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
City of Santa Barbara Activates City’s First Large-Scale Solar Power System
The system, which is spread among the Corporate Yard’s roofs, features Suntech modules designed to minimize aesthetic impact while providing maximum energy output.

Berkeley to Receive Award for Most Solar Systems in Bay
The city of Berkeley will accept an award tonight for installing the most solar systems per 1,000 citizens by any city in the Bay Area.

NATIONAL NEWS
2.65 Million in Solar and Wind Jobs by 2018?
A new report from Clean Edge says that the solar and wind power industries will create 2.65 million jobs worldwide over the next decade, up from about 600,000 today. But despite the group’s sunny long-term outlook, 2009 will likely see renewable energy investment decline or stay flat.

Hoku and Alex New Energy Sign Ten-Year Polysilicon Supply Agreement
Hoku Materials and Shanghai Alex New Energy Company, Ltd. (Alex), a manufacturer of crystalline silicon solar cells, modules and photovoltaic products, have signed a definitive $178M contract for Hoku’s sale and delivery of polysilicon to Alex over a ten-year period beginning in early 2010.

Hundreds Bask in Solar Funds
More than 600 private residents and 32 businesses have participated in the Alice Solar City program, which will celebrate its first birthday today.

State Giving Up $500,000 per Job in Renewables
Cost has some lawmakers questioning value of tax incentives for energy development.

Housing Authority Plans Solar-Powered Senior Village
The Fayetteville Public Housing Authority in Arkansas executed a step Monday to build the region’s first solar-powered housing project to serve the city’s lowest-income seniors.

Clean Power Maps: Solar Jobs Light Up Google Earth
Google.org and the Solar Energy Research Education Foundation (SEREF) decided to take the Navigant study and feed it into Google Earth, to show off a state-by-state comparison.

UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Solar Child – the Utility – PV & CSP
Utilities in or near the southwestern United States are planning to build or buy power from massive concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, while utilities throughout the nation are investing in solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants, creating growing momentum for the utility deployment of solar power throughout the country.

FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
LDK Solar Swings to Loss
LDK Solar Co. swung to a fourth-quarter loss on a $216.7 million inventory write-down as the solar-power company projected revenue for the current quarter well below analysts’ estimates.

JA Solar Reports Fourth Quarter and 2008 Financial Results
Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2008 was RMB 979.0 million ($143.5 million), a decrease of 6.9 percent from RMB 1.1 billion ($154.1 million) in the fourth quarter of 2007 and a decrease of 53.8 percent from RMB 2.1 billion ($310.8 million) in the third quarter of 2008.

NorSun Completes Financing for Expansion Projects
NorSun has raised NOK 1.15 billion in new financing to expand production of silicon ingots and wafers for high efficiency solar cells.

MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Recession Has Taken Toll on Alternative Energy
Worldwide sales of solar cells, biofuels and wind turbines soared 53 percent last year to hit $115.9 billion before the global recession started sapping their strength, according to an annual report issued Tuesday.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Utility Scale Thin Film: Three New Plants in Germany Total Almost 50MW
Germany has been breaking records with its thin-film developments, and with three developments totalling almost 50 MW of new capacity, this rapidly emerging technology continues to set the bar higher.

Total Plans Increased Investment in Solar Energy
In a challenging economic environment, Total is continuing to work to secure its future. Total is now planning to invest more than €1bn in refining, petrochemicals and solar energy in France.

ACCIONA Energy Starts Work on its third Spanish CSP Plant
ACCIONA Energy has started construction work on a 50 MW concentrated solar power (CSP) plant at Majadas de Tiétar (Cáceres), representing an investment of 237 million euros.

Air Products Signs LOI with Best Solar
Air Products has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to provide liquid bulk and on-site gases to China’s Best Solar Hi Tech Co., Ltd, which is building a new thin-film photovoltaic facility in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, China. The LOI between Air Products and Best Solar includes the long-term supply of hydrogen, nitrogen, helium and argon gases.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 6:28 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.