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
Silicon Valley Makes Big Push into Solar and Smart-Grid Technologies
As Silicon Valley reinvents itself as a global center of clean technology, two sectors — solar power and “smart” upgrades to the electric grid — already are reshaping the valley and changing the way energy is produced and used.
Josh Becker: A Potential Greentech Voice in Gov’t
It means putting his VC career on hold, but could also mean improved energy policy in CA.
Bay Area Consumers at the Forefront of Cleantech Movement
The stereotype of the eco-conscious Bay Area consumer is well known. Solar panels on the roof. Toyota Prius in the driveway. Compost heap and organic vegetables in the garden.
Cleantech: Silicon Valley’s Next Great Wave of Innovation
Cleantech is poised to be the valley’s third great wave of innovation — not just the next big thing, but perhaps the biggest thing ever.
NATIONAL NEWS
Solar Power CEOs Seek Piece of House’s Jobs Pie
Energy companies on Thursday urged Congress to continue loan guarantees, tax incentives and other federal programs designed to encourage solar power in the United States.
Firm Hopes to Build Big Solar Plant in Western AZ
An Arizona company wants to build one of the largest solar power plants in the country in western Arizona’s Mohave County.
Solyndra: 1.9MW Project Installed, but Story Remains Frought with Uncertainty
Peeling back the layers of the Solyndra story reveals a number of serious challenges the company faces in the path towards sustained success.
Silicon Valley and the Rust Belt – A Combined Solution to Separate Problems
Couldn’t the solar industry, with tremendous opportunity but limited scale, and the auto-industry, with dwindling demand and a wealth of facilities and skilled labor, find a mutual solution to these problems?
Seko’s Portland Facility Goes Solar
SEKO Worldwide has announced that its Portland, Ore. facility recently installed a 31-kilowatt, 143-panel solar voltaic system to supply the vast majority of its electricity needs.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Massachusetts Sets Ambitious Energy Standards
The plan calls for a statewide reduction of 2.4 percent in electricity use and 1.15 percent in natural gas use annually for three years.
PG&E Spending Millions to Block Local Utilities
PG&E is spending millions of dollars on a statewide initiative that would make it tougher for you to get your power from anyone else.
MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Race is on to Develop Green, Clean Technology
To top officials and business executives here at the World Economic Forum, Topic A this year was the race to develop greener, cleaner technology, which is emerging as one of the critical factors in reshaping the world economy as emerging powers snap at the heels of battered Western economies.
China Leading Global Race to Make Clean Energy
China has also leapfrogged the West in the last two years to emerge as the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels.
Solar Energy Experts Optimistic Following State of the Union Speech
According to photovoltaic analyst and PHOTON Consulting CEO Michael Rogol, solar energy has re-emerged as a force in America after lying dormant for so long.
New Energy Manufacturers Require 17B in Investor Capital
Manufacturers and investors will increasingly depend on production economics, not global politics, to achieve high returns on invested capital.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
US Government Plans to Reduce its Energy Use
The federal government will take steps to cut its energy use and reduce its heat-trapping emissions by 28 percent by 2020, compared with 2008 levels, the White House announced on Friday.
Obama Pushes Nuclear Energy to Boost Climate Bill
resident Barack Obama is endorsing nuclear energy like never before, trying to win over Republicans and moderate Democrats on climate and energy legislation.
TECHNOLOGY
Quantum’s High Efficiency Solar Panels Achieve UL Certification
Quantum’s solar modules have also been successfully tested under the California Energy Commission (CEC) guidelines and subsequently listed as “eligible photovoltaic modules” under the California Solar Initiative program for state rebates.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
UK Introduces Feed-in Rates for Small Scale Green Power
The U.K. government Monday introduced feed-in tariffs for small-scale green electricity generation and published its plans for a similar scheme to incentivize low-carbon heating technologies.
Italy Solar Industry Wants Improved Incentive Plan
Italian government should improve its new incentive plan for booming solar sector including tariff cuts and cap on subsidized capacity to ensure investment flow and steady industry growth, an sector body head said on Friday.
AU Optronics Increases Cash Investment in M.Setek
AU Optronics has announced its decision, approved by its Board of Directors today, to subscribe new shares to be issued by M.Setek for seizing the high-growing solar market opportunities and accelerating establishment of key material capacity
