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
Wal-Mart’s Solar Power No-Show
A San Bernardino Superior Court judge on Thursday rebuffed Wal-Mart’s plan for a super center in the desert city of Yucca Valley, partly on the grounds that the giant retailer failed to take measures to reduce its contribution to global warming.
Valley Could be a Crucible for Green Industry
With its 350 days of sunshine, and its existing base of renewable energy sources such as geothermal and wind, the valley is in prime position to secure a foothold in the clean energy sector.
Startup Sells Solar Panels Online
People think nothing of ordering shoes or books or songs over the Web. If Danny Kennedy has his way, one day they will all order solar panels for the roofs of their homes.
Solar Shootout in the San Joaquin Valley
Side-by-side crystalline and thin-film photovoltaic installations at a water treatment plant in California’s Central Valley should provide a clear indication of which provides the best energy production and cost benefit performance over varying climatic conditions within a year.
SunPower Announces Industry’s Only Solar Monitoring Application for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch Mobile Devices
Homeowners Now Have Three Ways to Easily Monitor the Efficiency of Their SunPower Solar Rooftop System.
SF to Install 25K Solar Panels to Help Power City
City officials say a new ordinance signed by the mayor clears the way for the construction of 25,000 solar panels atop the city’s largest water reservoir.
NATIONAL NEWS
Council to Eye Solar Energy
Tapping into solar energy could soon become a more attractive option for Fort Collins residents and businesses.
Solar Panel Branding and the Lesson from Intel
Solar panel companies often compare their industry to the chip business. But one trick many of them haven’t learned from the chip guys is direct marketing to consumers.
Schott Solar Banking on Public Investment in Sunshine
That Schott Solar is barreling ahead with plans to become New Mexico’s flagship solar manufacturing company, despite the current recession, makes sense considering where the company is coming from.
Nestle Purina Unveils Extensive Solar Panel System on Colorado Plant
Nestlé Purina PetCare has installed 467 solar panels on a pet food plant in Denver. The system, which covers about 21,000 square feet of the plant’s roof, is the largest privately owned system in the state.
DSIRE Launches New Solar Website
DSIRE SOLAR is a new component of the DSIRE project that provides solar-specific policy information to consumers, policy makers, program administrators, the solar industry and other stakeholders.
American Solar Electric & Kyocera Bring Solar Power to Habitat for Humanity
Five families participating in Habitat for Humanity’s new homeowner program will be moving into solar-powered homes this year as a result of an industry partnership coordinated by American Solar Electric.
Fluor Starts Renewable Energy Business Line
Fluor Corporation announced the formation of a dedicated business line within its Power Group to focus on global renewable energy needs specifically for clients in the solar, wind and biomass sectors.
NY Wants to Install 100MW of Solar PV Power
New York wants to install up to 100 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power at public and private facilities to help meet the state’s aggressive renewable mandate, the governor said in a release Friday.
Early Stage Solar Startups Skyline & Abound Slog Forward
Two young solar ventures are slogging ahead with plans for commercialization.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Why Green Power Premiums May Fade
Pricier options may become obsolete if government requires utilities to bring more renewables on line.
Electric Bills May go up 3% or More this Summer
The average monthly bill for Atlantic City Electric customers would rise more than 3 percent this summer if the utility’s rate increase proposal is approved by state regulators.
Discover the Top Ten Solar Utilities of 2008
We anticipate that this year’s survey, based on the 2008 Utility Solar Electricity Survey completed in April 2009, will be even more noteworthy.
California Utility Drops Arizona Leg of Planned Line
A California utility said Friday it is dropping plans to build a high-voltage transmission line across the southwestern Arizona desert and is scaling back the project to only its California portion, at least for now.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
SMA Reports First Quarter 2009 Results
Inverter manufacturer, SMA Solar Technology presented Quarterly Financial Report January to March 2009 today. In the first quarter of 2009, SMA achieved a positive result despite a decrease in sales.
MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Interview: Travis Bradford, President, Prometheus Group
Given global market and financial conditions, it is unlikely that demand around the world will be able to overcome the loss of +/- 2 gigawatts in Spain in 2009.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Obama Administration has Moved Swiftly to Undo Bush Environmental Policy
Though they have yet to lay out their own vision in detail, Salazar and other administration officials have left no doubt that they consider the Bush approach misguided and unfairly weighted toward timber, mining, oil and other interests.
US RPS Legislation Weakened in Committee
Markup on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 is set to begin today in Washington amid critiscism that the legislation and specifically the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) has been watered down in committee.
House, EPA to Tackle Climate Policy Alternatives
Congress and the Obama administration have two options when it comes to global warming: write a new law to deal with it or use existing ones to do the job.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Rudd Government Launches Solar Flagships Program
The Rudd Government announced today that it is to invest $4.5 billion in becoming a world leader in solar power and other clean energy initiatives.
Australia to Build World’s Largest Solar Energy Plant
Australia plans to build the world’s largest solar power station with an output of 1000 megawatts in a A$1.4 billion (US$1.05 billion) investment, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Sunday.
