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
SET-Solar Teams with Broadstreet Energy
Mountain View, Calif.-based SET-Solar Corp., a provider of monocrystalline photovoltaic solar modules, has signed a collaboration agreement with Broadstreet Energy Corp., a solar panel installation company.
Atlumin Begins Solar Materials Manufacturing in California
Atlumin Energy Inc., a manufacturer of alloys, specialty chemicals and other materials for the renewable energy market, has opened a manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, Calif.
NATIONAL NEWS
First Solar Sells Solar Plant for Undisclosed Sum
Located about 200 miles east of Los Angeles, the Blythe project is California’s first and largest utility-scale photovoltaic solar generation facility, and among the largest in North America.
SolarTech Presents Online Project Permitting Competition
This work is in line with the consortium’s goal to reduce permitting cycle time by 50% by 2011.
Mercury Solar Systems Named SunPower Commercial Dealer of the Year
Mercury Solar Systems, a Port Chester, N.Y.-based solar integrator, has been awarded the SunPower Commercial Dealer of the Year award.
Swapping CIGS for Silicon
AQT plans to launch production of its thin-film cells that will look like conventional silicon cells but at much cheaper price, its CEO says.
Solar Energy Industry Brings a Ray of Hope to the Rust Belt
Areas hard-hit by the U.S. automakers’ slump are pitching themselves to green technology firms. Workers and machines that used to crank out cars are now making parts for solar and wind power plants.
Solar Employee Purchase Programs: Will Corporate Customers Take it Home?
This is the PV industry’s first report to identify and analyze the emerging trend of solar employee purchase programs. This report should be useful for solar power professionals, especially.
No Sunny Skies for Two solar Projects in Texas, California
Two major solar projects are at a standstill; one over contract renewals and the other due to environmental concerns.
Sun Helps Power New Davis-Monthan Homes
The largest solar neighborhood in the continental U.S. will be on an Air Force base in Arizona’s Sonora Desert, where the sun shines 350 days a year.
MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Consolidation to Hit Solar Sector in 2010
More consolidation will hit the solar power industry next year, the chief executive of BP Solar, a unit of BP Plc, told Reuters on Thursday.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
FERC Energy Sales Decision Hailed as Major Victory For Solar
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a declaratory order stating that sales by a developer of on-site solar generating projects to end-use customers do not constitute the sale or transmission of electric energy.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
Sun Catalytix receives Seed Financing From Polaris Venture Partners
The company has also exclusively licensed a portfolio of water-splitting catalysis patents from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
MEMC Completes Acquisition of SunEdison
As previously disclosed, the purchase price of $200 million was paid 70% in cash and 30% in MEMC stock, plus certain retention payments, transaction expenses, and the assumption of net debt.
Wells Fargo Launches Cleantech Group
Wells Fargo & Co. has formed a new commercial banking group dedicated to supporting clean technology companies.
TECHNOLOGY
Total Signs Research Agreement with MIT to Develop New Stationary Batteries for Solar Power
This agreement valued at $4 million over five years is part of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), which Total joined as a member in November 2008.
Personalizing Solar Power
Researchers are hoping to improve solar energy installations by coupling a solar panel to an efficient hydrolysis unit that splits water into oxygen and hydrogen. Daniel Nocera of MIT says the approach could lead to personal solar power units that could get many houses off the grid.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
EU Signs Up to International Renewable Energy Agency
By their signing the European Union has become the 138th Member of this new organisation that aims at speeding up the use of renewable energy sources in the world.
Sasol to Cut Emissions, Invest in Solar Power
Petrochemicals group Sasol, the world’s leader in making motor fuel from coal, plans to reduce its carbon footprint by capturing its emissions, producing solar power and making its plants more efficient.
India to Spend $900M on Solar
Ending months of speculation about exactly what it was planning to do to boost the use of renewable sources of energy, India said this week that it will spend about $900 million on solar energy.
Solar Park Shines
THE sun may not have been shining brightly, but that didn’t deter hundreds of locals who went to the official opening of the Central Victoria Solar City Solar Park at Huntly on Saturday.
Renewables Policy Hopes Dashed by Tariffs Row
Departmental wrangling over “feed-in tariffs” scuppers Ed Miliband’s aim to have policy in place by Copenhagen summit.
