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
Western States Stress Energy Cooperation
State lawmakers from around the West are gathering in the northern Wyoming resort town of Jackson over the next few days to figure out how to get better coordinated on energy issues.

NATIONAL NEWS
Solar Power International: Looking Ahead
The industry gathering in Anaheim this week will feature analysis of money and policy, and it will forecast the 2010 market, as well as discuss new ways to promote solar.

Largest Solar Panel Plant in US Rises in Fla
Testing will soon be complete, and the facility will begin directly converting sunlight into energy, giving Florida a momentary spot in the solar energy limelight.

Duke & ENN to Build Solar Power Projects in US
Under an agreement signed last week, ENN and Duke will concentrate on two types of solar photovoltaic designs: utility-scale solar farms and commercial distributed generation solar projects.

SEIA Endorses Insurance Program for Solar Companies
This new, first-of-its-kind insurance coverage is designed specifically to protect solar energy businesses and their employees at competitive premium rates.

Evergreen Solar Announces Opening of New European Headquarters in Berlin
Evergreen Solar began its European operations in 2002 and became a fully-registered German company in 2004.

SunWize and SOLON Establish Strategic Partnership
SunWize Technologies, the solar industry’s leading wholesale distributor, will be a strategic distributor of SOLON Corporation’s top quality, made-in-the-USA modules in North America.

MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
China, US Will Grow Solar Power Competition
Solar panel makers are wasting no time making plans to cash in on the growth promise of both markets despite the global recession.

U.S. Concentrating Solar Power Outlook 2010
As utilities put more interest into solar generation projects, solar thermal technologies, especially concentrating solar power (CSP), are gaining more attention.

M&A Heats Up in the Solar Biz
It’s an indication of continued consolidation in some solar sectors, in particular the solar service industry.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Obama Calls for Passage of Climate Bill, Touts Energy Initiatives
President Barack Obama visited Massachusetts Institute of Technology Friday, aiming to propel the administration’s green energy initiatives back onto the public radar.

Energy Dept.’s New Agency Energizes Research
The Energy Department will make good on a pledge for a bolder technology strategy today, awarding research grants for ideas like bacteria that will make gasoline, enzymes that will capture carbon dioxide to counter global warming and batteries so cheap that they will allow the use of solar power all night long.

FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
Solarworld, Phoenix Shares Gain After Merkel Retreats on Cuts
Shares of German solar-power companies Solarworld AG, Q-Cells SE and Phoenix Solar AG climbed after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s incoming government retreated from threats to cut their subsidies.

TECHNOLOGY
S.D. Solar Company Tests Floating Panels for Power
By floating photovoltaic panels in a shallow, round pool, Pyron Solar of Sorrento Valley says it will be able to reliably point them directly at the sun and keep them cool enough to operate efficiently.

Unirac Launches New Commercial Roof Mount Solution
This latest product continues the company’s innovative approach to creating PV racking solutions that address customers’ needs and budgetary requirements.

eIQ Reaches Deals with PV Powered & Signet Solar for Parallel Technology
The two companies will seek to optimize system-level solutions used in solar power installations.

Sharp Develops Solar Cell With World’s Highest Conversion Efficiency of 35.8%
Sharp Corporation has achieved the world’s highest solar cell conversion efficiency*1 of 35.8%*2 using a triple-junction compound solar cell.

SunPower Announces World-Record Solar Panel With 20.4% Total Area Efficiency
The prototype was successfully developed using funds provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under its Solar America Initiative (SAI), which was awarded to SunPower approximately two years ago.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Biggest Solar Park of the Mediterranean Sea to be Installed: 100MW in Jordan
The consortium of Jordanian and global organizations that previously announced the planned Shams Ma’an project in May 2009 formalizes an agreement with its counterpart – the Ma’an Development Company (MDC).

Providence Dedicates Canada’s Largest Solar PV Project
A 23.4 MW solar (photovoltaic) PV facility near the capital of Canada has been dedicated by the provincial minister of energy in Ontario.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 5:57 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.