Rise & Shine: January 11, 2010
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
San Diego’s Solar Permit Fee Now 6 Times Expensive
The cost of getting a solar installation plan approved and the system inspected has risen to $565 from $93. The increase reflects a policy change by the city to quit subsidizing solar installations and adjust fees to reflect what it costs to issue the permits.
eSolar Strikes Deal to Build Power Plants in China
The $5 billion investment would be the largest such project in China, though the companies didn’t say who would be investing how much.
NATIONAL NEWS
2 NM Energy Companies Get Federal Tax Credits
Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall say two New Mexico energy companies in Santa Teresa and Albuquerque will receive $5 million in federal tax credits.
Nautilus Solar Energy and SunDurance Energy to Buil Solar Power Facility at William Paterson University
The 3.5 MW solar energy project (“Project”) will comprise of rooftop and parking lot solar installations on the WPU campus in Wayne, New Jersey.
Finance Options for Home Solar Are Growing
Solar companies hungry to get panels on your home have come up with some innovative ways to finance complete solar systems.
Boeing: The New Solar Thermal King, in Patents
A patent tracker by Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti shows that Boeing has snagged 14 solar thermal patents in the U.S. since 2002, more than any other company.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Florida Feed-in
Gainesville, Fla., has recently found itself thrust into the media spotlight due to its adoption of an oddly-named, and somewhat foreign renewable energy policy known as the “feed-in tariff.”
Indiana Legislator Introduces Feed-in Tariff Bill
First Comprehensive Proposal of 2010 in US, Adapts Rates from Ontario for a “Made In Indiana” Policy.
The Next Hot Smart Grid Market? China
When a giant nation with giant energy needs like China says it’s going to smarten up its electric grid, U.S. technology companies — not surprisingly — take note.
5 Energy Management Tools Launched at CES
Consumer gadget makers are folding in energy management as one part of the entire consumer option.
You Can Thank Arthur Rosenfeld for Energy Savings
He has been a driving force in making the state a global leader in efficiency. This week, the 83-year-old nuclear physicist will leave his post on the California Energy Commission.
R.I. Joins 10 Other States to Cut Emissions
The agreement calls on the states to study establishment of a so-called “low carbon fuel standard” that would use alternative fuels, credits and other techniques to reduce the amount of carbon produced by transportation by 10 percent in the next 10 years.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
White House Awards $2.3B in Tax Credits for Clean Energy Developers
President Obama announced on Friday the award of $2.3 billion in tax credits for clean energy manufacturing — part of a broader push by his administration to stimulate job growth during the highest period of sustained unemployment in decades.
California Cap-and-Trade Revolt
A ballot measure would suspend the law until joblessness falls.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
Konarka Raises $23.8M, Inches Toward Commercialization
This week Konarka raised yet another round of $23.8 million from investors including Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Good Energies and 3i.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
China Tries a New Tack to Go Solar
China is taking tentative steps to master another alternative energy industry: using mirrors to capture sunlight, produce steam and generate electricity.
PV Crystalox Trading in Line
Silicon wafer manufacturer PV Crystalox Solar said on Monday that 2009 production marginally beat its own guidance, but pricing remained under pressure.
Fidelis Energy Announces $25 Solar Energy Facility in India
The region is destined to become the world’s biggest solar power house as it basks in an average of 330 days of sunshine per year and receives up to 6.2KW per hour of solar energy per square meter everyday, which is the highest in the world.
India’s NTPC Unit to Buy Solar Power at Rate Set by Regulator
NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam, the power trading arm of India’s biggest power generator, will buy solar power at a rate set by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah said in New Delhi today.
CEZ Building Largest Solar Plant in CR
Power producer CEZ is building a solar power station in south Bohemia that should become the largest power plant using solar energy in the Czech Republic, daily Lidove noviny (LN) has said.
Shandong’s First Solar Power Plant Connected to Grid
Shandong province’s first megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant was recently connected to the power grid.
UK Solar Pioneer Expands to Middle East
Now the company is spreading even further afield—teaming up with Enviromena Power Systems, the leading developer of solar projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to deliver solar to the United Arab Emirates.
Beijing to Increase Investment in Solar Power
From 2010, Beijing will invest at least CNY200 million each year in six major solar power projects.
Martifer Solar to Install 7.5MW of Solar PV in Cape Verde
Portuguese PV manufacturer and installer, Martifer Solar, has signed a contract with the Ministry of Economy of Cape Verde to build two photovoltaic (PV) solar plants of 5 MW and 2.5 MW, respectively, on the Cape Verde islands of Santiago and La Sal.
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