On December 28th, 2011 state utility MP Tradeco (Bhopal, India) signed a power purchase agreement with NTPC Ltd. (New Delhi, India) for the output of a 50 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant to be built in Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh, India. NTPC expects to commission the Rajgarh Solar plant by 2013. The power produced by the plant will be bundled with unallocated power from coal-fired power plants to be built by NTPC. Read more...

On December 28th, 2011 SunWater Solar Inc. (Richmond, California, U.S.) announced that it has commissioned two new solar thermal systems at affordable housing buildings in San Francisco, California. The two systems are comprised of 40 and 24 Schüco CTE 220 CH 2 solar collectors respectively, for a combined collector area of 161 square meters and capacity of 120 kWth. The two installations earned a total of USD 85,900 in California Solar Initiative-Thermal (CSI-Thermal) rebates. Read more...

On December 29th, 2011 JA Solar Holdings Company Ltd. (Shanghai, China) announced that it has entered into an agreement to supply 19 MW of high-efficiency solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for Solarhybrid AG's (Brilon, Germany) Allstedt 1 PV plant in Halle, Germany. JA Solar is the exclusive PV module supplier to the project, which is located on a former military airfield in Germany. Read more...

The section 1603 cash grant program for renewable energy generation will expire on December 31st, 2011, as a final deal on taxation brokered between the opposition Republican Party and U.S. President Barack Obama did not contain an extension of the program. For nearly three years the program, also known as the Treasury Grant Program (TGP), has supported a vast number of solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) projects across the United States. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA, Washington D.C., U.S.) has repeatedly described the TGP as the most important policy for the U.S. solar industry. Read more...

Researchers at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, U.S.) have developed a new method of chemically etching patterned arrays in gallium arsenide (GaAs), with applications including solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. The researchers have optimized the chemical solution and reaction conditions of the metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) process, combining it with a "soft lithography" process, which they say allows them to etch high-aspect-ratio structures into GaAs. Read more...

On December 28th, 2011 three law firms announced that they are investigating SunPower Corporation (San Jose, California, U.S.) over the sale of its shares to parent company Total SA (Courbevoie, France), concurrent with SunPower's acquisition of Tenesol SA (La Tour De Salvagny, France) from Total. The firm of Power Taylor LLP is working with Briscoe Law Firm PLLC, while Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC are launching a separate investigation. Both investigations will examine whether or not SunPower's officers breached their obligations to company shareholders in the sale of shares. Read more...

On December 27th, 2011 the Tata Power Company Ltd. (Mumbai, India) announced that it will purchase all the shares of joint venture Tata BP Solar India Ltd. (Bangalore, India) held by BP Alternative Energy Holdings Ltd. (Sunbury-On-Thames, U.K.), to become the 100% owner of the company. BP currently holds a 51% stake in Tata BP Solar. The Reserve Bank of India (Mumbai, India) and the Competition Commission of India will both need to approve the transaction before it can be completed. Read more...

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has named two California policies among the most important U.S. renewable energy policies in 2011: the state's legislation to enshrine in law its 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), and the implementation of its Renewable Auction Mechanism (RAM) competitive solicitation program. In IREC's "Top 10 (+1) notable policy developments of 2011" the agency also included Rhode Island's feed-in tariff and an increase in the solar carve-out in the District of Columbia's RPS, as well as noting the expiration of the Section 1603 Treasury Grant Program. Read more...

On December 28th, 2011 Activ Solar GmbH (Vienna, Austria) announced the completion and start of commissioning of the fifth and final phase of the 100 MW Perovo Solar Power Station, a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Perovo in Ukraine's Crimea. The plant is comprised of 440,000 crystalline silicon PV modules connected by 1,500 km of cable and installed over an area of 200 hectares. Read more...

On December 27th, 2011, the Board of Supervisors in Imperial County, California approved a conditional-use permit for the construction of the Centinela Solar project, a 275 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project near El Centro. The Imperial County Board of Supervisors has also approved a variance and all other findings, as well as a public benefit agreement between Imperial County and developer LS Power Group (New York, New York, U.S.). Read more...