Rise & Shine: October 14, 2008
The Rise & Shine is your daily source for all solar-industry news. Brought to you by Sweet Solar Home and the Experts at SunRun.
CALIFORNIA NEWS
Cypress Semiconductor Goes it Alone WithoutSunPower
Believing Cypress needs to refocus itself, it will relinquish its controlling interest in its SunPower subsidiary, giving its stock to Cypress investors.
Sungevity Wants YOU to Text for Solar eSignatures
It takes more than 70 pages of tedious paperwork to get a residential solar system connected to the grid and properly rebated. Sungevity is launching a campaign today to end this wasteful paper trail by asking the Public Utilities Commission to accept electronic signatures on rebate and interconnection application.
10 Solar Startups to Watch at Solar Power International
Here are 10 solar startups that will be making a splash at the history making show this week
Sunny Outlook for Solar Industry
When solar consultant Van Parseghian worked his sales booth at the Costco, he wasn’t ready for the crowd. He booked 27 in-home consultations about three times the norm.
Solar Power Conference Attracts Luminaries
From 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. there is a free public night on the expo floor. No registration is necessary.
NATIONAL NEWS
Riverside Partners Acquires Solar Works, Inc. and SolarWrights, Inc.
Riverside Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm, announced today the acquisition and merger of Solar Works, Inc. and SolarWrights, Inc. into the largest solar energy integrator in the Northeast.
Advent & Deutsche Solar Sign US $350M Wafer Deal
Advent Solar has signed an agreement with Deutsche Solar AG. Deutsche Solar will provide Advent Solar with its SOLSIX wafers through 2018. The total value of the deal is more than US $350M.
Solar Mapping Technology Rolling Out
Home and business owners in 25 cities will soon be able to punch up the solar energy potential of their own rooftops on a free Web site, under a new mapping program rolling out with backing from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Sharp to Introduce 2nd Generation Thin Film Solar Cells in US
Sharp, a world leader in solar cell production, announced today at Solar Power International 2008 that it will introduce next generation thin film solar cells in the U.S. market in the near future.
REC Group Releases SCM Series Solar PV Module to US Market
REC Group has released its SCM Series module – a photovoltaic panel featuring specially treated glass and unique locking connectors – to the U.S. market.
3Tier Introduces High Res Solar Map for Western Hemisphere
3TIER developed a data set that is approximately three times the resolution of existing industry solar data standards for the U.S.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Alliance for Renewable Energy to Promote Feed-in Tariffs
The Alliance for Renewable Energy (ARE) was launched at a pre-event of the Solar Power International 2008. ARE’s mission is to promote feed-in tariffs in states and provinces throughout the U.S. and Canada.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
TerraWatt Closing on $1.5M for Inverters
A new solar-inverter company, a spinoff of Advanced Energy Conversion, is raising $1.5 million for its technology to keep its customers power on, even if the grid has an outage.
Solar Shares Brighten
During the first day of Solar Power International, solar stocks rally and companies including Deutsche Solar, Advent Solar, Signet Solar, REC, Neo Solar and Solarday announce new products, plans & deals.
Funding Roundup: 1366 Tech Looks for $50M
The venture-capital world will likely see a sharp decline in investment dollars and smaller deals in the fourth quarter, as investors and startups figure out how to weather the sinking economy.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Schwarzenegger: Solar Can’t Be Stoppedl
At the Solar Power International conference in San Diego, CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says it’s important to focus on solar and the environment in a difficult economy.
TECHNOLOGY
World’s Most Advanced Solar Testing and Certification Facility
TUV Rheinland Group has joined forces with Arizona State University (ASU) to create TUV Rheinland PTL, the most comprehensive, sophisticated, state-of-the-art facility for testing and certification of solar energy equipment in the world.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Solsonica Signs Multi-year Module Supply Contract with TerniEnergia
Solsonica has entered into a 3-year sales contract with TerniEnergia.
Solibro to Build Thin Film Manufacturing Facility
Solibro is to build its new manufacturing plant for photovoltaic modules in Solar Valley Thalheim in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany.
Chinese Silicon Slicer JinkoSolar Raises $35M
JinkoSolar, a Chinese silicon wafer manufacturer, has closed a $35 million Series B round of funding (hat tip PEHub)
Spark Solar Australia to Build Solar Cell Factory Worth $70M
Spark Solar has completed its first round of funding for the development of a new, $70 million solar cell manufacturing facility in the Canberra region.
XsunX Reviewing Encapsulation Material for Thin Film Solar Module
XsunX Inc., a company focused on thin-film photovoltaic module manufacturing, is reviewing the use of a new solar module encapsulation material for its thin-film module design.
Signet Starts Volume Production of Thin-film PV Modules
Signet Solar announced that it has begun volume production at its solar thin-film manufacturing facility in Mochau, Germany, after receiving Final Acceptance Test (FAT) certification from SGS Germany GmbH.
Are you in California and interested in solar for your home? Call us at 877.SUN.MOJO or visit our website to learn more.
Click here to subscribe.