QUICK NEWS, November 5: TOP SOLAR MODULE MAKERS HITTING RECORD SALES; UTILITIES BUYING WIND; MUNI UTILITY TO ADD SOLAR TO NAT GAS PLANT

TOP SOLAR MODULE MAKERS HITTING RECORD SALES Yingli Green Energy and Jinko Solar Forecast to Announce Solar PV Shipment and Cost Records for Q3’13…Chinese solar photovoltaic industry rebound continues, as Yingli approaches 3 gigawatts annualized shipments and Jinko decreases blended costs to $0.50/watt

October 30, 2013 (SolarBuzz)

"During the third quarter of 2013 (Q3’13), the recovery of the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry took a major step forward. Nine of the top ten solar PV module suppliers are forecast to achieve quarterly shipment growth, with six set to claim all-time shipment records. Module pricing for leading tier 1 Chinese suppliers stabilized for the third consecutive quarter, at approximately $0.63/W, allowing gross margins to increase to 18 percent, according to [SolarBuzz]…For the trailing twelve month (ttm) period ending in Q3’13, leading Chinese module suppliers Yingli Green Energy, Trina Solar, and Canadian Solar occupied the top three global rankings for total megawatts shipped, with Jinko Solar likely to grab the third ranking position…[B]lended gross margins for the top 20 solar PV module suppliers increased to 12.5 percent in Q3’13, compared to 11.3 percent in Q2’13…” click here for more

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UTILITIES BUYING WIND Utilities Across The U.S. Are Cashing In On The Lower Price Of Wind Power

Joseph Bebon, October 31, 2013 (North American Windpower)

"…[New] installed U.S. wind capacity is taking a steep dive this year…[but more] utilities are embracing wind power…According to the American Wind Energy Association's (AWEA) third-quarter 2013 market report, U.S. utilities have locked in more than 5.67 GW of wind under long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) and announced over 1.87 GW of self-builds since the beginning of this year - a total surpassing 7.5 GW…[U]tilities’ increasing interest in wind power is mostly a matter of economics…[W]ind PPA prices dropped 43% on average across the country between 2008 and 2012. Last year, the PPA price range was anywhere from $30/MWh to $80/MWh. And the costs may be getting cheaper still…[Improvements] are being made across the industry to push down costs and push up performance - which lowers the price of energy…” click here for more

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MUNI UTILITY TO ADD SOLAR TO NAT GAS PLANT Sacramento Utility to Launch Concentrating Solar Power-Natural Gas Project

October 31, 2013 (U.S. Department of Energy)

“…[A] new concentrating solar power (CSP) project led by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)…will integrate utility-scale CSP technology with SMUD’s 500-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired Cosumnes Power Plant. Supported by a $10 million Energy Department investment, this project will help design, build and test cost-competitive CSP-fossil fuel power generating systems in the United States…Hybrid systems couple traditional fossil fuel-powered plants with CSP technology…and marry baseload power with new, cost-effective capacity…[B]etween 11 and 21 gigawatts of CSP could be built and integrated into existing fossil fuel plants in the United States…[The SMUD project]…will feed solar-produced steam directly into the plant’s turbines – generating at least 10 MW of new electric generation capacity. The project will include energy storage technology to improve system performance and meet peak and off-peak power needs…” click here for more

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