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
SunPower and Invest North Partner on Roof Mounted Solar System
SunPower has signed an agreement to build a 305kW system atop the roof of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.

Premier Power Installs Nation’s Largest Bi-Directional Solar Trackers
The Delano Irrigation district project announced on September 25th was the first two installations in a series of large scale trackers being engineered and integrated by Premier Power by year end.

Athenian School Shows Solar Smarts with Tioga Energy, REC Solar
The Athenian School in Danville will install a 220kW photovoltaic project, which will be installed by REC Solar and financed and operated by Tioga Energy

Monkey Announces Strategic Initiative to Expand Services
Solar Monkey has announced plans to expand its strategic focus in the growing solar energy market for educational institutions, colleges and universities.

Local Business, Residents Switch to Solar Power to Harness Energy
Local Thousand Oaks, CA residents and business owners are choosing to install solar panels on their roofs in order to harness natural and renewable energy and reduce their electric bills.

City Tour Makes Its Way to San Francisco
Yesterday the City Tour for Solar made its stop in solar loving San Francisco to educate the city about solar options.

Green Jobs Training Program
The Oakland Green Jobs Corps is recruiting its first students as a contract gets finalized between the city of Oakland and three organizations chosen to run the training. Classes will include how to install solar panels.

NATIONAL NEWS
Indiana Survey: Most in State Oppose More Subprime Investments in Coal, Nuclear Power
Four Out of Five State Residents Do Not Favor Moving Ahead Now With Daniels-Backed Coal Gasification Plants; Most Want Duke Energy – Not Indiana Ratepayers – to Foot Bill for Billions of Dollars in Coal Technology R&D.

Grant Middle School to Use Solar Energy
The city of Springfield, IL and the Springfield School District are teaming up to install five solar panels at Grant Middle School, 1800 W. Monroe St.

A.C. Electric Files Plant to Help Consumers Go With Solar
Atlantic City Electric is promoting New Jersey’s efforts to generate more solar power, filing a financing plan Wednesday with state regulators about how it would help consumers invest in solar-panel systems.

Solar Companies to Study Lake Bed
The Las Vegas City Council Sept. 23 voted unanimously to allow solar power companies to study whether expanding the Energy Zone into the dry lake bed would be possible and beneficial.

Energy Conversion Devices and CertainTeed to Develop Sustainable Solar Residential Roofing Products
Energy Conversion Devices and CertainTeed will jointly develop roofing- integrated residential PV products. The companies expect these new products to be commercially available beginning in 2010.

Solar Power Plant Coming to MD
Constellation Energy will build the first state agency solar power system at the Maryland Environmental Service headquarters.

2008 Solar Tour Showcases Clean Energy in Georgia
This Saturday, October 4th, in Atlanta the Georgia Solar Energy Association is sponsoring the 2008 Georgia Solar Tour.

Join ISEA’s 2008 Solar Tour
On Saturday October 4, ISEA will present the Illinois’ portion of the American Solar Energy Society 2008 National Solar Tour. More than 100 homeowners, businesses and public institutions across the State will open their sites to visitors.

Green Building & Solar Tour: Charlotte
The Green Building & Solar Tour in the Charlotte area will feature 6 homes and 3 commercial properties featuring green building products and technologies including solar PV and hot water systems.

Wisconsin Solar Tour Is This Week
The Wisconsin Solar Tour, sponsored by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday throughout the state.

UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Google Unveils Plan to Reduce Dependence on Fossil Fuels
Google.org, the philanthropic unit of search giant Google Inc., publicized a $4.4 trillion plan to wean the United States off fossil fuels by 2030.

Wind Leading the Pack of Winning Cleantech Technologies
Mark Jakobson, Stanford professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, performed a thorough evaluation of energy solutions to global warming. Wind comes out the clear winner. Concentrated solar power, geothermal, solar photovoltaics, tidal, wave, are good additions to the mix.

Cap And Trade Rules
As California unveils further details Friday about how the program will be structured, there are two principles that planners should keep at the top of their minds.

Black & Veatch Report Outlines Issues Faced by US Utility Industry During Period of Financial Uncertainty
Trouble in the capital and credit markets could lead to less reliable service if system improvements and expansion plans are held up because financing is not available.

Sempra Energy Completes Acquisition of EnergySouth Inc
Sempra Energy – parent company for SDG&E – today announced the completion of its acquisition of Mobile, Ala.-based EnergySouth, Inc. for $510 million in cash.

FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
Ausra Secures US $60M in Funding
Ausra has closed a round of $60.6M, including Al Gore’s investment fund Generation Investment Management, as well as KERN Partners, Starfish Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures.

Solar Energy Will Survive, But Faces Touch Sliding in Short Term
The good news is that solar energy will survive and flourish in the long term. The bad news it that it will be tough for many solar energy companies to survive the growing market glut, according to the new report from Lux Research entitled “Solar State of the Market Q3 2008: The Rocky Road to $100 Billion.”

MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Sharp Eyes Half the Thin-film Solar Market in 2012
Sharp aims to grab 50 percent market share in thin-film solar cells in four years as demand for renewable energy grows.

Suntech Expands US Market Presence
Suntech Power today announced three initiatives designed to significantly expand its share of the U.S. solar market: a joint venture with MMA Renewable Ventures, acquisition of commercial installer EI Solutions, and rapid expansion of their U.S. dealer network.

DOE Solar Energy Report on Market Penetration outlook for Solar PV
There’s a DOE report which figures out, state by state, how much roof surface is available, how attractive the incentives and infrastructure are and uses some simple algorithms to come up with an expected market penetration for solar PV on commercial and residential roofs.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Crisis Puts Tax Moves Into Play
A long-stalled tax bill offering incentives for the use of renewable energy gained momentum on Wednesday, when it was strapped onto emergency legislation to shore up the nation’s financial system. By a vote of 74 to 25, the Senate passed the legislation.

Sweeteners Entice Lawmakers to Back Bailout Plan
Forces in favor of the massive financial rescue plan are turning around the tide of opinion in Congress. SEIA also stepped into the fray, focusing on about 70 House members who voted ”no” from places where solar energy manufacturers or solar energy users are important, including CA, NJ, NY, AZ, and OH.

TECHNOLOGY
Solar Paint on Steel Could Generate Renewable Energy Soon
In three years, buildings covered in steel sheets could be generating large amounts of solar electricity, thanks to a new photovoltaic paint that is being developed in a commercial partnership between UK university researchers and the steel industry.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Moser Baer Secures $500M of Solar Module Orders
Moser Baer will supply solar modules to major European solar system integrators. The agreements have a cumulative value of more than $500 million.

Bosch Completes Takeover of Ersol
With final regulatory approval from German anti-trust authorities, Robert Bosch GmbH has completed its acquisition of PV wafer, cell and module manufacturer Ersol Solar Energy AG.

Man Killed by Solar Panels at Geebung Factory
A 36-year old man has died after about eight solar panels fell on his head at a warehouse at Geebung, on Brisbane’s northside in Australia

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 at 8:40 am and is filed under Solar Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.