Region.
The parent company Moser Baer India Ltd is the leading manufacturer of optical storage media in the world having three state of the art facilities in Noida and Greater Noida.
Showing posts with label solar farms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solar farms. Show all posts
Monday, September 7, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Lieberose solar farm -- Germany’s biggest, world’s second-biggest
TURNOW-PREILACK, GERMANY: The Lieberose solar farm under construction in Brandenburg on Thursday became the world’s second biggest solar power plant and Germany’s biggest, Wörrstädt, Germany-based juwi Group and First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) announced.
The announcement followed the placement of the 560,000th solar panel in the project by German Infrastructure Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee and Brandenburg Minister President Matthias Platzeck.
The solar farm still under construction in Turnow-Preilack, near Cottbus, is in several ways a landmark project for the solar industry. Despite the current economic and financial crisis, the two companies are building a utility-scale project with a total investment volume of more than €160 million. With an output of about 53 megawatts and with a size of more than 210 football fields, it is the second-largest PV installation in the world.
“The Lieberose project demonstrates the success of Germany’s strategy of combining local production of renewable energies with other strengths, including the knowledge and expertise that resides in local companies, networks, research organizations and universities. It’s the combination that makes German competitiveness,” German Infrastructure Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee told 300 invited guests at the official inauguration.
“Lieberose is a model not just in terms of power and financing, but also in the conversion of military and other unused land,” said Platzeck. “Land that was contaminated and off limits for years is being cleared of munitions and other pollution without any financial burden on the owner of the land, the state. The Lieberose solar park is an important step toward making solar electricity a significant force in the local economy,” he added.
The project is being developed on the largest former military training site of the Soviet army in Germany. Due to the relatively low investment and operating costs, it is possible to pay Brandenburg an attractive lease that finances the restoration of the site, including the removal of metal and soil contaminated by leftover grenades, shrapnel and munitions. After the end of the lease period, the solar farm can be removed, restoring the land to its natural state.
“We aim to enable a global power supply with clean and cost-efficient solar energy. The Lieberose project alone will help save about 35,000 tons of CO2 per year,” say First Solar Managing Director Stephan Hansen and juwi Head Matthias Willenbacher. “We are especially proud of this project, because it is also ‘clean’ in another sense of that word. It is not only generating clean energy, but also ensures the removal of dangerous munitions.”
As general contractor, juwi partner juwi Solar GmbH is responsible for planning, logistics, supervising construction and delivering the finished solar farm, which is expected to be sold to an investor upon completion. “Solar farms such as Lieberose are very important for the future of all of the renewable energies,” said Willenbacher and Hansen.
“By their size and the efficiency with which the solar panels are produced, they contribute to significantly lower prices and to accelerating the advent of competitive solar electricity. This clearly increases the acceptance of solar energy,” they said.
Lieberose is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of this year. Upon completion, about 700,000 thin film modules, predominantly from First Solar’s nearby Frankfurt/Oder factory, will produce enough climate-friendly electricity to cover the equivalent electricity needs of about 15,000 households. In addition to producing the solar panels, First Solar helped finance the project.
The solar power station at a glance:
Capacity: approx. 53,000 kilowatts
Area: 162 hectares (over 210 football fields)
Module surface area: approx. 500,000 m² approx. 700,000 thin filmmodules (First Solar)
Annual yield: around 53 million kWh (corresponding to the annual consumption of around 15,000 households)
CO2 saving: approx. 35,000 tonnes per year
The announcement followed the placement of the 560,000th solar panel in the project by German Infrastructure Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee and Brandenburg Minister President Matthias Platzeck.
The solar farm still under construction in Turnow-Preilack, near Cottbus, is in several ways a landmark project for the solar industry. Despite the current economic and financial crisis, the two companies are building a utility-scale project with a total investment volume of more than €160 million. With an output of about 53 megawatts and with a size of more than 210 football fields, it is the second-largest PV installation in the world.
“The Lieberose project demonstrates the success of Germany’s strategy of combining local production of renewable energies with other strengths, including the knowledge and expertise that resides in local companies, networks, research organizations and universities. It’s the combination that makes German competitiveness,” German Infrastructure Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee told 300 invited guests at the official inauguration.
“Lieberose is a model not just in terms of power and financing, but also in the conversion of military and other unused land,” said Platzeck. “Land that was contaminated and off limits for years is being cleared of munitions and other pollution without any financial burden on the owner of the land, the state. The Lieberose solar park is an important step toward making solar electricity a significant force in the local economy,” he added.
The project is being developed on the largest former military training site of the Soviet army in Germany. Due to the relatively low investment and operating costs, it is possible to pay Brandenburg an attractive lease that finances the restoration of the site, including the removal of metal and soil contaminated by leftover grenades, shrapnel and munitions. After the end of the lease period, the solar farm can be removed, restoring the land to its natural state.
“We aim to enable a global power supply with clean and cost-efficient solar energy. The Lieberose project alone will help save about 35,000 tons of CO2 per year,” say First Solar Managing Director Stephan Hansen and juwi Head Matthias Willenbacher. “We are especially proud of this project, because it is also ‘clean’ in another sense of that word. It is not only generating clean energy, but also ensures the removal of dangerous munitions.”
As general contractor, juwi partner juwi Solar GmbH is responsible for planning, logistics, supervising construction and delivering the finished solar farm, which is expected to be sold to an investor upon completion. “Solar farms such as Lieberose are very important for the future of all of the renewable energies,” said Willenbacher and Hansen.
“By their size and the efficiency with which the solar panels are produced, they contribute to significantly lower prices and to accelerating the advent of competitive solar electricity. This clearly increases the acceptance of solar energy,” they said.
Lieberose is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of this year. Upon completion, about 700,000 thin film modules, predominantly from First Solar’s nearby Frankfurt/Oder factory, will produce enough climate-friendly electricity to cover the equivalent electricity needs of about 15,000 households. In addition to producing the solar panels, First Solar helped finance the project.
The solar power station at a glance:
Capacity: approx. 53,000 kilowatts
Area: 162 hectares (over 210 football fields)
Module surface area: approx. 500,000 m² approx. 700,000 thin filmmodules (First Solar)
Annual yield: around 53 million kWh (corresponding to the annual consumption of around 15,000 households)
CO2 saving: approx. 35,000 tonnes per year
Thursday, August 13, 2009
A-Power Energy Generation Systems to acquire thin-film PV battery developer EVATECH
SHENYANG, CHINA: A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd, a leading provider of distributed power generation systems in China and a fast-growing manufacturer of wind turbines, announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire 100 percent of EVATECH Co. Ltd of Kyoto, Japan, a 22-year-old designer and manufacturer of industrial equipment for LCDs and PDPs.
The all-cash transaction is initially valued at $50 million and is expected to be primarily funded through a combination of government subsidies and loans. Government subsidies are expected to amount to 40 percent to 45 percent of the total purchase price, and auditors in Japan are currently preparing a fairness opinion for the transaction.
A-Power expects to sign a definitive purchase agreement with EVATECH by September and close the transaction by the end of November 2009.
"We are truly excited about the potential of adding EVATECH's advanced thin-film solar technology to our reservoir of expertise in the design, manufacturing and installation of clean energy systems," said Jinxiang Lu, A-Power's Chairman and CEO.
"The timing is fortuitous for alternative energy developers in China. Our central government just last month announced the 'Golden Sun' project to subsidize up to 70 percent of the costs of building solar farms with a total capacity of at least 500MW by 2012, versus the country's current capacity of 80MW."
Lu continued: "EVATECH has more than 20 years of experience in developing thin-film products, and since 2006, it has begun producing production lines for thin-film PV batteries, with dedicated R&D centers in Japan.
"EVATECH's world-leading PV technologies include the 'atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition' (AP-CVD) manufacturing technique and the 'transparent conducting oxide' (TCO) glass, which could significantly reduce thin-film battery production costs and enhance its photoelectric conversion rate, which with EVATECH's current technology, already stands at 8 percent.
"During EVATECH's restructuring process in the courts of Japan, it was seeking a strategic buyer with complementary product offerings. A-Power's initial plan is to keep EVATECH's two current R&D centers in Japan while moving the production of thin-film PV batteries and TCO glass coating to China, thus further reducing production costs by exploiting China's low-cost manufacturing advantage."
Based in Kyoto, EVATECH currently has 85 employees and has branch offices in Tokyo, Shanghai and Taiwan. Its main manufacturing facility and its thin-film PV R&D center are located in Kyoto.
It sells to customers in about 10 countries outside Japan, 46 of which are in China, which is EVATECH's largest overseas market. Due to certain financial difficulties with the operation of its business, EVATECH is currently undergoing a rehabilitation process in the courts of Japan related to its corporate and debt restructuring.
The all-cash transaction is initially valued at $50 million and is expected to be primarily funded through a combination of government subsidies and loans. Government subsidies are expected to amount to 40 percent to 45 percent of the total purchase price, and auditors in Japan are currently preparing a fairness opinion for the transaction.
A-Power expects to sign a definitive purchase agreement with EVATECH by September and close the transaction by the end of November 2009.
"We are truly excited about the potential of adding EVATECH's advanced thin-film solar technology to our reservoir of expertise in the design, manufacturing and installation of clean energy systems," said Jinxiang Lu, A-Power's Chairman and CEO.
"The timing is fortuitous for alternative energy developers in China. Our central government just last month announced the 'Golden Sun' project to subsidize up to 70 percent of the costs of building solar farms with a total capacity of at least 500MW by 2012, versus the country's current capacity of 80MW."
Lu continued: "EVATECH has more than 20 years of experience in developing thin-film products, and since 2006, it has begun producing production lines for thin-film PV batteries, with dedicated R&D centers in Japan.
"EVATECH's world-leading PV technologies include the 'atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition' (AP-CVD) manufacturing technique and the 'transparent conducting oxide' (TCO) glass, which could significantly reduce thin-film battery production costs and enhance its photoelectric conversion rate, which with EVATECH's current technology, already stands at 8 percent.
"During EVATECH's restructuring process in the courts of Japan, it was seeking a strategic buyer with complementary product offerings. A-Power's initial plan is to keep EVATECH's two current R&D centers in Japan while moving the production of thin-film PV batteries and TCO glass coating to China, thus further reducing production costs by exploiting China's low-cost manufacturing advantage."
Based in Kyoto, EVATECH currently has 85 employees and has branch offices in Tokyo, Shanghai and Taiwan. Its main manufacturing facility and its thin-film PV R&D center are located in Kyoto.
It sells to customers in about 10 countries outside Japan, 46 of which are in China, which is EVATECH's largest overseas market. Due to certain financial difficulties with the operation of its business, EVATECH is currently undergoing a rehabilitation process in the courts of Japan related to its corporate and debt restructuring.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Dust Networks intros SA-600 wireless sensor networking solution
Intersolar North America 2009, HAYWARD, USA: Dust Networks, the leading supplier of embedded wireless sensor networking (WSN) solutions, introduced the SmartMesh SA-600 system at Intersolar North America, a major trade show for the global solar market.
The SmartMesh SA-600 system enables customers to integrate a standards-based wireless mesh network with sensors and actuators to create scalable monitoring and control infrastructure without the cost and complexity of wires.
SmartMesh SA-600 is a self-forming, self-healing wireless mesh network that features dynamic network optimization and intelligent routing to provide levels of wireless network scalability, system-wide reliability and ultra low-power operation that are unmatched in the industry today.
Designed for use in line-powered, battery-powered, or energy-scavenging applications, SmartMesh SA-600 maximizes the flexibility of deployment options and allows sensors to be located wherever they need to go.
Dust’s solution also includes comprehensive APIs that allow customers to embed advanced wireless networking intelligence into existing monitoring and control solutions with low risk and rapid time-to-market.
By dramatically reducing the cost of capturing and managing sensor data, WSN solutions enable efficiency in a wide variety of markets, including renewable energy generation.
“For solar applications, particularly commercial and utility scale installations, WSN solutions can be used to monitor the health of inverters, control the orientation of solar collectors, relay temperature and weather information, and even measure the integrity of pumps, and then transmit the data wirelessly to any location,” said Steve Toteda, VP of Marketing of Dust Networks.
“Solar farms, which often span thousands of acres, can be wirelessly monitored more easily and economically than with traditional wired solutions, and SmartMesh SA-600 makes it easy to expand these installations by simply adding additional sensing and control points,” Toteda added.
Globally, estimates from McKinsey forecast dramatic growth in overall solar capacity, rising from today’s levels to over 200 GW by 2020.
The SmartMesh SA-600 system enables customers to integrate a standards-based wireless mesh network with sensors and actuators to create scalable monitoring and control infrastructure without the cost and complexity of wires.
SmartMesh SA-600 is a self-forming, self-healing wireless mesh network that features dynamic network optimization and intelligent routing to provide levels of wireless network scalability, system-wide reliability and ultra low-power operation that are unmatched in the industry today.
Designed for use in line-powered, battery-powered, or energy-scavenging applications, SmartMesh SA-600 maximizes the flexibility of deployment options and allows sensors to be located wherever they need to go.
Dust’s solution also includes comprehensive APIs that allow customers to embed advanced wireless networking intelligence into existing monitoring and control solutions with low risk and rapid time-to-market.
By dramatically reducing the cost of capturing and managing sensor data, WSN solutions enable efficiency in a wide variety of markets, including renewable energy generation.
“For solar applications, particularly commercial and utility scale installations, WSN solutions can be used to monitor the health of inverters, control the orientation of solar collectors, relay temperature and weather information, and even measure the integrity of pumps, and then transmit the data wirelessly to any location,” said Steve Toteda, VP of Marketing of Dust Networks.
“Solar farms, which often span thousands of acres, can be wirelessly monitored more easily and economically than with traditional wired solutions, and SmartMesh SA-600 makes it easy to expand these installations by simply adding additional sensing and control points,” Toteda added.
Globally, estimates from McKinsey forecast dramatic growth in overall solar capacity, rising from today’s levels to over 200 GW by 2020.
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