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
Palm Desert Energy Loans for Solar Sell out in 20 Minutes
When Palm Desert officials opened the doors at City Hall at 8 a.m. today to start accepting applications for the city’s energy loan program, about 50 residents and contractors were waiting.
SoCal City Promotes Solar Rebates from Sharp
Huntington Beach plans to promote a solar program funded by Sharp the same way it carries out other “buy local” campaigns.
Solyndra Signs Sales Contract With Umwelt-Sonne-Energie
Solyndra Inc. has signed a new long-term sales contract with solar integrator Umwelt-Sonne-Energie GmbH, based in Holzgerlingen, Germany.
NATIONAL NEWS
Hoku and Tianwei Amend Polysilicon Supply Agreements
In exchange for a long-term contract price adjustment, Tianwei agreed to pay $5 million of this remaining $7 million up front, and eliminated the requirement that Hoku ship polysilicon to Tianwei before March 2010.
Incentives Shine Light on Home Solar Power
The Lee County Electric Cooperative – and other member-owned utilities in Florida – had until July 1 to draft a legal agreement with homeowners who want to connect a solar system to supplement the power to their homes.
Solar Project a Promising Way to Electrify Navajo Nation
Under the grant, a Navajo company called Sacred Power will provide solar power systems for 25 of the 18,000 homes on the Navajo Nation that have no electricity.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
ISO targets Energy Management Systems
A new standard for energy management systems is in the works that could affect up to 60 percent of global energy demand, according to its drafting organization.
MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Shift of Demand for Solar Energy from Europe and United States to Asian Heavy Weights
According to Frost & Sullivan’s Asia Pacific Program Manager of Energy & Power Systems Practice, Irina Sidneva, the key reason cited by industry participants was the weakened demand for solar power projects in major markets like Europe and the United States as a result of the global credit crunch.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
House and Senate Move to Address Climate and Energy: Mixed Bag for Clean Energy
The House narrowly passed the “American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES)” by a 219 to 212 vote, while the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee pushed out an Energy Bill intended to be part of the Senate Climate package as well.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
Renewable Energy Financing Rebounds, in Europe, if not U.S.
Bankers are funding renewable energy projects again – at least in Europe. On the U.S. side of the pond, the financing for solar parks, wind farms and the like remain in a deep freeze.
TECHNOLOGY
Solar Companies Merge Technologies Utility-Scale Production
As the race to create clean, renewable power heats up, the solar industry is focusing on a technology in hopes of producing utility-scale energy.
QuantaSol Unveils 28.3% Efficient Single-Junction Solar Cell
QuantaSol has developed what it believes to be the most efficient single junction solar cell ever manufactured.
DuPont, DOE Partner on Thin Film Solar Research Progress
DuPont has teamed with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a $9 million solar research program – part of the company’s overall effort in providing more mainstream solar photovoltaic products for commercial and residential applications.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
World’s Largest Solar Power Officially Inaugurated
On 1 July 2009 the solar-thermal power station Andasol 1, located in the Spanish province of Granada in Andalusia, was officially inaugurated.
Aleo Solar Wins Follow-up Order for Turnkey Solar Farm
Construction will start in the fall, and the new solar modules will be connected to the grid by the end of the year.
French Farmer Commissions Brittany Solar Project
A 205 kW solar PV project has been commissioned at a chicken farm in Lassay-les-Châteaux, Brittany.
Solar Roof on Israel’s Avdat Winery
Sunday Energy Ltd and winery group Carmey Avdat have announced the completion of a 50 kWp solar installation on the roof of the winery, the first such project on a winery in Israel.
European Renewable Grid Initiative Launched
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and transmission system operators (TSOs) have joined forces to create The Renewables-Grid-Initiative (RGI), which demands a new mandate for energy regulators to enable the development of a European grid architecture capable of rapidly and efficiently transmitting renewable energies.
