First Solar

The governmental body responsible for keeping mine pollution out of waterways has announced completion of the first phase of a plan to use solar to keep down its electricity bills.

Investors are afraid of solar energy right now, but the long-term prospects of the industry are improving.

Hanwha Q Cells officially opened its 300,000 square foot solar panel factory in Dalton, Georgia last week, claiming it is the largest such manufacturing facility in the western hemisphere.

Intersect Power has gone live with news the company has 1.7 GWdc ready for construction in Texas and California, including a project which holds a hedge and no power purchase agreement.

Microsoft has purchased 85MW of solar energy from Engie as part of a broader agreement covering 230MW of clean energy generated by the developer's Texas operations.

The Chinese module giant has committed to sourcing 70% of its energy from renewables by 2023 and all of it by 2025. If serious, that could represent confidence in the amount of new renewable energy generation capacity to come online in China given the company’s huge production capacity expansion plans.

Leading CdTe thin-film PV module manufacturer and ‘Solar Module Super League (SMSL), First Solar has secured a multi-year supply deal for its Series 6 CdTe thin film modules for five projects across Texas and California with developer Intersect Power.

Leading CdTe thin-film PV module manufacturer and ‘Solar Module Super League (SMSL), First Solar expects to start volume production at its second US manufacturing plant in early 2020, restoring its bragging rights as the largest PV module manufacturer in US and western hemisphere.

The tender produced lower bids than previous rounds but again allocated less generation capacity than planned. The Japanese government initially accepted bids for a combined 589.9 MW but ended up assigning only 195.8 MW of capacity. The final average price for procured solar power was $0.1222/kWh.

The US Solar Fund (USF) has closed on both the acquisition and financing of 100% of the cash equity interests in the 128MW Milford Solar Project, located in Beaver County, Utah.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has agreed to finance a feasibility study for a 150MW hybrid solar, wind and battery plant in northern Zambia.

First Solar reported a bumper quarter during Q2 by most metrics. The company’s net sales of $585 million were nearly double the previous year, on shipments 1.4 GW of product – the most in its history. Additionally, First Solar booked more than 2.1 GW of orders in July alone, a very positive start to Q3.

First Solar announced that its Sun Streams 2 PV solar plant will power new energy-efficient data centers being built by Microsoft in Goodyear and El Mirage, Arizona. The 150-MWac facility, is being developed and constructed by First Solar in Maricopa County and will power the data centers under a 20-year agreement and will be operational in 2021.

“We’re the first solar company that went public that’s headquartered in Houston,” CEO John Berger tells GTM. “Now you know the energy business has really changed.”

Duke Energy Renewables is expanding its solar energy portfolio by acquiring the 200-MW Holstein solar project from 8minute Solar Energy. The project, located in Nolan County, Texas, will be the largest in Duke Energy Renewables’ fleet once complete.