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
Solar Panel Program to Receive New Funds
A burst of new funds will allow city officials to extend a program that doles out cash to help property owners and others meet solar panel installation costs.
21MW Solar Power Plant Opens
California-based solar panel producer First Solar has opened a 21-megawatt power plant in Blythe.
Wal-Mart Completes a Megawatt Solar Project in Apple Valley
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. keeps moving ahead with its plan to shift its power supply to renewable energy with the completion of its largest solar-power project yet.
PV Powered Inverters Used for 2MW of Projects
Inverter manufacturer, PV Powered has been selected by SPG Solar for two megawatt-scale installations in California.
Acro Energy Raises CAD310,050 in Private Placement
The gross proceeds amounted to CAD310,050 following the sale of 1,550,250 units at CAD0.20 per unit.
Solar Power is Now an Option for Even the Most Cash-Strapped Suburbanites
It’s an old approach to a new source of energy, and it is taking California by storm.
NATIONAL NEWS
Suffolk Executive to Unveil Plan to Add Solar Carports to County Lots
Under a plan to add more renewable energy to the Long Island Power Authority grid, Suffolk County is exploring the addition of solar carports to county-owned parking lots.
American Bar Association Forms Renewable Energy Committee
With increased political focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency both in Washington and at the state level across the U.S., the American Bar Association (ABA) has created a new group to address the growing market.
Amid State’s Push for Solar Power, Water Supply Worries Arise
Arizona can offer solar-energy developers legendary sun-drenched skies and thousands of empty square miles but not nearly so ample a supply of a third essential resource.
Proinso Introduces Web App for Solar Project Monitoring
http://www.solarindustrymag.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.4654
The tool provides information on solar photovoltaic solar energy production in kilwatt hours per kilowatt (peak), for any installation anywhere on the planet, with single-axis or dual-axis trackers.
Local Families Invest in Alternative Energy
The 30 solar array stretches 70 by 10 feet and dwarfs the house, but also completely powers the log cabin that Ricky and Sherri Johnson moved into before Christmas.
Amonix, MiaSole & Spire Set to Receive Manufacturing Tax Credit
Earlier this month, the White House announced the recipients of US $2.3 billion in tax credits designed to stimulate the U.S. renewable energy manufacturing sector.
Magnolia Solar Completes Reverse Merger
Woburn, Mass.-based Magnolia Solar Inc., a developer of thin-film solar panels, has completed a reverse merger with publicly traded Mobilis Relocation Service Holdings Inc.
Maumee Firm Designs Systems for Solar Panels
A Maumee engineering firm with long ties to the automotive industry is taking that to heart, using its prowess to design and sell simplified systems that hold solar panels on rooftops and on the ground.
Solar Power: Sunshine’s Cloudy Days
First Solar was picked by China to build what promises to be the world’s biggest solar-electricity plant: a Manhattan-size facility in Inner Mongolia providing 2 gigawatts of power.
TM Montante Development LLC Signs MOU with Shanghai New Energy Industry Association
TM Montante Development LLC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Shanghai New Energy Industry Association to drive cross border cooperation at the River Road business park.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Cap-and-Trade Proceeds for Residents?
Under California’s cap-and-trade system, which begins in 2012, polluters would buy carbon allowances at auction.
SC Utility Files for 9.5% Percent Rate Hike
South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. is asking for a 9.5 percent increase in retail electric rates.
Energy Data Available Anywhere, Any Time
A sister site to VIBE, called Open Energy Information, has been launched to allow organizations around the world to both post their own energy data and download data, for free.
Renewables Investment Under Threat in FPL Rate Row
Florida Power & Light Company has said it will immediately suspend activities on projects representing approximately $10 billion of investment over the next five years in the state’s energy infrastructure.
MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Reportlinker Adds the Germany Solar Photovoltaic Market: a New Era of Competition
Although Germany’s geographical position on the world map does not make it an ideal location for solar energy due to it receiving only moderate levels of solar radiation, it ranks second place in the photovoltaic (PV) market.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
To Put Solar Power on Federal Land, or Not
After several years of processing solar right-of-way applications with no results, we expect the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to issue its first ever approval in 2010.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
DuPont Announces $175M Tedlar Manufacturing Capacity Expansion
This investment is in addition to $120 million in capacity expansions, announced in August 2009, for raw materials used to make the film, bringing the total commitment of these two phases to $295 million.
Back One Email/Share Ferro Receives Grant to Develop Solar Technology
Ferro Electronic Materials, a leading supplier of materials for fabricating photovoltaic solar cells, has been awarded $1 million by the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) to develop advanced durability sealing systems for solar cells.
Engyco Seeks 1B to Help Buy Solar Energy Plants
Marketing for one of London’s biggest evergreen power listings will begin next month when Engyco, a solar power producer, looks to raise up to €1bn (£885m) for investment.
TECHNOLOGY
Sine Wave Inverter and Inverter/Charger Compact G3 Series
The mobile 230 volt G3 inverter series from Clayton Power are made for harsh environment.
Enecsys to Unveil New Solar Panel Technology
As solar photovoltaic micro-inverters manufacturer Enecsys prepares to launch its latest solar panel technology that promises to increase power output from solar arrays.
Another Way to do Solar Thermal?
It works by adding another layer of mirrors to the process.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
REN-21 Launches Interactive Renewables Map
The Renewable Energy Policy Network REN21 has launched its Renewables Interactive Map, which contains information on renewable energy, including support policies, expansion targets, current shares, installed capacity, current production, future scenarios, and policy pledges.
Origin Energy and Micron Technology Establish Joint Venture
Australia integrated energy company, Origin Energy and Micron Technology, Inc. have formed a 50:50 joint venture with a focus on the development of photovoltaic technology.
BSW-Solar Sees No Room for Double Digit EEG FIT Cuts (Germany)
In response to the to unconfirmed media reports concerning the possible threat of between 16-17% cuts in the EEG feed-in tariffs by as early as April 2010, the German Federal Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) said in a statement on its website that there was no room for such large cuts.
Day4 Energy Completes 2.4MW Solar Plant
Day4 Energy was responsible for the design, engineering and construction of the plant, teaming with one of its Germany-based channel partners.
Prices, Lack of Government Support Impeding Renewable Energy: Study
Despite public support for alternative energy – and the opportunity it presents to replace carbon-based fossil fuels – its progress in Canada is impeded by uncompetitive prices and the lack of clear government policy, accounting firm Ernst & Young said in a report Monday.
Canadian Solar Inks JV Deal with Japan Firm
Canadian Solar Inc. has entered a joint venture and an 18MW distribution deal with West Holding Ltd of Japan.
Masdar Looking at U.S., European Power Plants
They’ve got the skills, and the money, to build power plants here.
Solar-Fabrik Inaugurates 3.45 MW Solar Plant
The largest solar power plant in Schleswig-Holstein set up through community involvement was inaugurated last week in Nindorf (near Meldorf), Germany.
EDFEN Solar Development Update
EDF Energies Nouvelles’ has released its latest update on its solar photovoltaic activities, reporting that installations nearly quadrupled during 2009 from 20.8 MWp to 80.9 MWp.
France Cuts Solar Feed-in Tariff and Germany Could Follow
The French government has taken measures this week to prick the bubble that was forming in France’s solar industry, by cutting its solar feed-in tariff for rooftop systems by 24% from €0.55 to €0.42.
German Tariff Cuts to Spark Solar Sector Bloodbath
A potential deep cut in feed-in tariffs in Germany will hit solar companies around the world and increases pressure on large players to reduce exposure to the world’s largest photovoltaic market.
India to Have 6,000 MW Solar Power by 2017
Promising action that will help curb India’s dependence on coal, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh, said India will have at least 6,000 MW of installed solar power capacity by 2017.
Solar Island Defies Energy Trend and Powers Grid
Mines and Energy Minister Stephen Robertson today announced an energy transformation in North Queensland, with a pilot project defying the trend and reducing energy consumption.
