SOLAR TODAY - September/October 2011

| incentives advances

In late June, First Solar, the leading manufacturer of cadmium telluride (Cd Te) thin-film modules, snagged $4.5 billion in support from the DOE’s Loan Guarantee Office. The government’s offer, for three California projects totaling 1.33 gigawatts (GW) of capacity, was the largest commitment to any solar company yet. It came at a very critical time — the stimulus-funded Section 1705 of the loan guarantee program, which has distributed a total of $18 billion to 16 solar companies to date, is scheduled to expire on Sept. 30. All loan guarantees directed at the solar industry, listed here, have come from Section 1705.

In mid-July, approximately 25 percent of the funds under 1705 remained. Expect a last-minute flurry of activity, as the DOE anticipates filling out the program, considered cost-effective in securing private-sector investment. Solar companies will have to break ground on new projects by the closing date to qualify. See solartoday.org for updates.

Solar and DOE
Loan Guarantees
Solar Loans » Generation

First Solar ($4.5 billion) — 1,330 megawatts (MW) of thin-film PV projects in California

Abengoa Solar ( $2.65 billion) — 560 M W of concentrating solar power (CSP) facilities in Arizona and California

Solar Millenium ($2.1 billion) — 484 M W of CSP in California (phase one of the 1-GW Blythe facility)

BrightSource Energy ($1.6 billion) — 383 M W of CSP in California

Prologis ($1.4 billion) — 733 M W of PV in 28 States
SunPower ($1.19 billion) — A 250-MW PV farm
in California
Agua Caliente Solar ($967 billion) — 290 M W of
thin-film PV (using First Solar panels) in California
NextEra Energy ($852 million)— 250 M W of
“power tower” CSP in California

Solar Reserve ($737 million) — 110 MW of CSP with molten salt energy storage in Nevada

Sempra Mesquite ($398 million) —170 MW of PV in Arizona

Fotowatio ($45.6 million) — 26 M W of PV in Nevada

First soLAr

Solar Loans » Manufacturing

Solyndra ($535 million) — Cylindrical tube copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) thin-film plant in California, with 450-MW annual capacity

Abound Solar ($400 million) —Two Cd Te thin-film panel plants, in Colorado and Indiana, with 840-MW annual capacity

Calisolar ($275 million) — Solar silicon manufacturing facility in California, with 16,000 metric tons of annual capacity (equivalent to 2 G W in PV panels)

SoloPower ($197 million) — CIGS thin-film plant in Oregon, with a 400-MW annual capacity

1366 Technologies ($150 million) — Silicon wafer-manufacturing facility in Massachusetts, with a 20-MW annual capacity

Aim High
At Power-One,
we aim high so you can too. TM
Enjoy the maximum returns from
your investment.

You can choose from our wide range
of popular Aurora® products from
small residential string inverters to
large commercial central inverters,
including the Aurora® 5000/6000
kW UNO-single phase, 10.0/12.0kW
TRIO- three phase and 250/300kW
PLUS Central inverters.