BrightSource Energy Files Application For 500 MW Solar Plant In California

Posted by weijing3333 on October 19th, 2015

BrightSource Energy Inc., a solar thermal technology company, says it has filed an application for certification with the California Energy Commission for the development of a 500 MW solar development project - comprising two 250 MW plants - in California's Inyo County. The installation, called the Hidden Hills Solar Electric Generating System (SEGS), will use BrightSource's LPT technology.The proposed project site is located on 3,280 acres of privately owned land adjacent to the California-Nevada border. The site is located approximately 18 miles south of Pahrump, Nev., and 45 miles west of Las Vegas.BrightSource's LPT technology is designed to minimize impacts on the natural environment.

The new plant design at the Hidden Hills SEGS will feature a taller tower that allows for greater concentration of heliostats, significantly reducing the amount of land required to produce energy, the company says.Additionally, BrightSource will place mirrors on individual poles that are placed directly into the ground, which the company says will allow the solar field to be built around the natural contours of the land and avoid areas of sensitive vegetation.For utility-scale solar projects of similar capacity, the configuration that the project will use reduces land use by 33% or more compared to a typical photovoltaic farm and parabolic-trough solar thermal plant, according to BrightSource Energy.

New York-based renewables developer Urban Green Energy (UGE) and a subsidiary of Washington-based construction management firm Orion Group International LLC have established a partnership to pursue solar and wind energy projects in the Philippines.UGE and Manila-based Orion Group International Inc. have collaborated on several recent solar and wind projects in the Philippines. Earlier this year, the partners installed a hybrid solar and wind energy system at the Anvaya Cove Resort and Nature Club near Manila.The new agreement is focused on commercial-scale projects for businesses hampered by power outages. UGE and Orion have announced a contract for a 150 kW solar array and rooftop wind turbine at Calamba Doctors Hospital, which is set to be installed this year. The partners will also be offering financing packages.

SpectraWatt Inc., a Hopewell Junction, N.Y.-headquartered manufacturer of crystalline solar cells, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.According to a Bloomberg report, SpectraWatt, which was spun off from Intel Corp. and backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., currently owes its creditors .7 million and plans to auction off nearly all of its assets.Echoing the words of executives at Devens, Mass.-based Evergreen Solar, which filed for bankruptcy last week, SpectraWatt's leadership cited increasing competition from low-cost Chinese manufacturers as a cause of its financial woes. In addition, the declining prices of solar modules in recent months have placed pressure on manufacturers.Last December, SpectraWatt shut down its Hopewell Junction manufacturing facility, less than a year after its launch. At the time, the company blamed reduced solar cell demand on severe winter weather in Europe.

Willard and Kelsey (W&K) Solar Group has commercialized a new PV module - WK1-75 - using DuPont PV5400 Series encapsulant.Designed for utility-scale projects, the new module incorporates a cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film power-generating layer that is given extra protection by the new, highly moisture-resistant DuPont PV5400 ionomer-based PV encapsulant, DuPont says.To block moisture ingress at the edges of conventional modules, manufacturers often need to add an edge seal, increasing material and labor costs to help mitigate the inherent moisture susceptibility of traditional encapsulants. Using more moisture-resistant DuPont PV5400 Series encapsulant, with no edge seal, W&K modules are able to achieve durability well beyond what is required by current standards, according to DuPont.The company worked closely with W&K to advise on ionomer sheet processing techniques and testing protocols for the new module.

source:Renesola