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
Samsung Enters Solar Deal in California
Pacific Gas and Electric asked regulators last week to approve a series of 25-year contacts for 130 megawatts’ worth of photovoltaic power plants to be built by Solar Project Solutions, a joint venture
between Samsung America and ENCO Utility Services, a former subsidiary of utility company Edison International.
Advanced Energy Inverters Selected for San Francisco 5 MW Solar Project
Advanced Energy Industries’ Solaron® PV inverters have been selected to power the San Francisco Sunset Reservoir 5 MW solar project.
NATIONAL NEWS
From Spandex to Solar: DuPont Poised for PV Growth
DuPont has an aggressive goal to boost its solar business from $400 million in 2008, to more than $1 billion in solar sales in 2012.
Arizona Online Solar Guide Now Available
AZEnergyGuide, a subsidiary of Energy Advisors LLC, has released the 2010 AZ Energy Guide, a consumer Web site designed to connect residents interested in residential and commercial solar systems with qualified installers in their local area.
Hawaii is Paradise for Green-tech Entrepreneurs
The state’s public utilities commission is devising a compensation system to encourage homeowners and businesses to go solar by paying them to generate green electricity.
Boulder Struggles with Energy Conservation
Boulder has found that financial incentives and an intense publicity campaign aren’t enough to spur most homeowners to action.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
PSEG: Achieving Social Objectives
PSEG is committed to developing renewables, with an emphasis on solar, energy efficiency and offshore wind. The utility has been particularly successful with its solar programs.
Public Power Backers Cry Foul Over Utility Effort
The investor-owned utility, which has about 15 million customers in northern and central California, has already spent $6.5 million on Proposition 16, according to state campaign records. The company is
the sole source of the initiative’s funding.
MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Japanese Solar Photovoltaic Sales Reach 484MW in 2009
The reintroduction of subsidies and a new feed-in tariff introduced in November 2009 helped to more than double solar sales in Japan in 2009, compared to the previous year.
America’s Unfounded Fears of a Green Tech Race with China
There has been growing talk about a clean-tech race between China and the U.S., often cast in ominous tones. But the quest to develop and implement renewable energy can be one where both nations win.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
Constellation Energy Announces $90M Solar Capital Commitment
To maximize the value of government renewable incentives, the $90 million set-aside will be available for customer-sited solar installations of 500 kilowatts or larger which begin construction before mid-year 2010.
TECHNOLOGY
The Transition from Standard PV to AC Modules
The idea of combining a standard PV module with a small DC-to-AC inverter, or micro-inverter, occurred first in the early 1990s as a concept to simplify PV systems. Today, AC Modules are the next frontier for PV technology and for very good reason.
A New wire Twist on Silicon Solar Cells
U.S. researchers have devised a way to make flexible solar cells with silicon wires that use just 1 percent of the material needed to make conventional solar cells.
Solmetric Introduces Enhanced Site Analysis Tool
The SunEye 210 comes in a new rugged enclosure, enabling one-handed operation and improved user control. It includes the convenience of an integrated electronic inclinometer, compass and optional GPS.
Evolution or Revolution in Solar Cell Technology
How can we get to $1 per watt installed for solar energy?
Clean Power Prospecting: 3Tier Builds Out Online Energy Tool
The company has just launched a new online “prospecting” tool, which lets users dive deep into a mass of data that 3TIER has built up over a decade about wind and solar resources.
Mitsubishi Electric Achieves 14.8% Conversion Efficiency in Thin Film Silicon Solar Cell
The thin-film silicon PV cell developed by Mitsubishi Electric has a triple junction structure that utilizes a majority of the solar spectrum for higher efficiency.
US Lab Births Flexy, Stringy Solar Cells
Solar cells made from this material would not only be less expensive than current photovoltaics, but due to their low weight and bendable structure the could be used in a wide variety of applications.
A Second Chance for Novel Solar
For years now boosters have claimed that Cigs can be combined into an
efficient thin-film solar cell that would make solar power cheap.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Day4 Energy Signs 10 Megawatt Frame Agreement
The business relationship between the two companies started in 2009 and has been expanding rapidly ever since.
Powerhouse Solar Orders 1,000 Dual Axis Tracking Units
Sonnen systeme Projektgesellschaft and Canada’s Powerhouse Solar have signed a long-term cooperation agreement which includes the sale of 1,000 sonnen_system 3_60 dual-axis tracking units.
Silken Doubles its Photovoltaic Module Warranties to 10 Years
The renewable energy company, Siliken, has extended the product warranty for its photovoltaic modules from 5 to 10 years without additional charges.
Garrad Hassan releases Service Suite for Small Wind & Solar PV Developers
In response to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) new feed-in tariff programs for small-scale renewable projects in the UK, Garrad Hassan has announces that it will now offer a specialized
service suite for developers of small-scale wind and solar photovoltaic projects.
Czech Power Grid Says Solar Boom Risks Blackouts
Total solar capacity may reach 3,000 megawatts in 2015, six times last year’s level and about half the country’s off-peak consumption at summer weekends, the state-run company said.
Peru Approves 500MW in New Renewable Energy Projects
Last week Peru’s government approved wind, solar, micro hydro, and biomass energy projects that will add 500 megawatts of clean, renewable energy, meeting 12% of the current electricity needs of the country.
Porsche Adding 2MW in Solar to Parts Warehouse Roof
The array, which consists of about 8,500 solar modules, will occupy about 40,000 square feet of the roof.
UK and India Collaborate on Cheaper and More Efficient Solar Cells
Funded by Research Councils UK (RCUK) and the Government of India (GOI) Department of Science and Technology (DST), each organisation has committed up to £5 million over a three-year period.
Indian Photovoltaic Production Capacity Tops 1GW Per Year
The country has ramped up its production from around 0.06 GW in 2005 to 1 GW by the end of 2009, the firm said.
Heliene to Manufacture Solar Modules in Ontario
The company plans to use an automated process that will produce panels up to 400 W.
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