Solar News From Around the Globe

April 4, 2007 – Vol.12 No.2

SOLAR NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE.

According to Invest in Germany (IIG) GmbH, Germany is the world leader in solar electric power. With 2500 megawatts of installed capacity, the country accounts for 55 percent of global solar electricity production.

Sales of solar products were EUR 3.8 billion ($5 billion) in 2006. 2007 is expected to be 20 percent higher.

Germany is not a sun-drenched nation, not a natural, obvious place to build solar power plants. It’s the government that’s helping (in a big way) to build solar there.

In 2000, the German government passed the Renewable Energies Act (Erneuerbare Energie Gesetz, EEG). The law requires utility companies to pay a higher price to solar energy providers than they do to conventional energy providers. The higher price makes expensive solar power an economically viable and profitable option, thus attracts developers.

Portugal and Spain are sunny spots in Europe and are natural places for solar electric power.

Recently GE, PowerLight, and Portuguese renewable energy company Catavento announced the dedication of the 11-megawatt Serpa solar power plant built near the town of the same name.

Financed and then purchased for $75 million by GE Financial Services, the powerplant of 52,000 solar modules will provide enough power for 8000 homes. The modules were provided by SunPower, Sanyo, Sharp and Suntech. PowerLight is a subsidiary of SunPower Corp. The modules were mounted on PowerLight’s PowerTracker system which keeps the modules pointed toward the sun.

Serpa is one of the world’s larger solar power plants

Next door in Spain, PowerLight will be building another big solar power plant. This time the rated peak output will be 4.8 megawatts. In covering approximately 47 acres in Llerena, it will also use PowerLight’s solar tracking system.

China’s a big place, in area about the size of the United States, and like the US must have some sunny spots. But while China is building internal solar power generating capacity, as manufacturer to the world it’s also providing solar products to global markets.

Now there’s another solar company up and running in China: Trina Solar. The company has announced that its first 50 megawatt per annual capacity solar production line became operational as of April 2, 2007. Another four production lines totaling 150 megawatts capacity are expected to be complete and operating by the end of 2007.

The company says its cells operate at a solar-to-electric conversion rate of 16.3 percent.

In the US solar electric utility SunEdison continues to see expansion ahead - more solar power plants to be built - and is making sure the supply of solar modules keeps flowing from factory to project site.

The company has signed an add-on sales agreement with solar product supplier Evergreen Solar for $316 million in solar modules. The new supply agreement now extends the delivery of products to SunEdison through 2011 and increases its value for Evergreen to over $500 million. The original supply agreement for $200 million was announced in 2006.

Evergreen Solar’s String Ribbon solar products are made in Marlboro, Massachusetts but also in Thalheim, Germany in its EverQ partnership with Q-Cells.

So here we are. Around the world and back in Germany.

Visit Invest in Germany at http://www.invest-in-germany.com/ PowerLight at http://www.powerlight.com/ SunPower at http://www.sunpowercorp.com/ Evergreen Solar at http://www.evergreensolar.com/ SunEdison at http://www.sunedison.com/ and Trina Solar at http://www.trinasolar.com/