North America PV News Snippets

REC Silicon to negotiate raw material supply with Mississippi Solar for US polysilicon production; MN8 to buy 14 US solar assets from Australia's NEW; Canada investing in Yukon's largest solar and storage project; FirstEnergy shutters ash landfill site to make way for 6 MW solar plant.

REC signs MoU with Mississippi Silicon: Polysilicon producer REC Silicon has entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with silicon metal manufacturer Mississippi Solar in the US to negotiate a raw material supply agreement. REC said this will support the development of an end-to-end solar supply chain within the US, from raw silicon to polysilicon and finally assembled modules. "Passage of Senator Jon Ossoff's Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act as part of a broad clean energy incentive package included in the Inflation Reduction Act makes such plans immediately possible," stated REC. A Norwegian company with US manufacturing footprint, REC is getting ready to restart its idle Moses Lake fab in 2023 after Hanwha Group invested in the company to source local polysilicon for its own US manufacturing ambition. Having local silicon metal supply will provide it with low carbon and fully traceable US based solar supply chain. In June 2022, REC signed up Ferroglobe to supply it silicon raw material in the US (see MoU For Silicon Raw Material Supply In US).

MN8 Energy purchasing 14 US solar projects: Goldman Sachs Renewable Power LLC, renamed MN8 Energy LLC is to purchase 14 solar assets in the US from Australia headquartered New Energy Solar Limited (NEW). It has signed up to acquire these assets for $244.5 million. The transaction is subject to certain conditions and customary regulatory approvals in the US. "The Proposed Transaction represents the sale of NEW's main undertaking and, if approved by shareholders and if the transaction conditions are met, will eventually result in the de-listing of NEW from the ASX and the winding up of the company," stated NEW.

Finance for Yukon's largest solar project: Canadian territory of Yukon has secured nearly $15.5 million investment for its largest solar project with 1.9 MW capacity. It is accompanied by 3.5 MWh battery energy storage capacity. On completion, it is expected to generate an average of 1,100 MWh annually and displace approximately 55% of diesel consumption for electricity generation. The Beaver Creek Solar Project on the Traditional Territory of the White River First Nation is expected to lower the community's reliance on diesel for electricity generation. The investment has been promised by the Canadian government under Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities Program with more than $13.4 million and Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency's Inclusive Diversification and Economic Advancement in the North (IDEANorth) pitching in with $2 million.

Ash landfill project site to host solar: Ohio, US utility FirstEnergy Corp has completed the closure of an ash landfill for former R.Paul Smith Power Station in Berkeley County, West Virginia. It will now be repurposed for a utility scale solar project with 6 MW capacity. FirstEnergy group's Mon Power plans this solar facility as part of its plans to construct 5 utility scale solar facilities with combined 50 MW capacity.