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
Conergy Helps Verdegaal Brothers Optimize Energy Output and Offset 99% of Energy Bill
Conergy has completed a 188kW fixed-mount solar energy solution that will bring California’s Central Valley-based Verdegaal Brothers, Inc. over $350,000 in tax incentives, cash rebates and accelerated market depreciation while saving the company an estimated $60,000 in annual energy costs.

New Southern California Utility Rates Make Solar More Affordable for Local School Districts
The new renewable generation tariff – Option R – is designed to help organizations who want renewable energy but had previously found the high cost to be prohibitive.

NATIONAL NEWS
MEMC to Buy SunEdison for $200M
The deal, which involves a payment of $140 million in cash and the rest in MEMC stock, is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

Vt. Board to Hold Lottery for Energy Developers
Vermont utility regulators are doing something unusual. The Public Service Board is holding a lottery to see which solar and biomass power developers get to sell their power at above-market prices.

Duke Energy, EEN Group to Develop Solar Projects
Power company Duke Energy Corp. said Friday that it will jointly develop commercial solar power projects in the U.S. with EEN Group, a China-based energy supplier and clean energy developer.

Firestone Energy Solutions and DC Power Systems Form Alliance
Firestone Energy Solutions, a division of Firestone Building Products, LLC, has formed a strategic alliance with DC Power Systems to bring solar energy products and services to Firestone’s nationwide roofing distribution network.

Intertek Awarded CBTL Accreditation for Photovoltaic Panels
Accreditation provides manufacturers faster access to global markets and reduces certification costs.

MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Can Create 4.5M Jobs
According to the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and Management Information Services Inc. (MISI), 4.5 million jobs will be created in the United States by 2030 if the government gets serious about tackling climate change.

Solar Power International: Taking the Pulse of the Solar Industry
The last 12 months have brought financial chaos, falling demand for solar products, rising inventory and rounds of consolidation. Yet today, because of continued political support for solar, the industry is moving into 2010 with strong momentum.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
For Secure Energy Future, Obama Must Be Like Ike
In 1956, President Eisenhower was confronted with a patchwork of county and state highways that impeded interstate commerce. Seeing an opportunity to restructure an outdated system, he championed a network of federally planned highways that conquered the tangled mess created by uncooperative state interests.

Solar Roadmap Bill Passes US House
Giffords’ legislation would require the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to appoint a group of experts to create a long-term plan to guide solar energy research and its transition into commercial uses.

Fossil Fuels Subsidies More Than Doubles Those for Renewables
Fossil fuels benefited from approximately US $72 billion over the seven-year period, while subsidies for renewable fuels totaled only $29 billion.

US DOE Helps Local Governments Expand Use of Solar Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the availability of a new online resource for local governments that assists community leaders and local stakeholders in building sustainable local solar markets.

FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
Akeena Solar Announces Third Quarter 2009 Results
Net sales for the third quarter of 2009 were $7.7 million compared to $10.6 million in net sales in the third quarter of 2008, and $5.9 million in the second quarter of 2009. The decline in the third quarter compared to the same quarter last year reflects a decline in commercial revenue due to the tight credit market and overall economic conditions.

Oerlikon Reports Results for First Nine Months of 2009
A direct comparison of Q3 to Q2 2009 is showing first signs of recovery on segment level, although the decline in order intake, orders on hand and sales in the first nine month of 2009 was quite considerable compared to the same period of the prior year.

SunPower Corporation Announces Third Quarter 2009 Results
evenue for the 2009 third quarter was $466 million which compares to $298 million in the second quarter of 2009 and $378 million in the third quarter of 2008.

TECHNOLOGY
PV Powered Announces Collaborative Relationships to Advance DC to DC Power Optimization Technology
As the solar industry shifts from first cost to lifetime return-on-investment metrics, customers are increasingly aware of the financial value of performance over the operating life of a system.

Leaner & Cheaper
The future of solar power is not only bright but also thin.

72 Different Kinds of Solar Cells?
Efficiency is moving back to center stage, while Intermolecular, like Innovalight and 1366, says that the big guys are going to need the brains of the startups.

Photovoltaic Organic Polymer Advance Made
U.S. scientists report a major advance in synthesizing photovoltaic organic polymers that convert sunlight into electricity in non-silicon-based solar cells.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Hanwha Chemical to Invest $673M in Solar Sector
The investment aims for one trillion won in revenue and five percent of global market share by 2015, the company said in a filing to the stock exchange.

Q-Cells Selects Camstar For New Malaysian Mega-Factory
Q-Cells will deploy the solution in two new production lines in Bitterfeld-Thalheim, Germany, and in its new factory in Malaysia where production will exceed 300MW (peak) by the end of 2010.

Trina Solar Announces New Sales Agreement with PROINSO
Trina Solar has entered into a sales agreement with PROINSO (“Proyectos Integrales Solares S.L.”), a leading distributor of solar photovoltaic equipment and a specialist in engineering services in Europe.

India Chip Dreams Replaced by PV Solar
Unlike the hyped goals a couple of years ago about establishing frontend semiconductor fabrication, India’s PV plans are ramping up noticeably and seem likely to prosper.

Amtech Receives Sizable Technology Grant from Dutch Government for Solar R&D Projects
The Grant was obtained jointly with one of Tempress’ European solar research partners, and will be used for developing a process method to improve solar energy conversion efficiency rate.

The Sustainable Way to Make PG: Helios Technology’s Experience
Helios Technology of Kerself Group has come up with some innovative solutions, committed to total respect for the environment

This entry was posted on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 6:13 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.