All About Solar | Green Energy News

January 30, 2005 – Vol.9 No.45

ALL ABOUT SOLAR.

A cornucopia of solar news...

--- Since October 2003, the 300 families of Padre Cocha, Peru have had power to their homes, as well as a few small businesses, provided by solar power.

In a program sponsored, in part, by the Doe Run Company, Padre Cocha has had a RAPS (Remote Area Power Supply) system to bring clean electricity to the Peruvian Amazon community. The project uses a solar array and large lead-acid battery pack to supply power 24/7. RAPS supplements the town’s diesel generated power supply.

Doe Run, and its subsidiary Doe Run Peru, is a mineral production, recycling and fabrication company and is the third largest lead producer in the world.

The Common Fund for Commodities and the International Lead Zinc Research Organization are also involved in the project.

A similar pilot RAPS project is apparently underway in Indiana, Peru, also in the Amazon watershed region. The pilot projects are officially known as the ILZRO RAPS PERU projects.

Visit the the Common Fund for Commodities at http://www.common-fund.org/ , the International Lead Zinc Research Organization at http://www.ilzro.org/ , the ILZRO RAPS PERU projects at http://www.ilzrorapsperu.org/ and Doe Run at http://www.doerun.com/ .

--- The Export -Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is proud to announce that through lending it has helped U.S. solar companies expand their business overseas.

With a $5 million Ex-Im guaranteed working capitol line of credit PowerLight Corporation, of Berkeley, California,was able to export its innovative solar tracking technology for the 10-megawatt Bavaria Solarpark in Germany. The Solarpark, on 30 acres of farmland, is the largest solar power plant in the world and provides clean power to 9000 homes.

Also with a $5 million working capitol guarantee from Ex-Im Bank, Evergreen Solar of Marlboro, Massachusetts, has been able to support its growing sales of solar power products in Europe, particularly in Germany.

Visit the Ex-Im Bank at http://www.exim.gov/ , PowerLight at http://www.powerlight.com/ and Evergreen at http://www.evergreensolar.com/ .

--- United Solar Ovonic has signed a distribution agreement with Conergy AG of Germany for 1.5 megawatts of solar photovoltaic products. For two years the Hamburg-based supplier of solar systems will be distributing United Solar’s UNI-SOLAR triple-junction thin film solar modules to Conergy sales subsidiaries in France, Greece, Spain and Switzerland. Visit United Solar at http://www.uni-solar.com/ ,Conergy at http://www.conergy.com/ .

--- Energy Innovations of Pasadena, California, which has been developing a low-cost solar concentrator system known as Sunflower, has purchased Prevalent Power, a California-based solar integrator.

Together the companies will continue to build and install traditional flat-panel solar projects, but will focus on the Sunflower project.

And focus is what Sunflower does. Each Sunflower module is comprised of an array of mirrors which track the sun throughout the day, concentrating light on a small number of solar cells. Overall cost is reduced since fewer solar cells are needed to generate a given amount of power.

Energy Innovations will change its name to EI Solutions. Visit them at http://solutions.energyinnovations.com/ .