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
California Must Commit to More Renewable Energy
M ore substantial and tenacious leadership at the state level is needed to keep California, and the Silicon Valley, at the cutting edge.

Conergy to Install PV System at Pioneer Union Elementary School District
The project consists of three ground-mounted solar photovoltaic systems that will have collective energy generating capacities of 788 kilowatts.

Cupertino Electric Completes First Phase of Solar Installation at Historic Del Monte Plant
Cupertino Electric, Inc. (CEI) has completed construction of the first phase of a multi-phase solar installation at the historic Del Monte plant in Alameda, California.

California Utility Wants to Buy More Solar Power
California’s largest utility said it plans to boost the amount of solar power it buys from residents and businesses as the state pushes for wider use of alternative energy.

NATIONAL NEWS
Actus Lend Lease to Develop 6MW Residential Solar Community
Housing developer Actus Lend Lease, Solar City, Tucson Electric Power, and financing parties National Bank of Arizona and U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation (USBCDC) are working to create one of the nation’s largest distributed, community-wide solar power systems at Soaring Heights Communities at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

Suntech Unveils Robust North America Partner Sales Program
Formally launching in January 2010, the Suntech Partner Program will offer selected dealers a co-marketing fund, training and services, financing programs, and priority access to its innovative product line.

New Mexico Gets Federal Funds for Energy Projects
Twenty-one energy projects across New Mexico have been chosen to share more $8 million in federal stimulus money.

Wis. Nonprofit Gets $3.3M Grant for Solar Training
A Wisconsin nonprofit will train solar power instructors throughout the Midwest with a $3.3 million federal grant.

Solar Tech Plant to Create at Least 300 CO Jobs
Gov. Bill Ritter and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper joined officials from SMA Solar Technology for the announcement Monday.

National Semi Buys Energy Recommerce
National Semi, which launched devices for boosting solar panel performance earlier this year, now adds power monitoring software and service to its offerings.

10 Things to Watch for At the Solar Power Conference
The Solar Power International Conference, which is the largest solar industry-focused event in the U.S., kicks off on Tuesday in Anaheim, Calif, and comes at an interesting time for the solar industry.

Marketing Campaign Suggests Solar is Sexy
The interviews are part of a launch plan for a new Web site, SolarVisionaries.org, whose stated goal is to “elevate the message and expand the audience for the solar industry.”

UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
National Grid Receives Green Light for 5MW Solar Program
National Grid has received approval from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to start construction of five megawatts of solar generation on five company-owned sites in Massachusetts.

PG&E Signs for 500MW of Solar Power
PG&E has contracted with subsidiaries of NextEra Energy Resources and Abengoa Solar for delivery of a total of 500MW of clean solar power. The agreements are among several solar deals recently signed by the utility with independent developers for a total of 830 MW.

MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Prices Fall, Capacity Rises: A Sneak Peak for Solar in 2010
Over the last decade, the cost of solar generation hardware has dropped by nearly a third.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Obama to Give $3.4B in Grants for Smart Grid
President Barack Obama on Tuesday will announce $3.4 billion in government grants to help build a “smart” electric grid that will save consumers money on their utility bills, reduce blackouts and carry power supplies generated by solar and wind energy.

Obama Promotes ‘Smart Grid’
The technologies are designed to make the nation’s electricity grid more reliable and efficient and allow for the integration of clean, renewable energy.

TECHNOLOGY
OutBack Power’s Fully Pre-Wired and Factor tested FLEXpower ONE System is Now Shipping
Single Inverter System Offers Easy Installation for both Grid-Tie and Off-Grid Battery Back-up Installations.

Alpha Energy Launches Off-Grid Solar Power Supply Configurator
This automated tool allows customers to research Alpha Energy’s off-grid solar power supply systems including regional solar insolation values, different rack mounting options, voltages and price ranges.

Enphase Creates Two-in-One Microinverter Pack
The startup has designed a new product that it says would cut time and labor costs, particularly for commercial systems.

Cutting the Fat, and Cost, Out of Solar
Lose the rack, says Zep Solar. Where is that confounded module?

Satcon Announces General Availability of Solstice
Launches the Industry’s First Complete Power Harvesting and Management Solution for Utility Class Solar Power Plants.

Snagging Free-Range Solar Power in Space is an Option
Floating solar cells far above Earth and beaming the energy to the grid has shifted from loony to funded.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
CNPV Secures 100MW Module Order; Also Receives Approval for 10MW Korean Project
Chinese ingot, wafer, cell and module manufacturer, CNPV has entered into a long term strategic sales agreement with Solar Energy Trading GmbH (SET), a well known German Project development and distribution company.

GT Solar Commissions Wafer Line for DC Wafers
GT Solar has received final acceptance for the design, installation and commissioning of one of the most technologically-advanced turnkey wafer fabrication lines in Spain.

Suntech and AEDB Deliver Solar Power to Pakistan
Crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar module manufacturer Suntech Power Holdings Co and Pakistan’s AEDB have entered a MOU to work towards the widespread use of solar energy technologies to meet the energy shortage in Pakistan.

CTDC to Acquire Majority Interest in On-Grid Solar Power Station Business
CTSPHL Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, is developing a 100MW grid-connected solar power plant project located in Delingha City of Qaidam Basin.

Gold in the Sky
Johannesburg is the only major international city that is not founded on a coast or that does not have a river running through it.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 6:45 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.