news digest ♦ Solar Science and the American Physical Society.
Soitec secures financing for South African 50-MW peaksolar power plant
The plant will use Soitec’s Concentrix fifth- generation III-V multi-junction CPV systems
Soitec has obtained financing from Investec , one of the leading investment banks in Africa, to build the company’s planned plant in Touwsrivier, Western Cape, South Africa.
James Coleman, a pioneer of photonics and semiconductor lasers, elected to the National Academy of Engineering
Coleman was cited for his work in semiconductor lasers and photonic materials. His research focuses on materials for optoelectronics – devices that convert electricity into light or vice-versa, such as lasers, light sensors, solar cells and fibre optics. He helped to develop the MOCVD growth method and is director of the Semiconductor Laser Laboratory at the U. of I.
“This is a significant recognition and prestigious honour for one of our distinguished faculty,” said Ilesanmi Adesida, the dean of the College of Engineering. “Dr. Coleman’s research has added considerable knowledge to the field of semiconductor lasers and photonic devices, and his many successful patents and contributions to the engineering literature remain a testament of those achievements. He is also an Illinois alumnus, so we are doubly proud of his achievements.”
Coleman earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from the U. of I. He worked at Bell Laboratories and Rockwell International before joining the faculty in 1982. He has published more than 400 scholarly journal articles and holds seven patents. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Optical Society of America, SPIE (the international society for optics and photonics), the American Association for the Advancement of
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All financial arrangements are expected to be finalised by the end of the second quarter of 2012.
In December 2011, Soitec was selected by South Africa’s Department of Energy as one of the preferred bidders under the country’s independent power producer (IPP) program. Soitec’s initial project in this program is the solar plant in Touwsrivier, near the Aquila Private Game Reserve where Soitec has already installed a pilot facility.
According to South Africa’s Department of Energy, the country’s goal is that 42 percent of all newly installed capacity in the next 20 years will be based on renewable-energy sources.
“With financing now in place, we are moving forward to provide South Africa with its first large- scale CPV renewable-energy plant,” said André Jacques Auberton-Hervé, chairman and CEO of Soitec. “Following our previous construction of a pilot facility at Aquila and the 500-kw CPV plant near Durban that helped to power the United Nation’s recent conference on global climate change, Soitec is helping South Africa to realize its ambitious renewable-energy objectives.”
Soitec’s durable, high-efficiency Concentrix systems are well suited for installation in South Africa and other sites with high direct solar radiation. The systems produce a high, constant power output curve throughout the day and are able to match peak-load demands.
Founded in South Africa in 1974, Investec is a specialist bank and asset manager which provides
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