Rise & Shine: October 7, 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
California Eyes Euro-Style Market for Solar
California’s solar-power market, the world’s third largest, could be on the verge of an expansion if proposals to adopt European-style above-market tariffs prove successful.
Pasadena to Add More Solar-Energy Trash Cans
The City Council has approved 40 BigBelly self-compacting bins, in addition to the 12 already on the streets. The move will save the city more than $61,000 a year, an official says.
NATIONAL NEWS
Suniva to Invest $250M in Manufacturing Facility
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced a significant addition to Michigan’s burgeoning clean-energy industrial base as Georgia-based Suniva Inc. will invest $250 million in a new solar manufacturing facility in Saginaw County’s Thomas Township.
Study Asks $10 Trillion for Climate
An investment of $10 trillion in renewable energy and other carbon-abatement technology will be necessary over the next two decades to limit the rise in the Earth’s temperature, the International Energy Agency warns in a new report.
Wisconsin Technical College System Board Approves MATC Solar Education Farm
The Wisconsin Technical College System Board unanimously approved an innovative collaborative project between Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) and Johnson Controls, Inc. at a meeting in Rhinelander, Wis.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Who’s Got the Power at DWP?
As its departing chief, H. David Nahai, cashes in a very generous severance package, L.A. customers may continue to pay for an internal struggle between the utility and its electricians union.
Welcome to the Era of Open Energy Information
That data could come from deep within the power grid at sensor points called phasor measurement units (PMU), or could be collected at the edge of the network via a connected, smart appliance or dashboard, or at power generation facilities such as solar or wind farms.
MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Ontario Rockets to Top Ten of Solar PV in North America
With activation October 5th of a 9.1 megawatt (MW) solar PV project in eastern Ontario, the Canadian province has rocketed to the top ten solar jurisdictions in North America.
Where’s the Next Boom? Maybe in ‘Cleantech’
Silicon Valley investors are pointing to something called cleantech — alternative energy, more efficient power distribution and new ways to store electricity, all with minimal impact to the environment — as a candidate for the next boom.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
US Departments of Transportation Awards Research Contract to Solar Roadways
Solar Roadways has been granted €69,000 by the US Department of transportation to prototype the first ever Solar Road Panel which will collect solar energy via structurally-engineered solar panels on roads and parking lots instead of petroleum-based asphalt surfaces.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
ReneSola Closes Follow-on Public Offering, Raises US $70M
ReneSola Ltd. announced that its follow-on public offering of 15,500,000 American depositary shares, or ADSs, each representing two shares of no par value in the company, was closed on October 5, 2009.
VC Investment Shows Strong Recovery
Venture capital (VC) investment in greentech looked a lot healthier in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the previous two quarters of this year according to a report by Greentech Media Research.
TECHNOLOGY
Silver Nanoparticles Give Polymer Solar Cells a Boost
Researchers at Ohio State University are experimenting with polymer semiconductors that absorb the sun’s energy and generate electricity.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Is the Germany Renewable Energy Industry in Jeopardy?
Germany’s newly elected government could hinder the expansion of renewable energy in the country with its plans to extend the lifetime of nuclear reactors, warns the German Renewable Energy Federation
EU Plan to Curb CO2 Would Favor Solar Power
The European Commission is expected to introduce a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that directs the largest slices of €50 billion available for research and development to solar power and capturing and burying emissions from coal plants.
VPK Packaging Group Builds 1.8MW Rooftop Power Station
A joint venture was created with Origis to build a 1.8 megawatt solar power station on the roofs of the corrugated board factory in Aalst and the core winding plant in Deerlijk.
Samsumg to Speed UP its Solar Cell Business
Samsung Electronics started its ‘PV line’ in its Giheung plant on September 14. The PV line is 30 MW and has been in operation after 40 days of preparation that started with equipment setting in July.
Solar Power Cloudy in Australia
Australia’s solar industry is clouded in confusion, amid vague and ever-changing government policies and insufficient funds for large-scale solar projects, industry leaders say.
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