All About Solar | Green Energy News

September 18, 2005 – Vol.10 No.26

All ABOUT SOLAR.

This week’s news...

U.S. solar energy businesses are finding new opportunities everywhere.

Rochester Hills, Michigan-based ECD Ovonics (ECD Ovonics) subsidiary United Solar Ovonic has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tianjin Jinneng Investment of Tianjin, China, to create a joint venture to build a 25-megawatt per year capacity production facility for thin-film triple-junction photovoltaic module manufacturing in Tianjin.

United Solar is also set to expand operations in the U.S. The company broke ground in July to double its capabilities in cell and module manufacturing to 50 megawatts. Visit United Solar Ovonic at http://www.uni-solar.com/ .

Bedford, Massachusetts based Spire Corporation has begun building a 15 megawatt per year solar module production line for Unison Co. of Chonan-City, Korea. The equipment is expected to be shipped for installation in early 2006.

For Unison the equipment will expand their business in renewable energy. The company is already one of Korea’s largest wind system suppliers. Visit Spire at http://www.spirecorp.com/

In the U.S. the largest ground mounted solar electric system in the state of New Jersey is up, operating and open for business.

A 500-kilowatt array, installed for New Jersey American Water at its Canal Road Water Treatment Plant in Somerset, is expected to supplement 15 percent of the peak power usage needed to run the plant.

Built with the financial assistance of New Jersey’s solar rebate program that will cover 60 percent of the system’s cost, the solar array will save New Jersey American Water $125,000 per year. With that generous rebate the system will pay for itself in about 7 years.

The system was built by Dome-Tech Solar using 2800 solar panels from RWE Schott Solar. American Water, a division of RWE, considers the installation a pilot project and if all goes well will consider solar power for other plants. Visit Dome-Tech Solar at http://www.dometechsolar.com/ , New Jersey American Water at http://www.njawater.com/ and RWE Schott Solar at http://www.rweschottsolar.com/