BrightSource Energy Inc, which is developing solar thermal power plants in the California desert, has raised more than $80 million in equity financing six months after cancelling a planned initial public offering at the last minute. Alstom SA contributed $40 million to the financing round, bringing its stake in the Silicon Valley start-up to more than 20%, the French power equipment maker said in a statemen ...

In one swift move, Korean business conglomerate Hanwha Group has officially positioned itself as the third largest solar manufacturer in the world. With the purchase of bankrupt solar cell manufacturer Q.CELLS, the newly launched entity now claims ownership of a total of 2.3 GW of manufacturing capacity across Germany, Malaysia and China. That multinational position also puts Hanwha in the unique position o ...

Sky Solar Holdings, an international PV project developer with headquarters in Shanghai, China, has broken ground on its 60MW PV facility which represents the first phase of its planned 800MW PV grid-connected project. Located in Xinjiang province in China, the project is being built on the Gobi Desert which covers around 1.2 million square meters and has excellent conditions to facilitate grid-connection. ...

Australia's largest solar farm went online earlier this month in a small step on the way to achieving the country's ambitious renewable energy target. The 10-MW Greenough River Solar Farm is co-owned by local utility Verve Energy and GE Energy Financial Services, and has over 150,000 thin film PV modules supplied by Arizona-based First Solar. The partners are already looking at the possibility of expanding ...

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (YGE), China’s third-largest solar-panel maker, shipped 40 megawatts of equipment to a pair of power projects in southern Peru as the company seeks to gain share in Latin America. The two 20-megawatt projects, in the Tacna and Moqueua regions, are expected to begin producing electricity this year, Baoding, China-based Yingli said today in a statement. Spain’s Corp. Gestamp So ...

First Solar Inc. showed an upside of 10% after an expert on Bloomberg claimed that the company may secure a business worth 1,000MW from NextEra. NextEra has already purchased ~275MW from FSLR, in comparison to only ~150 MW from other suppliers, mainly due to First Solar's thin-film panels. The expected increase in demand from NextEra, the installation of four solar plants in Mexico, and increasing exposure ...

Portugal’s EDP Renováveis (EDPR) has ordered up 39MW of solar modules from China’s Suntech, as Europe’s second largest wind farm operator pushes into the PV sector sooner than expected.The panels will be installed at four ground-mounted PV parks under construction in Romania, all expected to be brought on line by early 2013. EDPR says it has brought forward its strategy of diversifying into “new renewable t ...

China-based polysilicon firm GCL-Poly has jointly invested in a solar power-generation plant in Datong, Shanxi with Foxconn (Hon Hai). The 310MW plant obtained a license from the China government at the beginning of September. According to Hua Shu, executive director and president of GCL-Poly, the project will begin construction in second-quarter 2013. GCL-Poly is responsible for providing polysilicon and s ...

Indonesia-based state utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is set to complete the construction of 100 solar power plants on remote islands to provide for their electricity requirements. The project costs around $63m with the solar plants located in West Papua, North Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, South and Southeast Sulawesi and South Kalimantan, reported Jakarta Globe. PLN eastern Indonesia operati ...

India’s Andhra Pradesh state introduced its first solar-energy policy, offering tax benefits to projects and exemptions from power-transmission fees as the local government seeks investment to curb electricity shortages. Plants built by June 2014 will be able to claim the incentives for seven years, according to an order issued yesterday by the state energy department. “If executed appropriately, this polic ...