First Wind finalized four 20-year power purchase agreements with Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp and part of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. As part of the power purchase agreements, Rocky Mountain Power will buy the output of the planned 320 MW (AC) “Four Brothers” solar power development, which includes four, separate fully permitted 80 MW (AC) project sites.

Rocky Mountain Power’s purchase is made in connection with its obligation under the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, or PURPA, and follows seven similar PURPA agreements for First Wind’s 20 MW (AC) “Seven Sisters” projects. These four solar power projects will be located at sites in Beaver and Iron Counties.

The “Four Brothers” solar power portfolio, which combined would be the largest solar development in Utah to date, includes four separate 80 MW (AC) solar photovoltaic projects, three of which are to be sited in Beaver County and one that will be located in Iron County. Once complete, the combined generating capacity of the four projects will be more than 800,000 MWh per year, or equivalent to the electricity use of about 90,000 Utah homes per year.

With the start of major construction slated to begin in 2015 and a target completion date in 2016, the projects will create about 500 construction jobs. In addition, about $66 million in direct property and income taxes will be generated by the project over 20 years. These jobs and property taxes will spur Southern Utah’s economic growth, in particular within the rural communities of Beaver and Iron Counties.

Combined, the “Four Brothers” and “Seven Sisters” solar project portfolio in Utah will be by far the largest collection of solar projects to be developed by First Wind’s new solar division, First Wind Solar Group. Established to explore solar energy opportunities near the company’s wind projects in the West, Hawaii and the Northeast, First Wind Solar Group recently completed construction of a 3 MW (AC) project in Millbury, Mass. and a combined 14 MW (AC) solar project in Warren, Mass. The company is also developing a 20 MW (AC) solar project in Mililani, Hawaii.

The solar leasing company acquired mounting company Zep Solar in late 2013 in an effort to further vertically integrate its business. Now, chairman Elon Musk explained SolarCity’s imminent need for more, and cheaper, solar panel production, which he expects to reach “tens of GW” annually. “We thought that there was a risk of not being able to have the solar panels we need to expand [SolarCity] long-term…[When considering] the rate at which solar power is advancing, the amount of panels that are being made at a large scale today is really not fast enough,” he said during a conference call.

Musk emphasized the need for not only increased panel production, but a focus on advanced panel technology, which is what SolarCity believes that Silveo has to offer. A combination of higher volume and increased efficiency will “have a dramatic impact on solar and in particular be able to have solar power compete on an unsubsidized basis with the fossilized grid,” said Musk. “It is critical that you have high-efficiency solar panels and a total installed cost as low as possible.”

The Technology

After reviewing dozens of companies, SolarCity ultimately decided to pursue Silevo due to its proven technology and manufacturing success. Silevo uses what it calls “triex” technology to create a crystalline-amorphous hybrid cell, which creates a tunneling oxide and amorphous silicon layer. These layers allow increased temperature tolerance and lead to a high efficiency that currently stands at 21 percent, but SolarCity hopes to reach 24 percent within the next couple of years. The manufacturing process also uses copper electrode metallization rather than silver, which leads to lower costs.

Ucilia Wang discuss Silevo’s technology with then-vice president of business development and marketing Chris Beitel at the 2012 PV America Conference.

SolarCity co-founder and chief technology officer Peter Rive explained during the conference call that the Silevo technology compares well to standard cells in the 17-18 percent efficiency range and thin film in the 13-14 percent range. While SolarCity’s goal is to eventually reach 24 percent, Rive also noted that 26.4 percent is possible with ground-mounted and tilted flat roof systems due to the technology’s bifacial nature, which means it can absorb sunlight from both sides of the panel.

Rive explained some of the advantages of higher efficiencies with a common residential rooftop system comparison: “Consider a typical 6-kW system with standard efficiency panels and then picture that same system with 24 percent efficiency tri-cell,” he said. “Currently the system requires 24 panels, but the triex-module will require 18 panels. So it requires less labor, less mounting, less wiring, and so on.”

Big Manufacturing Plans

SolarCity is currently in discussions with the state of New York for its manufacturing facility. According to Rive, its initial target capacity is 1 GW within the next two years, making it one of the single largest solar panel productions in the world, creating thousands of local jobs. Groundbreaking is expected to happen very soon, according to Musk. Silevo currently has a 32-MW factory in China.

When comparing the relative costs of domestic vs overseas manufacturing, said Rive, “we believe that at scale we can achieve a competitive cost domestically as a result of having lower energy costs, avoiding import tariffs, a highly automated manufacturing facility and the fact that the triex cell has less labor content per module due to higher efficiency.”

The Silevo technology can be manufactured with off-the-shelf equipment from the semiconductor and flat-panel display industries and standard wafers, according to Rive. SolarCity also plans to open a research facility in silicon valley to ensure that it meets and even exceeds its efficiency targets.

When all is said and done, SolarCity will be one of the most vertically integrated solar companies in the world, spanning module manufacturing, installation, operations and maintenance, and energy sales. “What I am excited about is when we combine engineers at Silevo, Zep, and SolarCity to tailor manufacturing for all solar panels so they are specifically ready for installation,” said Rive.

Though the company does not have current plans to pursue any of the missing pieces to its vertically integrated puzzle, such as inverters or power optimizers, Musk said that they are open to suggestions and constantly looking to pursue the ultimate goal of the industry — to lower the cost of energy.

“We intend to put a lot of effort R&D on the panel side, into the hardware that we already own, and into inverter and battery technology to provide an overall solution to provide electric power at a price less than fossil fuels that are burdening the grid – that is the key threshold,” said Musk. “The demand grows exponentially as price drops, and it will grow at an enormous pace if we compete with grid electricity with no incentives. That is and has been the goal in order for the world to have sustainable energy.”

“This is a great milestone in the City of L.A.’s efforts to expand renewable energy and a win-win for the businesses and people of Los Angeles who will benefit from solar power development right in the city,” said Board President Mel Levine in a June 5 statement. “These solar projects will help spark economic development and jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel power plants, and meet L.A.’s renewable energy mandates.”

“These agreements put us within reach of our targets of 25% renewable energy by 2016 and 33 percent by 2020,” said Marcie Edwards, LADWP General Manager.

The agreements, which require approval by the City Council, pave the way for the 250-MW Beacon Solar Project, which will be built 14 miles north of Mojave, Calif., along Highway 14, while rounding out the full 150 MW Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Program. Last year, LADWP launched the FiT Set-Pricing Program for 100 MW, becoming the largest city in the nation to offer a FiT program.

The Beacon land, acquired by LADWP in 2012 and previously permitted for a solar development, has been divided into five sites. Four sites will be developed through four separate power purchase agreements for a total of 200 MW. Each of these contracts is tied to developing a group of small-scale FiT solar projects within LADWP’s service area in Los Angeles. Altogether, these “bundled” agreements will mean construction of 50 MW of local solar.

Through a competitive bid for the Beacon 200-MW Bundled Solar Program, the LADWP Board awarded two of the sites (88 MW) to SunEdison, and two sites (112 MW) to Hecate Energy. In conjunction with the large solar projects, SunEdison is obligated to develop 22 MW of local solar and Hecate will build 28 MW of solar within Los Angeles.

The fifth solar project that will be installed on the Beacon property is a 50-MW project that is not “bundled” with a FiT component. This contract was awarded to Hecate Energy.

Randy Howard, LADWP Senior Assistant General Manager-Power System, said: “These new solar projects will add to the existing Pine Tree wind and solar projects, and form a cluster of renewables in this area to help LADWP meet its renewable energy objectives near the Los Angeles Basin.”

To support the increase in renewable energy in Kern County, LADWP has begun construction of the Barren Ridge Renewable Transmission Project (BRRTP), which will expand the capacity of its existing transmission to bring these new renewables home to LADWP’s customers. Under the agreements, LADWP will provide all transmission and distribution infrastructure to support the Beacon Solar Project. The work involves expanding the Barren Ridge Switching Station and building a switchyard for the Beacon project as well as expanding the transmission line itself.

As part of the transmission project, LADWP has begun construction of a new switching station in Haskell Canyon near Santa Clarita, which will improve overall reliability by adding a second connection to the Castaic Power Plant. The Castaic Power Plant serves as “pumped storage” for solar and wind energy and is considered vital to integrating the renewables into the electric grid.

Currently the developer has a pipeline of over 600 MW of renewable energy projects under evaluation or negotiation in the Mekong Region.

“Having an institutional investor like Armstrong as a shareholder and project equity partner, with their extensive operational experience in Southeast Asia and specialization in renewable energy, will certainly accelerate the growth of The Blue Circle portfolio and strengthen our financing ability” said Olivier Duguet, CEO.

The agreement between the two Singapore based companies means that The Blue Circle will also benefit from Seed Capital Assistance Facility (SCAF) funding , an initiative by UNEP, ADB and GEF designed to help project developers overcome some of the challenges of greenfield project development.

Armstrong closed its Clean Energy Fund when it reached $164 million last November. Prior to the latest deal, it had made two investments from the fund: a capital commitment of up to US $30 million to Annex Power for solar PV and biogas projects in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, and an equity stake in Symbior Elements to develop a portfolio of solar generation in Central and Northeast Thailand.

The development follows a recent co-investment deal between Armstrong and Mandiri Investment Management to work together to invest in renewable energy projects in Indonesia, starting with small and micro hydropower developments.

The US$20 million project, which will be among the largest such projects in East Africa, is expected to be operational by 2016.

Comprising of TMM Renewables, Gesto Energy Africa and 3E Power Solar, the Goldsol II consortium will initially carry out a feasibility study which will then develop into a long term agreement to generate, manage and distribute power.

Commenting on the development, Valentine Rugwabiza, the Rwanda Development Board’s chief executive officer, said: “The current installed generation capacity is close to 120 MW. The 2017 energy target is 563 MW to allow for affordable access to power to cover most of the country, which is currently at 19.4 percent to increase to 70 percent by 2017.”

The solar power project was awarded to the consortium through a competitive tender project run by the Energy Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA).

Rwanda has established a solar energy target of 20 MW by 2017.

The capacity to generate electricity on demand, making it manageable, is one of the most important characteristics ofsolar thermal energy compared to other types of renewable energy. The storage system enables clean energy to be produced at maximum output without using the solar field, which can be used to supply peak demand times during the day.

This manageability also solves the problems of intermittency inherent in other renewable energies, such as wind or photovoltaic power, since it enables supply to remain stable, increasing the value of solar-thermal energy.

This project is part of the SunShot Initiative carried out by the DOE, which seeks to promote innovation in order to make the cost of solar power more competitive compared with traditional sources, before the end of the decade.

This new research program will consolidate Abengoa’s leadership position in developing innovative technology solutions for sustainability, specifically in the field of solar R&D in which the company has carried out major research programs.

As a result of this investment, Abengoa currently has 1,223 MW of installed capacity in commercial operation and 430 MW under construction, including both solar-thermal and photovoltaic technology. Moreover, it is the leading company for solar-thermal power and one of the few companies in the world that constructs and operates solar-thermal plants using both tower and parabolic trough technologies.