Solar ♦ news digest
First Solar utilizes a continuous manufacturing process which transforms a sheet of glass into a complete solar module in less than 2.5 hours, which contributes to the company’s industry- leading energy payback time and the low carbon footprint of systems using First Solar PV modules. First Solar also implemented the industry’s first comprehensive, prefunded solar module collection and recycling program. Anyone wishing to dispose of First Solar modules can request collection at any time, at no additional cost, and First Solar will pick up the modules and recycle up to 90% (by mass) of the material for use in new products, including new solar modules and new glass products.
First Solar Sells 10MW Solar Power Plant near Zamora, Spain to KGAL
First Solar and KGAL on Thursday announced the purchase of a 9.9 megawatt (MW) (DC) solar power plant near Zamora, Spain by European Solar Power Fund — a renewable energy-focused fund for institutional investors managed by KGAL — from First Solar.
Currently under construction by Gehrlicher Solar España with an expected completion in December, the 37.6 hectare solar farm will produce an estimated 15,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean, green electricity a year — equivalent to the annual needs of around 3,400 Spanish households and CO2 savings of approximately 5,600 metric tons/ year.
“We are very glad about the successful acquisition of this exceptional solar farm in Spain and the opportunity to collaborate with highly professional partners like First Solar and Gehrlicher,” said Dr. Klaus Wolf, managing director of KGAL. “The total capacity of solar farms owned and operated by KGAL’s investment funds now exceeds 200 MW.”
The solar farm is located in Pereruela in the province of Zamora, Spain, about 250 kilometers northwest of Madrid. The Zamora area is one of the sunniest in Europe, with around 1,700 kWh/m2 of sunlight a year. Guillermo Barea Herranz, CEO of Gehrlicher Solar España, said: “We are happy about the successful realization of this project
together with our business partners. Based on our long-term experience and the high potential of the Spanish PV market, we look forward to installing many more PV systems in this region as well as in the rest of the world.” As with other large, ground- mounted solar farms such as the 53MW Lieberose solar farm in Germany and 26.3MW Badajoz solar farm in Spain, First Solar helped to organize third-party financing in addition to supplying solar modules—in this case some 122,000 FS Series 3 thin-film solar modules. “Large-scale projects are essential to greenhouse gas reductions and driving economies of scale that make us more competitive with fossil fuels,” said Peer Guenzel, Managing Director of First Solar’s Utility Systems Business Group in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We are pleased to be able to continue to enable a market for large-scale solar power plants in Spain,” he said. The long-term financing for the Zamora project was structured by HSH Nordbank AG. Jürgen H. Lange, head of energy at HSH Nordbank, said: “We have been active in the renewable energy sector for several years now. Knowing the international network, the financial and technical developments, and specific regional requirements for solar projects, we were able to structure the Zamora transaction in a way that satisfied the needs of all parties.”
Financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
$1.4 Billion in transactions in India supports 10,000 American jobs
Export-Import Bank in Washington is providing a $16 million, 16.5-year loan to Azure Power Rajasthan Pvt to purchase thin-film solar cadmium telluride based First Solar modules for the construction of a 5 MW solar PV plant in Rajasthan.
Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), is leading a business-development mission this week in India.
He announced $25 million in Ex-Im Bank loans for two new solar-energy projects and is promoting the Bank’s financing products to support the purchase of U.S. goods and services by Indian buyers.
August/September 2011
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