First Solar Inc., Tempe, Ariz., and ReneSolar Ltd., Jiashan, China, were both in the news last month. First Solar, Inc. announced it has established a Thailand operating subsidiary, First Solar (Thailand) Ltd., and opened an office in Bangkok. First Solar said in a press release that the creation of the local subsidiary will better enable it to execute its strategy to expand the market for utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the local market, and to deliver value to Thai solar power producers. “The long-term energy fundamentals in Thailand are very favorable for a solar power solution to meet their growing energy needs, and we will continue to invest here as part of our strategy to develop sustainable, utility-scale solar markets,” Won Park, senior manager, business development, said in the press release.
ReneSola said it will sell 4.6MW of its 255W polymodules to Solar Planet Power Inc., a U.S. company specializing in photovoltaic system solutions for commercial properties, including system due diligence, financing, design and installation. Under the terms of the agreement, ReneSola will ship a total of 4.6 MW of its high-efficiency 255W poly modules to Solar Planet, Columbus, Ohio, in the third quarter of 2012. Solar Planet intends to order up to 15 MW of additional solar modules within six months following the initial delivery.
Siyd Tawana, president of Solar Planet, said in the press release announcing the acquisition, “This strategic partnership with ReneSola will help us reach our big growth plans much faster and smoother. We are shooting for about $200 million in solar projects at schools and other public and private sites over the next two years. We have contracts to do installations for more than 30 major school districts, more than 20 municipals and many hospitals, airports and universities in the state of Ohio. We will later expand to other geographic markets in the United States and abroad, and we look forward to completing several new projects using ReneSola modules.”