Industry News

Lowe’s Installs Largest Retail Store Solar Array in Nation

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has installed a 370-kilowatt solar electric system at its West Hills store in the Los Angeles area. The largest commercial solar rooftop electric system at any retail store in the nation, the system generates enough electricity during the daytime to power more than 370 homes.

The PowerLight solar generation system covers 37,500 square feet of the Lowe's store and features 2,535 solar roof tiles made from Shell Solar modules. The rooftop system incorporates PowerGuard technology, a patented, lightweight photovoltaic roofing assembly. The tiles also help insulate the building, reducing heating and cooling requirements. For more information, visit www.powerlight.com.

World’s Third-Largest Wind Center Dedicated in New Mexico

Dedicated on October 1, the New Mexico Wind Energy Center is the world's third-largest wind facility. Located near House, N.M., the wind center produces up to 204 megawatts of electricity (enough to supply 94,000 average-sized homes). FPL Energy, a subsidiary of FPL Group, owns and operates the wind center; the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), a subsidiary of PNM Resources, is buying all the power from the project for sale to its customers through the PNM Sky Blue green power program. The new facility allows PNM, the state's largest electric and gas utility, to begin offering renewable energy to its 385,000 electric customers for the first time. For more information, visit www.pnm.com.

Shell Solar Opens Second PV Manufacturing Line

Solar Deutschland GmbH has open a second photovoltaic cell manufacturing line at its factory in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The new line will produce more than six million solar cells a year, with a total power generation capacity of 15 megawatts, more than doubling the output of the factory.

The new technology in the completely automated second cell line allows the production of thinner and more efficient solar cells with a larger surface area, enabling the cells to absorb more light. Thanks to new technologies, the new line will produce multi-crystalline cells with an efficiency of 15 percent. (The first cell line produced cells with 13 percent efficiency.) For more information, visit www.shellsolar.com.

Cielo Wind Power to Construct Facility in New Mexico

Within the next 12 months, Caprock Wind LP, an affiliate of Cielo Wind Power, plans to build an 80-megawatt wind energy facility, Caprock Wind Ranch, approximately 20 miles southeast of Tucumcari, N.M. Xcel Energy will purchase all the power from the plant and sell it to customers in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

The facility is scheduled to commence operations in August 2004 and will generate about 245,000 megawatt-hours of power each year, providing sufficient electricity to serve the year-round average needs of about 26,600 homes, according to Xcel Energy. For more information, visit www.cielowind.com.

Target Retail Store Benefits from New PV System

Nextek Power Systems recently installed a solar photovoltaic system at a Target retail store in El Cajon, Calif. The installation is the largest commercial solar energy system to date in San Diego. Based on the roof installation of the modules, the anticipated net AC energy savings to Target is approximately 104,200 watts. The photovoltaic system features BP Solar BP2150S PV modules, and Nextek NPS-1000 power modules and DC ballasts. The annual energy production is estimated to be 181,926 kWh/year. For more information, visit www.nextekpower.com.

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