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SunPower Buys Philippines Facility

SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR) has purchased a 40,000-square-meter manufacturing facility in the Philippines (located near its existing plant) to expand production capacity for its industry-leading solar cells. Plant 2 has sufficient space to allow for installation of up to 10 additional production lines, four more than a previously considered site would have allowed. The larger plant footprint will enable production of more than 300 megawatts per year of solar cells when fully built out. SunPower currently operates three solar cell production lines at its first plant, and is currently installing a fourth line that will bring the total facility nameplate capacity to 108 megawatts per year when production begins in the fourth quarter of 2006. Line 5, the first line scheduled for installation in Plant 2, is expected to begin production in the first half of 2007. Both Lines 4 and 5 will produce SunPower’s higher-efficiency Gen 2 (second generation) solar cells, with a minimum specified conversion efficiency of 22 percent. “The acquisition of this building provides SunPower with the option to accelerate our growth plans,” said PM Pai, COO of SunPower Corporation. “Plant 2 will be a larger manufacturing facility than Plant 1, offering us economies of scale and […]

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Global Climate Index Marks First Year

The Global Climate 100 Index – the first global index focused on solutions to climate change – marked its first year with a total return of 22.22% from its launch on July 1, 2005. The Index had a strong return compared to 17.50% for the MSCI World Index for the same period.KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., a pioneering SRI investment research and index provider, created the Index. “What distinguishes the GC 100 from other environmental indexes is its broad diversification of international companies focused on solutions to climate change rather than a single ‘pure play’ sector or geographic region,” says Tom Kuh, managing director of KLD. “By design, there tends to be less volatility, and the companies are equally weighted in KLD?s Global Climate 100 Index.”KLD’s Global Climate 100 Index includes both large and small global companies across the value chain – producers, distributors, and consumers of renewable energies such as solar and wind, future fuels such as natural gas and hydrogen, and innovations or applications of new technologies that help to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. “KLD’s Global Climate 100 Index is designed for investors seeking specialized strategies to invest in these types of companies. Increasingly, institutional and individual […]

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First LEED-Certified Airport Terminal – Boston

The new Delta Air Lines ‘Terminal A’ at Logan International Airport in Boston has achieved an environmental milestone as the world’s first air terminal to earn LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The terminal, the first to be built since 9/11, was designed by architecture firm HOK (Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum), using Massport’s 2001 guidelines for sustainable airport construction. The facility maximizes sustainable building methods and technologies, overcoming the significant obstacles inherent in bringing green design to airports. To combat the accelerated heat island effect and stormwater runoff issues typically caused by impervious surfaces on runways, parking lots and large roofs areas, for example, Terminal A features a roofing membrane and paving designed to reflect heat from the building and special stormwater filtration devices to remove suspended solids and total phosphorous. Some of the project’s other sustainable strategies include: water-efficient plumbing and irrigation; extensive daylighting and high-insulation glass; energy-efficient electric lighting; construction waste recycling; and the use of recycled, local materials. These approaches take on particular significance when considering the large scale of the facility, which encompasses more than 640,000 square feet. With 10% of all materials on the job coming from recycled sources and 75% of construction […]

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:July 13, 2006

News and EventsDOE Provides $96.4 Million for Home Weatherization DOE Releases Plan to Advance Cellulosic Ethanol New York Offers $20 Million for Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant Missouri Requires 10 Percent Ethanol in Most Gasoline Sold New Science and Technology Facility Opens at NREL NREL Offsets All Its Energy Use with Renewable Energy Credits Energy ConnectionsTwo New Nuclear Plants Slated for Texas Gulf Coast News and EventsDOE Provides $96.4 Million for Home WeatherizationDOE announced last week that it will award $96.4 million in weatherization program grants to 19 states for energy efficiency improvements in low-income households. These 19 states begin their weatherization year in the summer; in April, $140.3 million in weatherization grants were announced for the remaining 31 states. Every state will receive weatherization grants this year, as well as the District of Columbia, the Navajo Nation, and the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona. The total funding for fiscal year 2006 is $243 million, which will provide weatherization to approximately 96,560 homes. See the DOE press release.DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program performs energy audits to identify the most cost-effective measures for each home. The energy-saving measures can include adding insulation, reducing air infiltration, servicing heating and cooling systems, and providing health and […]

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SolarWorld Group Expanding Solar Wafer Production

SolarWorld AG is consistently implementing its group-wide production capacities expansion targets. Deutsche Solar AG will almost double its capacity for the manufacture of wafer-thin silicon discs to 350 Megawatts (MW) by the year 2008. To accomplish this goal, the SolarWorld subsidiary has constructed its new factory building at the integrated production location of Freiberg, Germany, over the last nine months. The topping out ceremony will be celebrated today, and the Federal Minister for the Environment, Sigmar Gabriel, will be attending. “The realization of our ‘Millennium Building’ to double wafer production is the largest expansion project of the group in Freiberg to date,” explained Prof. Dr. Peter Woditsch, Chairman of the Board of Deutsche Solar AG. “The employment of the latest technologies will make it possible to lastingly increase efficiency in wafer production and to save raw materials in this way. Thus, we will lead the market trend towards thinner and thinner wafers.” In the new factory, a highly advanced set of machines from our in-house development will be employed that will turn crystallized silicon into high-quality silicon columns and wafers. Initially the production capacity will be increased from currently 180 MW to 220 MW. “The investment volume into buildings, infrastructure, […]

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