21st Century Regenerative Technology

1. SunPower Snags Massive Florida Solar Power Plant Deal
2. Prius Manufacturing Coming to America, SUVs Shudder

SunPower Snags Massive Florida Solar Power Plant Deal

2008-07-10 17:01

Katie Fehrenbacher - Energy

SunPower said this morning that it’s scored a sunny deal in the Sunshine state. The solar cell maker will build those two massive solar photovoltaic power plants that Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) has in the works (and we wrote about here). SunPower (SPWR) will design and build the plants, while FPL will own and maintain them. SunPower’s stock rose more than 12 percent on the news, to $68.57.

The bigger of the two will be a 25-megawatt plant in DeSoto County, Fla., which SunPower said will be “the largest solar photovoltaic power plant in the U.S.” It will be slightly larger the 21.5-megawatt plant SunEdison and Duke Energy are building (and similarly claimed would be the largest in the country). But it pales in comparison to the 550-megawatt PV plant that Optisolar has been talking about.

SunPower will also build the smaller but still sizable 10-megawatt photovoltaic plant at the Kennedy Space Center. The DeSoto plant is expected to be completed by 2009, and the Kennedy plant by 2010; the projects still need to be approved by the Florida Public Service Commission. In addition to the PV plants, FPL is building a 75-megawatt solar thermal plant at its existing Martin combined-cycle power facility; no word yet on which firm scored that deal. FPL estimates that these three solar projects will cost a total of $688 million.

Image of SunPower solar installation in Korea, courtesy of SunPower.

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Prius Manufacturing Coming to America, SUVs Shudder

2008-07-10 16:07

Craig Rubens - Big Green

Toyota says it is bringing its first Prius manufacturing plant to the U.S., and after doing a car shuffle, SUVs will have to sit out the dance. The Priuses will be built at a plant under construction in Blue Springs, Miss, with manufacturing to start in late 2010. To make room for new Prius production, Toyota is moving manufacturing of its Highlander SUV from its Mississippi plant to Indiana, and bumping Tundra truck production out to Texas. Toyota says by bringing the Prius stateside, it is “responding to changes in consumer demand.”

Prius sales crossed the 1 million mark earlier this year, and as overall hybrid sales have risen over the past year, the Prius still dominates the space.

Adding insult to injury for the beleaguered gas guzzlers, Toyota also says it will suspend North American production of the Tundra and Sequoia for three months “due to the declining overall market for full-size trucks and SUVs.” But unlike domestic automakers, which are hemorrhaging jobs amid slumping sales and record gas prices, Toyota says its employees will continue to work.

Toyota is proving again that it is far nimbler than many of Detroit’s ailing behemoths, which are all still trying to make a dent in the hybrid space. While Toyota works to open a new hybrid plant and add solar panels to the Prius, domestic car makers are pondering more layoffs and brand cuts.