Rise & Shine: April 3, 2009
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
Inland Empire Utilities Agency and SunPower Dedicate 3.5MW Solar Power Installation
Inland Empire Utilities Agency and SunPower announced the completion of a 3.5-megawatt solar power installation at four IEUA facilities in Chino, Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
NATIONAL NEWS
Dow Corning Selects Korea for Solar Solutions Application Center
Dow Corning Corp. has selected JinCheon, Korea as the site for further expansion of its solar business with the development of a second Solar Solutions Application Center.
Satcon Expands Commercial Operations in China
Inverter manufacturer, Satcon Technology has signed a distributor agreement with Parity Solar Ltd., a solar project developer and manufacturer of thin-film photovoltaic modules in China.
SunEdison Activates 1.2 MW PV System
SunEdison has activated a 1.2 megawatt photovoltaic solar energy system for Progress Energy. Located on approximately 10 acres at Progress Energy’s Sutton Plant near Wilmington, the 1.2 MW ground mount system is the largest in North Carolina.
Green Movement Also Fights Itself
The modern environmental movement is having an identity crisis. Staring down its biggest enemy yet, it’s fiercely divided over how to beat it.
Light Cycle: Recycling PV Materials
The industry has been busy developing strategies and techniques that make the most of the valuable materials contained in their products and simultaneously improve their positive environmental impact.
United Renewable Energy, US Floors Finish First Phase of Solar System
Dalton, Ga.-based US Floors Inc., a sustainable flooring manufacturer, says it has completed the installation of the first phase of what is likely to be the largest privately owned solar power generation system in the state.
enXco Dedicates 1.8MW Solar Project at Hall’s Warehouse Corp
enXco, an EDF Energies Nouvelles company, has officially completed a 1.8 MW (DC) solar installation at Hall’s Warehouse Corp. in South Plainfield, N.J.
Green Power Purchases Targeted to Wind, Solar
The nation’s largest developer of renewable energy today plans to unveil a green power purchase program that could shake up the market by channeling all of the money into new wind and solar projects.
Greenery and Jobs
Spending on renewable electricity, meanwhile, tends to raise the price of power, since wind- and solar-power plants cost more to build and run than coal-fired ones, say. These effects can cost jobs.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Overhauling the Grid to Accommodate Renewables
Efforts are needed to promote transmission and distribution expansion in the US if the country is to realize its full potential.
RVA Agrees to Pursue Renewable Energy Purchases
In the face of looming legislative pressures for cleaner energy, the nation’s largest public utility agreed Thursday to buy more than a nuclear reactor’s worth of electricity from renewable energy sources.
Renewable Energy Tax Proposed
Insisting that power customers benefit from Nevada’s nascent renewable energy industry, Assembly Democrats want to tax solar, wind and other clean energy produced in the state.
FERC Releases Proposed Policy Statement on Smart-Grid Development
FERC has accelerated development of a smarter grid for the nation’s electric transmission system with a proposed policy statement and action plan that would help set the rules of the road of a modern grid that would help bring long-term savings to consumers.
Sacramento Utility Could Boost Rates 13%
Electricity customers in Sacramento County and a small part of Placer County could be facing a two-step, 13% rate increase.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
Clean Energy Industry in the Doldrums
Investment in renewable energy has hit a lull as private-sector money is drying up, but the bulk of government funding has yet to arrive.
Solomon Islands Solar: A Net Microfinance Concept Takes Root
The team has developed a unique new financing mechanism that has the potential to be applied across various rural communities, not only in the Solomon Islands.
MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Trends and Oppportunities in Thin Film Solar
Amorphous silicon (a-Si) will continue to lead the thin-film solar photovoltaics (PV) space for several years to come, says the research firm NanoMarkets.
A Climate for Renewables: How Solar PV Can Become a Major Source of Europe’s Electricity Supply
Even though the arguments in favour of a major role for PV in European electricity supply are well worn, Anton Milner explains why it is important to keep on repeating this message.
Germany: The World’s First Major Renewable Energy Economy
Germany is accelerating its efforts to become the world’s first industrial power to use 100 percent renewable energy — and given current momentum, it could reach that green goal by 2050.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Confusion, Political Spat Emerge for China Solar Subsidies
China announced an outline for a solar incentive program last week with some key details missing. That has prompted a lot of speculations and interpretation of what the government really said.
REC Halts Production at New Polysilicon Plant
REC Silicon has temporary halted production at its new polysilicon plant in Moses Lake, Washington (Silicon III).
REC ASA-REC Solar Adjusts Production Volumes
REC Solar has decided to reduce second quarter production of solar cells and modules by close to 50 percent.
Enipower Signs Solar Agreement with UniCredit
Enipower today signed an agreement with UniCredit for the renewal and widening of the partnership between the two companies in the solar energy sector, renewing their integrated photovoltaic offer launched in 2007.
La Revolution Energetica: Cuba’s Energy Revolution
A new revolution is sweeping the island of Cuba, which is making massive progress on energy efficiency and renewable generation.
Italy to Double Solar Capacity to 900MW in ‘09
Sunny Italy expects to more than double its installed photovoltaic capacity used to turn sunlight into power to 900 megawatts by the end of 2009 on the back of government incentives, state-run agency GSE said on Friday.
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