- News
10 March 2011
Tenaska selects Concentrix for 150MW San Diego CPV project
Soitec Group of Bernin, France, which manufactures engineered substrates including silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers (as well as III-V epiwafers through its Picogiga International division) says that its Concentrix concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology has been selected by Tenaska Solar Ventures (a division of independent energy firm Tenaska of Omaha, Nebraska) to produce 150MW of power for the public utility firm San Diego Gas & Electric (a subsidiary of San Diego-based energy services holding company Sempra Energy). The new Imperial Solar Energy Center (ISEC) West plant will be constructed on a 1057-acre site in Southern California’s western Imperial County, and is expected to be completed in 2015.
To support the project, Soitec will build a new factory in the San Diego region to manufacture its proprietary CPV modules. With an annual production capacity of 200MW, the facility will supply modules not only to ISEC West but also to other utility-scale solar power projects throughout the desert southwest of the USA.
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) signed a 25-year power-purchase agreement with a subsidiary of CSOLAR Development LLC, a renewable energy firm managed by Tenaska Solar Ventures that will develop and operate ISEC West. The ground-mounted CPV plant will have a capacity of 150MW of solar-generated electricity (sufficient to meet the annual needs of about 55,000 California homes).
Soitec notes that its Concentrix CPV technology requires no water for ongoing operations, which is a crucial consideration for the water-constrained Imperial Valley, and that the ISEC West project represents a significant economic investment in Imperial County, creating hundreds of jobs in the area.
“The start of construction of the Sunrise Powerlink [SDG&E's high-voltage power transmission line,which will bring 1000MW of power from the Imperial Valley to San Diego County] has triggered a wave of proposed new utility-scale solar and wind projects in the Imperial Valley region,” says James Avery, SDG&E’s senior VP of power supply. “What is unique about this contract is that not only will the Imperial Valley benefit from the jobs created to construct the solar plant, San Diego will benefit from the approximately 450 new jobs that will be created at the new manufacturing facility that will be located here in the region,” he adds. “SDG&E’s voluntary commitment to obtain 33% of its power from renewable sources by 2020 is creating new jobs in both the Imperial Valley and here in San Diego.”
Soitec claims that its Concentrix CPV systems are more efficient and perform better than conventional solar systems, particularly at locations with extremely hot ambient temperatures and dry weather conditions. Because of the very low temperature coefficient of its multi-junction solar cells, a CPV system’s performance is much less affected by temperature than other PV technology. Also, a CPV system’s two-axis solar tracker mechanism produces high and constant power production output throughout daylight hours. “The ISEC West solar power plant will demonstrate Concentrix CPV scalability, and commercial viability of this innovative technology for utility-scale deployment,” reckons Dave Fiorelli, president of Tenaska’s Development Group.
“Our CPV systems are perfectly suited for the very high solar irradiance prevalent in the Imperial Valley,” believes Soitec’s CEO & chairman André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé. “We are very committed to the US market and look forward to increasing our presence in the San Diego community by contributing to the emerging renewable energy ecosystem in the region,” he adds.
The ISEC West project has applied for a US Department of Energy loan guarantee. Upon receipt of the guarantee and closing of its agreement with Tenaska, Soitec will implement capacity investments to construct its San Diego area factory and pursue options for related financing. The factory location is anticipated to be announced this summer, with completion expected within 18 months of construction start. Delivery of CPV systems to the ISEC West solar power plant should begin in early 2013 and finish in 2015. At full capacity, Soitec’s San Diego operations will generate up to 450 jobs in the local area.
Join Semiconductor Today's LinkedIn networking and discussion group
©2006-2012
Juno Publishing and Media Solutions Ltd. All rights reserved. Semiconductor
Today and the editorial material contained within it and related media is
the copyright of Juno Publishing and Media Solutions Ltd. Reproduction in
whole or part without permission from Juno Publishing and Media Solutions
Ltd is forbidden. In most cases, permission will be granted, if the magazine
and publisher are acknowledged.