Randstad Survey: Canadian Solar named Canada's Most Attractive Employer

Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Ontario) on May 9^th, 2016 announced it has been named Canada's Most Attractive Employer in the sixth-annual Randstad Award survey.

The Randstad Award Program awarded Canadian Solar for its commitment to work-life balance and environmental and social awareness. This is the third consecutive year that Canadian Solar has been honored with a Randstad Award and the first time it has taken the top spot, the company notes.

In an independent survey polled among more than 9,500 Canadians between the ages of 18 and 65, the Randstad Award program ranks companies in the areas of financial health, positive training opportunities, job security, career advancement, strong management, engaging work content, a reasonable work-life balance, and corporate social responsibility.

“Canadian Solar, whose corporate slogan ‘Make the Difference’ embodies the company's core values, is proud to be a Canadian company with global reach,” reads the press release. The company has grown to almost 9,000 team members in 20 countries worldwide.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, commented: “Being named Canada's Most Attractive Employer is an honor and real sign of achievement for Canadian Solar. We thank Randstad Canada for hosting this annual event and recognizing the companies throughout the nation that reflect the career aspirations and employer mentality of the nation. With our commitment to renewable energy, we look forward to improving the lives of both Canadians and the international community through our sustainable solutions.”

source:http://www.solarserver.com

100 MW concentrating solar power project Kathu in the Northern Cape of South Africa will start construction

ENGIE (Paris, France, formerly GDF Suez) on May 10^th, 2016 announced that the Kathu Solar Park project in South Africa, owned by an ENGIE-led consortium with South African partners, has signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Eskom – South Africa’s state owned power utility – making it possible for construction at the site to begin shortly.

The concentrating solar power plant (CSP), situated in the Northern Cape Province, 600 km South-West of the national capital Pretoria, is expected to be operational in the second half of 2018.

Kathu Solar Park is a 100 MW greenfield CSP project with parabolic trough technology and equipped with a molten salt energy storage system that allows 4.5 hours of thermal energy storage and thus limits the intermittent nature of solar energy.

“This is an important milestone for our first Concentrated Solar Power project in the ENGIE Group,” said Bruno Bensasson, CEO of the ENGIE Africa Business Unit.

“The Kathu Solar Park project supports South Africa’s strategy of increasing the contribution of renewable power and also underlines our commitment to be a key partner in achieving sustainable energy generation in Africa.”

The consortium, which is led by ENGIE (48.5%), includes a group of South African investors comprising SIOC Community Development Trust, the Investec bank, Lereko Metier and the Public Investment Corporation.

The CSP project is funded by a mix of debt and equity. The debt is funded from a club of South African banks, namely Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank Capital, ABSA Capital, Investec and the Development Bank of South Africa.

Kathu Solar Park has been awarded preferred bidder in the third round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP) led by the South African Department of Energy (DOE).

source:http://www.solarserver.com

JA Solar adds another 1.5 GW fully automated PV module manufacturing facility

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (Beijing, China), on May 9^th, 2016 announced that it has started mass production of high performance PV panels at its newest module manufacturing facility in Xingtai, Hebei province, China.

The new manufacturing facility has an annual capacity of 1.5 GW with fully automated assembly lines using the latest module manufacturing technologies, the company notes. The facility is capable of producing both 60- and 72-cell modules, primarily with JA Solar's high-efficiency PERCIUM cells.

All the stringers installed in this facility are equipped with artificial intelligence capable of switching soldering configurations between four busbars and five busbars of cell contact patterns, JA Solar emphasizes. All the assembly lines also have the flexibility of either making regular modules or making double-glass modules with the easiness of converting between them back and forth.

In addition, the facility is designed to have all the functional sections including module assembly, test and measurement, stockrooms, and warehouse placed under one roof.

Mr. Baofang Jin, JA Solar's Executive Chairman of the board and CEO, said: “The grand opening of our fully automated module manufacturing facility in Xingtai marks JA Solar taking one step forward in terms of intelligent manufacturing. We will keep focusing on technological innovation as well as continue to improve the performance of our products to meet our customers' demand for high quality products.”

source:http://www.solarserver.com

NextEra Energy Resources commissions a 6.8 MW ground-mounted solar PV array in Oregon

NextEra Energy Resources, LLC (Juno Beach, Florida, U.S.), a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc., on May 9^th, 2016 announced that it brought into service a 6.8 megawatt (MW) ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) array in Klamath County, Oregon.

The PV project, which includes 21,964 sun-tracking solar panels, is located on a former Weyerhaeuser industrial site.

The PV plant is expected to generate enough electricity to power an estimated 1,200 homes. Construction began in 2015 and employed more than 100 construction, security and electrical workers from Oregon over the course of the project.

Pacific Power will purchase the solar power generated by the PV system as part of a 15-year power purchase agreement, which may be extended for up to two five-year increments.

“This is currently the largest solar project in Oregon and we are proud to have it delivering energy to our customers,” said Todd Andres, regional business manager for Pacific Power, which is part of PacifiCorp.

source:http://www.solarserver.com

Martifer Solar, JV partners to develop a 63 MW solar PV project in Mexico with Canadian Solar

Martifer Solar (Oliveira de Frades, Portugal), a subsidiary of Martifer SGPS, and its JV partners have signed a development agreement with Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Ontario) for a 63 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

MIRE is a joint venture formed by Martifer Solar Sistemas Solares, S.A., Energía ECG, S.A.P.I de C.V. and Ithaca Environmental Ventures Limited to develop projects in Mexico.

MIRE began the development of this PV project in the end of 2015 and after a long process to obtain land control, the company managed to achieve an agreement with Canadian Solar prior to Mexico's first renewable energy auction.

15-year PPA with CFE

Canadian Solar won the 63 MWp PV project in Aguascalientes, Mexico, once connected to the grid the solar power will be sold to CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad), under a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement for energy and capacity and 20-year for Clean Energy Certificates.

The competitive tariff in the auction allows the electricity from the plant to be sold to CFE at USD 47.95/MWh. The PV plant will be built in Aguascalientes, which is a north-central state in Mexico, located approximately 500 km away from Mexico City. The project is expected to be operational by Q3, 2018.

“It is an honor work together with Canadian Solar on the development of this project and we are very pleased with this milestone achievement for our team in Mexico,” said Jesus Pacheco, Director of Development for Latin America from Martifer Solar.

Recent auction ended with an average price of USD 40.50/MWh for solar power

In a recent presentation published by CENACE (Centro Nacional de Control de Energía), it shows how competitive the auction was with 468 total offers presented and only 18 winning offers selected, of which 2,191 MW was solar PV and 394 MW was wind.

The PV projects selected in the auction will range in size from 18 MW to 500 MW and are spread out over six states: Guanajuato, Coahuila, Yucatan, Jalisco, Aguascalientes and Baja California Sur. The auction ended with an average price of USD 40.50/MWh for solar PV and USD 43.90/MWh for wind.

source:http://www.solarserver.com

SolarEdge announces fiscal Q3 results, record revenue

SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (Herzelya Pituach, Israel) on May 9^th, 2016 announced its financial results for the fiscal third quarter ended March 31^st, 2016 including a record revenue of USD 125.2 million, up 0.3% from last quarter and 44.9% year-over-year.

The company shipped 416 megawatts (AC) of solar PV inverters in fiscal Q3.

“We are pleased with another strong quarter despite challenging market conditions,” comments Guy Sella, Founder, Chairman and CEO of SolarEdge.

“Our growing customer base, continued diligent execution, strong balance sheet and increased cash flow from operations, coupled with our advanced technology, position us well moving forward.”

GAAP gross margin was 32.5%, up from 30.9% in the prior quarter and up from 27.4% in the fiscal third quarter of 2015.

GAAP net income was USD 20.8 million, down from USD 24.1 million in the prior quarter (including a one-time USD 6.6 million tax asset) and up from USD 6.0 million in the fiscal third quarter of 2015.

GAAP net diluted earnings per share (EPS) was USD 0.47, down from USD 0.55 in the prior quarter (including the one-time USD 6.6 million tax asset) and up from USD 0.01 in the fiscal third quarter of 2015.

The Company expects revenues to be within the range of USD 125 million to USD 134 million for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2016 as follows. Q4, gross margin guidance is in the range of 29.0 % to 31.0%.

source:http://www.solarserver.com

Total files friendly tender offer valuing Saft’s equity at EUR 950 million

Total (Paris, France) and Saft (Paris, France) on May 9^th, 2016 announced that, following the signature of an agreement between the companies, Total filed a friendly tender offer on all of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of Saft, a designer and manufacturer of advanced technology batteries and energy storage systems, with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF).

The proposed offer will target all of Saft’s issued and outstanding shares at a price of EUR 36.50 per share, ex-dividend of EUR 0.85 per share, valuing Saft’s equity at EUR 950 million.

The offer price represents a 38.3% premium above Saft’s closing share price of EUR 26.40 on May 6^th, 2016, a premium of 41.9% above the volume weighted average share price over the past six months and a premium of 24.2% above the volume weighted average share price over the past year.

The offer values Saft at nine times its 2015 reported EBITDA, which represents a significant control premium compared to recent valuation multiples in the battery industry.

Saft Supervisory Board approves the friendly takeover

The Supervisory Board of Saft has unanimously approved the friendly takeover by Total and considers the proposed transaction to be in line with the interests of the company, its shareholders and its employees.

As part of the reasoned opinion that it must issue in accordance with market regulations, the Supervisory Board has also announced its intention to recommend that its shareholders tender their shares.

The proposed offer is subject to review by the AMF, which will evaluate its compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Total Chairman and CEO Pouyanné: “Saft to become the Group’s spearhead in electricity storage”

“The combination of Saft and Total will enable Saft to become the Group’s spearhead in electricity storage,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total.

“The acquisition of Saft is part of Total’s ambition to accelerate its development in the fields of renewable energy and electricity, initiated in 2011 with the acquisition of SunPower.”

Ghislain Lescuyer, Saft’s CEO, added: “I am convinced that Total will provide Saft with the required expertise and resources needed for its future development, particularly in terms of technological and commercial capabilities.”

source:http://www.solarserver.com