DKB announces first green bond; Proceeds to go exclusively towards funding solar and wind power projects

 

Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB, Berlin, Germany) will launch a medium-term green bond worth EUR 500 million to exclusively fund solar and wind power projects in Germany.

“The green bond pool consists exclusively of financing for solar and wind power projects onshore in Germany. It will be the first entirely green bond issued by a German commercial bank”, says DKB CEO Stefan Unterlandstättner.

“Launching this bond is the logical next step in our business model. Our portfolio includes the financing of renewable energy projects to the tune of more than EUR 9 billion. Nobody else in Germany can say that.” DKB's lending portfolio also contains further sustainable financing worth some EUR 30 billion.

“There's great interest in bonds whose issue proceeds are used to finance environmental and climate protection projects,” said Unterlandstättner.

DKB plans to use the launch to broaden the diversification of its refinancing on the capital markets and lay the foundations for an additional major funding stream. 

source: http://www.solarserver.com

 

Sumitomo Corporation announces 59.9 MW PV project in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

 

Sumitomo Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) will be implementing a solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the Migita/Ebi and Mano districts of the city of Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture via Solar Power Minamisoma-Kashima Co., Ltd. (SPC).

A group of financial institutions assembled by Mizuho Bank, Ltd. as the arranger will provide SPC with financing, while Toshiba Corporation and Taisei Corporation will be responsible for EPC.

Expected to cost about 22 billion yen in total, the PV project will entail erecting a mega-solar power facility with a generation capacity of 59.9 MW as well as related facilities on a plot of land belonging to Minamisoma (approximately 110 hectares) affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Construction is already underway as of May 2016, and commercial operation is expected to begin in March 2018. The PV plant will generate the equivalent power usage of approximately 20,000 general households, and will utilize the fixed price purchasing system to provide electric power to retail power companies.
source:http://www.solarserver.com

Yingli commercializes PID resistant dual glass PV module

 

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd. (Baoding, China) on May 24^th, 2016 announced that it has successfully commercialized its TwinMAX 60 cell high-efficiency dual glass solar photovoltaic (PV) module (including the standard series and the bifacial series) and TwinMAX 72 cell dual glass module (standard series).

The bifacial series monocrystalline modules will be installed on a 50 MW PV project in Datong, Shanxi province, which was rewarded to Yingli under China's "Top Runner" program.

The TwinMAX module is a frameless module that is comprised of two layers of 2.5mm thick tempered glass, which replaced the conventional back sheet and glass structure. Specifically, TwinMAX bifacial series modules integrate technology from Yingli's state of the art PANDA n-type monocrystalline solar cells with cell efficiency that could reach as high as 20.5% and average module efficiency that could be over 17%.

The TwinMAX bifacial series modules can generate from both the front and rear sides of the cells, allowing power yields up to 30% more than traditional monocrystalline modules.

TwinMAX modules possess strong durability and resistance to PID (Potential Induced Degradation) and are able to perform well under various harsh environments such as exposure to high temperature and humidity, salt mist and sand.

"We are excited to introduce and offer one of the most advanced products in the industry to our customers with the commercialization of our TwinMAX module," commented Dr. Dengyuan Song, Chief Technology Officer of Yingli. 

source: http://www.solarserver.com

 

Solar energy student contest in Dubai to build on regional commitments made at COP21

 

Intersolar, the world’s leading solar event, has officially launched the “Young Leaders’ Innovation Challenge” taking place this September in Dubai at Intersolar Middle East event. The contest aims to encourage students across the MENA region to contribute to commitments made through the Paris Agreement at COP21.

“The Young Leaders’ Innovation Challenge is intended to create links between academic research and applied science at a time when the United Arab Emirates seeks to make good on its goal to increase its share of renewable energy to 24 percent by 2021,” said Hadi Tahboub, Vice President at MESIA.

Under the patronage of H.E. Eng. Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy, the nationwide competition attracted academic teams from across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt and Qatar.

The teams will demonstrate how 25 percent reduction in energy consumption can be achieved by retrofitting renewable energy technologies to a government building of their choice.

Over 13 universities have joined the contest including Masdar Institute, Khalifa University and Petroleum Institute from UAE, Sultan Qaboos University from Oman, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology from KSA, and many more.

The winning entries will be selected by a prestigious panel of jury members, including officials from Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA), DWTC, Dubai Municipality, First Solar, Green Technologies, Masdar, and Clean Energy Business Council, amongst others respectful entities.

Teams have until 31 July 2016 to submit their entries. At Intersolar Middle East in September, the winner team will receive a prestigious reward which includes a cash prize and an opportunity to exhibit their project and represent the Middle East in front of global leaders at the 2017 edition of Intersolar Europe in Munich, Germany.

“The physical environment and attitudes toward sustainability in the United Arab Emirates make it an ideal hotbed for creating a world-class renewable energy sector, and we see great value in taking that message to the world through the Young Leaders’ Innovation Challenge,” said Hadi Tahboub, Vice President at MESIA

The 2016 edition of Intersolar Middle East is taking place from 19 – 21 September 2016 at Dubai World Trade Centre. Intersolar Middle East is part of a world series of exhibitions that has been pushing the solar industry to innovate and install a new energy infrastructure for more than 25 years. 

source: http://www.solarserver.com

SolarCity and NRDC paper: Rooftop PV provides net benefit to all Nevada utility customers

 

Rooftop solar PV generation provides 1.6 U.S. cents of benefit per kilowatt-hour of energy generated, producing USD 7 million in benefits annually for all Nevada utility customers, according to a study released on May 24^th, 2016 by SolarCity Corporation (San Mateo, CA, U.S.) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC, New York City, US).

If environmental and health externalities are included, the benefits of rooftop solar increase to 3.4 cents per kWh, and USD 14 million annually.

The peer-reviewed paper, "Distributed Energy Resources in Nevada", is the first to quantify all the rooftop solar cost and benefit variables identified by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.

The paper recommends policymakers and regulators develop advanced grid planning procedures that incorporate these benefits into the utility ratemaking process, which would enable Nevadans to see the benefits on their electricity bills and ensure that the state transitions to a cleaner, more affordable, and resilient grid.

"This study confirms what Nevadans already intuitively know: the thousands of rooftop solar systems across the state benefit all Nevadans, and the state should have policies which encourage the deployment of more distributed energy," said Jon Wellinghoff, Chief Policy Officer of SolarCity.

"As Nevada policymakers are planning the energy grid of the future, we encourage them to consider the potential of distributed energy resources to build a smarter, more resilient grid to power our economy with affordable clean energy."

"A close examination of the costs and benefits of rooftop solar generation in Nevada confirms that a continued partnership between customers and their utility to promote investment in clean energy benefits everyone," said Noah Long, Director of the Western Energy Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

SolarCity and NRDC found when all costs and benefits are quantified, rooftop solar provides USD 7 – 14 million worth of benefits forNevada utility customers. 

source: http://www.solarserver.com

SMA commissions a solar PV hybrid system on the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius

SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA, Niestetal, Germany)) and its subsidiary SMA Sunbelt Energy GmbH have commissioned a solar photovoltaic (PV) hybrid system on the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands, to completely electrify the island with the smart combination of utility-scale PV, battery storage and diesel generators.

The project is designed to generate enough clean solar power to cover more than 23% of St. Eustatius’ annual electricity demand of 13.5 GWh.

Up until March 2016 the island´s power supply was fully based on diesel gensets. By integrating 1,9 MWp of PV power and 1 MW of batteries with the SMA Fuel Save Controller 2.0, the local utility company is now able to reduce its fossil fuel consumption significantly by up to 30 percent and save more than 800.000 liters of diesel fuel and 2,200 tons of CO2 per year.

In 2010, St. Eustatius became a special municipality of the Netherlands. The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs decided to make the island and the Statia Utility Company (STUCO) less dependent on imported fossil fuel oils by financing a solar power plant.

“We were looking for fossil fuel reduction and at the same time for a solution with both very low maintenance and also stand-alone operation,” Fred Cuvalay, CEO of STUCO, summarized the technical challenges.

“SMA provided a hybrid system solution exactly tailored to our needs, which is extremely user-friendly.”

“The project fully integrates three different energy sources on a large scale that work together in a harmonized manner: solar power, battery storage and diesel gensets,” said Volker Wachenfeld, Executive Vice President SMA business unit Off-Grid and Storage.

The Sunny Central Storage 1000 integrated into the SMA Medium Voltage Power Station 1000 enables a measured solar fraction of up to 88% during sunshine hours and supports the grid with stability functions such as frequency regulation, ramp-rate control for smoothing PV power fluctuations and optimization of diesel genset operation.

“Rapid movement of clouds in this region, in particular, leads to extreme fluctuations in solar power generation which constrains the integration of large-scale photovoltaics into diesel-based grids,” Wachenfeld commented on one of the challenges.

“That's why using large-scale storage systems is meaningful for this application as they minimize the impact of fluctuating energy sources on diesel generators.”

Local system integrator, Eco Energy N.V. from Curaçao, was responsible for installation of the PV plant. Its experience on Caribbean logistics and high quality workmanship played an important role in realizing this project successfully within the ambitious schedule of 9 months.

The installation in St. Eustatius is the first project of its kind in the entire Caribbean region and will likely serve as an example of what’s possible to neighboring islands.
source: http://www.solarserver.com

JinkoSolar supplies PV modules totaling 122 MW for a project in Chile

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China) on May 25^th, 2016 announced that it has supplied 122 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to Pattern Energy Group LP (Pattern Development), for its Conejo solar PV project in Chile.

Pattern Development, an independent power producer bases in San Francisco (CA, U.S), will also be the owner of this project.

Located in the municipality of Taltal, in the Antofagasta region of northern Chile, the Conejo PV project is one of the largest solar power projects in Chile.

22-year PPA with Minera Los Pelambres

The project has signed a 22-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Minera Los Pelambres, an affiliate of Antofagasta Minerals, and will be connected to the Sistema Interconectado Central transmission system.

The project is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016 and will cover approximately 65% of Los Pelambres' electricity demand.

"Our relationship with Pattern Development further strengthens our leading position in this important emerging market," Gener Miao, Vice President Global Sales and Marketing of JinkoSolar commented. 

source: http://www.solarserver.com