Legacy Progress Director's Production of Documents (Part 3 ... - NCUC

GE Halts Construction on Solar Plant as Prices PlungeBloomberg, 7-3-12By Tim CattsGeneral Electric Co. (GE) is suspending construction ofa Colorado thin-film solar factory, slated to bethe biggest in the U.S., as prices for the panels tumble amid a manufacturing-capacity glut.Work will be halted for at least 18 months, Danielle Merfeld, the general manager of solartechnologies, said in a telephone interview.GE, which draws about 30 percent of sales from energy businesses including wind and solar, will usethe delay to modify the plant's design and focus on boosting the efficiency of its solar modules. TheFairfield, Connecticut-based company announced the $300 million plant in October, with plans to hire350 workers and begin shipments to customers in 2013."Over the past six months, the industry has shifted pretty rapidly," Merfeld said. "We've seen about a50 percent price drop for modules over this period and there's a lot of unabated overcapacity outthere."GE had said the plant, located east of Denver, would make enough panels annually to powerapproximately 80,000 U.S. homes, or about 400 megawatts.NC solar projects aided by lower costs for constructionCharlotte Business Journal, 7-6-12By John DowneyIt appears that the price for building utility-scale solar projects in North Carolina continues to drop,despite tariffs imposed earlier this year on low-cost Chinese solar panels.Take the case of the state's busiest solar developer in recent months, Strata Solar in Chapel Hill. Itregistered plans with state regulators in February and March to build more than half a dozen 5-megawatt solar farms. The estimated cost on each of those projects was $22.5 million.From the end of May to early June, Strata registered eight more proposed projects. The estimatedcosts on those were $20 million.That's a drop of more than 10%. Strata spokesman Blair Schoof says the difference represents thelower cost for construction, not factors such as variable expenses for leasing the land.But the savings aren't always in the photovoltaic panels themselves, he adds. Costs for racking andother equipment continue to go down, and construction processes are growing more efficient.Companies vie for nuclear grantWhen the U.S, Department of Energy announces the award next month of two grants to assist inlicensing small modular nuclear reactors, four companies with major operations here will be crossingtheir fingers.The Shaw Group Inc., whose main nuclear-power operations are in Charlotte, and Areva NorthAmerica, the largest employer of engineers in Charlotte, have formed an alliance with HoltecInternational of New Jersey to develop its small reactor, the 160-megawatt SMR-160.The team is among four vying for one of two grants, which total $452 million, intended to fosterdevelopment ofthe new reactors.The Babcock & Wilcox Co., based in Charlotte, is part of another team, with its 125-megawattmPower reactor. Westinghouse Electric Co., which also has nuclear operations in Charlotte, isworking on a team to promote its 200-megawatt reactor.11LEGPGND1R001177