ABB Ltd. (ABB) has entered into a contract to build two solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants for South Africa’s national electricity provider, Eskom. The plants, each of one hectare, will be situated on greenfield sites next to the coal-fired power stations at Lethabo, in the Free State province, and at Kendal in the Mpumalanga province. These solar power plants are the first of its kind in South Africa.
The solar PV power plant at Kendal will be of a fixed tilt type with a planned capacity of 620 kilowatts (kW) and a probable annual production of 11,445,398 kilowatt hours (kWh). The plant at the Lethabo site will be a single-axis tracking solar PV power plant with utmost capacity of 575 kW and a production capacity of 12,491,479 kWh per year.
The electrical power requirement of the existing power stations will be met independently by the new PV plants, which will also perform work of remote operation and monitoring. The fast track projects are scheduled for completion in November 2011, ahead of the Seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP 17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Durban, South Africa, in December 2011.
ABB Ltd’s power and automation technologies offer a solution for sustainable development, thus helping to shield the world's resources. The company boasts of state-of-the-art know-how in the solar power industry with a growing installed base. ABB Ltd. has also witnessed improving signs in late-cycle power, backed by some recent large contracts.
The increasing demand for energy-efficient motors favors the long-term prospects of the company. The recent acquisition of Baldor Electric Company will further enhance the company’s scope in high-efficiency motors. The U.S. market for these motors is estimated to grow at a 10% to 15% rate in 2011.
However, ABB's results are likely to be adversely affected by macroeconomic weakness as more than 80% of the company's orders are derived from outside the US. A major competitor of ABB Ltd. is Siemens AG (SI).
ABB Ltd. is a Zurich based power and automation technology company. The company operates in approximately 100 countries structuring its global organization into five regions: Europe, Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
The company retains a Zacks #3 Rank (short-term Hold recommendation) on ABB Ltd.
ABB LTD-ADR (ABB): Free Stock Analysis Report
SIEMENS AG-ADR (SI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment