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
Acro Energy Offers California Homeowners Solar Systems for Zero Down in Holiday Promotion with SunRun
The promotion is valid for qualified homeowners now through Jan. 15, 2010, and for systems installed by Acro Energy under the SunRun Power Plan Agreement.
NATIONAL NEWS
Sunergy Offers 5 Cent Billing with No Credit Check
You don’t have to get a credit check to buy electricity from a utility. Now you don’t need one to buy your very own solar power supply either.
PV Trackers Receives Additional Order from Granite Bay Energy
PV Trackers®, provider of solar tracking systems, has expanded their contracts with Granite Bay Energy to supply an additional megawatt (1MW) of their 6.0DX trackers, to be deployed in the first quarter 2010.
Firm Seeks Approval of Solar Power Plant in County
Two special use permits have been requested to construct two 200-watt solar power plants at two different sites in the northeastern part of the county and will be discussed at the Cochise County Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Wednesday.
Amtech Announces $9M in Solar Orders
Reflects Orders for Multiple Systems from New and Existing Customers.
Solar Power Coming to a Store Near You
Solar technology is going where it has never gone before: onto the shelves at retail stores where do-it-yourselfers can now plunk a panel into a shopping cart and bring it home to install.
NREL’s Big Picture on the Green Economy
The National Renewable Energy Labs has created a portal to make it easier to find out about green activities going on in your neighborhood.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Tri-State, Environmentalists Reach Regulatory Deal
A regional rural electric provider agreed Wednesday to open up its planning process, settling a dispute over whether Colorado officials have the authority to regulate the utility.
MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Feed-in Tariffs: Best Way to a Sustainable Solar Future
EMI PV Group has announced the release of a White Paper on solar feed-in tariffs, intended to promote widespread awareness and understanding of public policy best practices in support of solar energy.
US Solar Market to More Than Triple by 2012
The hodgepodge of federal and state policies are favoring the growth of large-scale solar farms, which will help propel the U.S. closer to the No. 1 spot, says GTM Research.
Solar Cells Industry Suffers Setback
According to the DisplaySearch Quarterly PV Cell Capacity Database & Trends Report, the contraction was caused by changes in Spain’s generous incentive policy, and was severely aggravated by the worldwide economic crisis and tight credit markets.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Copenhagen Unites Global Photovoltaics Industry
The leading photovotaics associations are in Copenhagen and this time, rather than all going separately they have gone hand in hand to the “climate capital” as part of an initiative called SolarCOP15.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
World Bank Plans $5.5 bn Investment in Concentrated Solar Power
It will do so by investing in the CSP programs of five countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia. The CTF is a multi-donor trust fund to facilitate deployment of low-carbon technologies at scale.
Panasonic to Buy 50.2 Pct Stake in Sanyo for $4.6B
With the purchase, Panasonic can draw upon Sanyo’s expertise in solar panels and rechargeable batteries, bolstering its resources in the race to develop environmental technologies.
TECHNOLOGY
III-IV Thin Film for PV Applications
The ability of the III-V materials system to maintain high efficiencies at high concentration levels using very thin films is particularly attractive in relation to reducing the volumes needed for the conversion process.
SMA Enhances Manufacturing Capacity Through Interim Solutions and Plans Expansion at New Commercial area Sandershaeuser Berg in Niestetal
SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA) will enhance its production capacities through interim solutions over the next six months.
GE Introduces 600kW Solar Inverter
This follows the use that it would close its solar module production facility in Delaware earlier this year, marking a shift in its solar business.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Neo Solar Power Expands Manufacturing Capacity to 600MW
Taiwanese cell manufaturer, Neo Solar Power announced today that it will expand its 2010 manufacturing capacity from 240MW to 600MW, which represents a 150% increase from 2009.
Solar India – Bold Plan or Bargaining Ploy?
Even if India achieves only part of its solar mission, it will be a significant milestone.
Suntech to Ship 490MW of Modules to Europe
Until very recently, German solar panels were almost exclusively used in European installations.
China Solar Panel Makers See Boost from Copenhagen
In Trina Solar’s brilliant white factory in eastern China, masked workers in lab coats turn silicon wafers into solar power cells capable of harnessing the sun’s clean and limitless energy.
India’s First Solar Project to go Commercial
Inderpreet Wadhwa commissioned the first phase (1Mw) of his 2 MW solar power plant in Awan and has begun to sell energy to Punjab State Electricity from December 1.
