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
Cities Hurting Solar Switch
Legally, the fee for a solar permit must not exceed the cost of providing it, and only health or safety can be considered, not whether neighbors like the looks of solar panels.
Palm Desert Energy Loan Program to Accept New Applications
Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and with close to 300 people on the waiting list, the $1.25 million in loans available for solar systems may go quickly.
Discreetly Green: Santa Monica Wants Property Owners to Hide Solar Panels
Solar equipment must be installed “in the location that is least visible from the street” on certain properties, according to a 4-1 decision by the city council on Tuesday.
California Solar-Power Subsidy Program Approaches its Limit
A bill seeks to quadruple the amount of electricity consumers with roof panels may sell. The solar industry pushes to pass it. PG & E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric oppose.
Information Session on Solar Energy Set
The session will provide information about the California Solar Initiative program and incentives it offers to homeowners who decide to “go solar,” according to the company.
Unbundled CA REC Market Could Help More Solar Projects Pencil Out
California does not allow utilities to use RECs to meet their RPS obligations. In this environment there can still be a market for RECs but the value tends to be much lower as the price is determined solely by voluntary demand for clean electricity.
NATIONAL NEWS
Chandler Attracts Interest of Solar Companies
Chandler is on the short list of at least six international solar industry companies that want to establish operations in the United States.
Showing Off with a Solar Thermal Salute
A picture was worth 24,000 mirrors when eSolar, a company based in Pasadena, Calif., that specializes in solar thermal power, transformed a vast field of heliostats at its Southern California solar farm into a Fourth of July tableau of the American flag and the Statue of Liberty.
Going Green: Jobs in Alternative Energy
Solar installation jobs abound, which is a great opportunity for people just entering the workforce or for construction and contracting professionals who may have seen the home-renovation and building jobs dry up.
State Weighs Solar Proposal Seen as Key Test
The proposal essentially would let solar-panel makers sell electricity without the oversight of state regulators, and at least one Arizona utility objects.
Dynamic Engineering Helps GCL Solar Expand Polysilicon Production
The contracts represent DEI’s most comprehensive polysilicon services relationship to-date and the company’s first sale to GCL Solar.
SunWize Offers New Residential Solar Financing
The program offers an unsecured, same-as-cash loan of up to $45,000 for solar installations.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Los Angeles Will End Use of Coal-Fired Power
Los Angeles will eliminate the use of electricity made from coal by 2020, replacing it with power from cleaner renewable energy sources, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.
Higher Cap by Utility Panel Could Help Rifle, Colorado Increase Solar Energy
The city is waiting for the Public Utilities Commission to decide whether to lift a 2-megawatt-per-customer cap on net metering of renewable energy. An administrative law judge has made a recommendation in the city’s favor.
California’s Attorney General Says Feed-in Tariffs Legal in US
In a significant filing June 25, 2009 California’s Attorney General (AG) argued that feed-in tariffs as proposed in California are not only permitted under federal law but that they should be used to encourage the rapid growth of renewable energy.
MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
PV Resources Publishes Extended Version of Global PV Market Review
The past year was characterized by several projects of MW-range photovoltaic power plants, and it was also the year with the highest market growth ever.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
VC Investment in Green Tech Up to US $1.2B in Q2
Greentech Media Inc. this week released quarterly data showing that venture capital investment in green technologies totaled US $1.2 billion in 85 deals in the second quarter of 2009. This is up from $836 million in 59 deals in the first quarter of 2009.
TECHNOLOGY
XeroCoat Receives $2.69M Project Funding Award From US DOE to Develop Anti-Reflective Coating System for Solar Modules
XeroCoat is targeting a coating method for thin film modules that will exceed thin film industry cost targets and further lower the cost of solar energy.
Lightwave Power Receives NREL Funding
The total anticipated subcontracts under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is $6 million. The two organizations will partner to develop a roll-to-roll photonic-enhanced thin film solar cell.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
LDK Solar Provides Q2 Revenue Guidance Below Estimates
For the second quarter, the Xinyu City, China based company expects revenues in the range of $215 million to $225 million and expects wafer shipments to be in the range of 220 MW to 230 MW.
Green Power Takes Root in the Chinese Desert
State-owned power companies are competing to see which can build solar plants fastest, though these projects are much smaller than the wind projects.
ET Solar Group Announces Worldwide Product Liability Insurance
Arranged by Aon, world’s top insurance brokerage firm headquartered in New York, the cover is provided by Huatai Insurance Company in which the global insurance giant ACE is the single largest shareholder.
Yingli to Supply SDIC Huajing with 10MW of solar PV Panels
The project, which has been approved by the provincial Development and Reform Commission in Gansu, demonstrates Yingli and the state owned electricty supplier’s commitment to renewable energy goals.
S.A.G. Solarstrom Receives €22.6M Capital Inflow
As a result of the now signed external financing agreement of Orosolar GmbH & Co. KG totalling €24.1 million, Freiburg based S.A.G. Solarstrom AG will receive an inflow of liquidity of €22.6 million.
Scatec Solar Acquires Remaining 50% of Solarcompetence GmbH
Scatec Solar, a global turn-key supplier of solar PV solutions, has acquired the remaining 50 % of the equity interest in the German Solar PV company Solarcompetence GmbH and indirectly the EPCI company K&S Solarsysteme GmbH.
Solarvalue Changes Technology Direction; Terminates Agreement with Moser Baer
Due to ongoing technical problems with the implementation of the manufacturing method from MB Scientific Corporation for the production of solar-grade silicon and the resulting delays in this start of production, Solarvalue AG has decided not to continue the method at the Ruse site.
China Hikes 2011 Solar Power Target
China is aiming for an installed solar power capacity of 2 gW by 2011, nearly a 15-fold jump from the 140 mW capacity it had at the end of last year.
Enfinity Will Develop China’s Largest and First PV Power Station
The joint bidding team, which is initiated by Enfinity, has won the project with the price of 1.09 yuan/kWh. CGNPC and LDK Solar are the partners on the bid.
