Beleaguered insurance giant, AIG (NYSE: AIG) closed the sale of its interests in three operating Spanish solar photovoltaic plants with a combined capacity of 35.4 megawatts (MW). HgCapital,
a London based private equity firm, acquired the interests for an
undisclosed sum from AIG Financial Products Corp. (AIGFP) and from 360 Corporate, a Spanish investment banking firm.
Recurrent Energy purchased a solar project pipeline of up to 350 megawatts (MW) from Chicago-based UPC Solar. Recurrent Energy said it will develop, own, finance, and operate the
projects in the U.S. and Canada, targeting over 100 MW of operational assets by 2012.
Commercial-scale solar thermal developer BrightSource Energy inked a major deal with Nevada developer Harvey Whittemore.
The two parties reportedly reached an agreement for a power plant to
provide up to 600 megawatts (MW) of power for Whittemore's Coyote
Springs development and other markets in Nevada and California. The
planned location for the project is a six-square-mile site in Lincoln
County, Nevada. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Germany's largest solar company Q-Cells (QCE.DE) and Chinese solar company LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) have asked German anti-trust regulators for permission to form a joint venture.
LDK Solar makes silicon ingots and wafers, which are used in the
production of solar cells. The two companies signed an 11-year,
5-gigawatts supply deal in September 2008. The companies have not yet
provided information about the nature of the joint venture.
Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) announced the selection of BP Solar (NYSE: BP) and enXco (EEN.PA), to provide up to 50 MW of solar power
within its service territory, including a 36.9 MW installation to be
hosted at Brookhaven National Laboratories (BNL) in Upton, New York.
Financials terms have yet to be negotiated.
Vestas (VWS.CO) the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbines and Boeing (NYSE:BA) announced they are interested in working together
on joint research projects for environmentally progressive
technologies. During 2009, researchers from both companies will work to
identify joint projects in areas of shared expertis, shuch as
aerodynamics and materials science.
In other wind industry news, Denmark's leading power company DONG Energy has signed an agreement to purchase 500 offshore wind turbines from Siemens
(NYSE: SI). The turbines have a combined power-generating capacity of
1,800 megawatts (MW) and are planned for use in offshore projects
throughout Europe. Anders Eldrup, CEO of DONG Energy, said the supply
agreement was worth more than $2.5 billion dollars.
Norwegian electric car maker, Think, wants to open a manufacturing plant
in the U.S. to begin production in 2010. The company said it is
currently in discussions with eight states that are interested in
hosting the facility. The company expects to produce 2,500 of its Think
city vehicles in the first year of operation, but plans to ramp up to
16,000 vehicles and 300 workers in the near term. Mid- to long-term
plans call for up to 900 employees and a capacity of 60,000 electric
vehicles per year
