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
Sony Dedicates New Green San Diego Based Headquarters
Energy-efficient building incorporates LEED guidelines and includes 160 kW Mitsubishi Electric solar power system installed by HelioPower and owned by San Diego Gas & Electric.
Soliant Gets New CEO to Evangelize Concentrating PV
The California startup has a new chief executive at a time when it’s planning for commercial production in 2010.
Coachella Valley Green
Best of all, on October 6, 2009 1BOG is launching their first Solar Buyer Campaign here in the Coachella Valley.
NATIONAL NEWS
City Council OKs Lease for Solar Plant
A 5- to 10-megawatt solar generation plant will be built at the West Mesa Industrial Park after city council unanimously approved Monday a 30-year lease to enXco Development Corp., a California renewable energy company.
Richardson to California to Promote Solar Energy in New Mexico
Gov. Bill Richardson is traveling to California, Connecticut and the nation’s capital later this week Richardson is to speak Wednesday to solar energy executives at a forum in Menlo, Calif. The governor said he will promote New Mexico as a site for solar power projects.
Land of the Free?
While solar and other renewable energy companies are anxious to take advantage of federal grants, state tax credits and plentiful opportunities thanks to state renewable energy portfolios, gaining access to suitable land is tougher than ever.
Hynix Plant Expected to Go for Sharp Discount
Officials with Uni-Chem, a leather fabricator seeking to jump into U.S. solar manufacturing, say they expect to close on the Hynix purchase soon.
NJ Governor Corzine Announces Ten-Fold Increase in Solar Energy Installations Since 2006
The state now has 100 megawatts (MW) of solar energy installed, which is enough to supply the electricity needs for more than 15,000 New Jersey homes.
Florida Solar Group Backs Offshore Drilling
In a release last week, the Florida branch of the Solar Energy Industries Association announced its support for drilling off the state’s coast – in order to create a revenue stream to support solar energy.
NY Governor Paterson Launches $25M Research Commitment for New York’s Clean Energy Future
This effort will position New York as a leader in the development of energy storage technology and bolster New York’s clean energy economy.
UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS
Supergrid for Renewables: Coloring the US Grid Green
Modernizing the US grid is a mammoth task, one that is spurring new lines of thought about generation and transmission resources.
Google Partners on Device to Monitor Home energy
Google launched in February a Web tool called PowerMeter, which lets consumers monitor how much electricity they use at home.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
1,000 Mayors Agree to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
They sign a pact to meet the Kyoto protocol targets and will urge the federal government and states to cut emissions by 7% from 1990 levels by 2012.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
Global Clean Energy Investment Dips, but Avoids Q1 Lows
Figures from New Energy Finance show that total worldwide new financial investment* in clean energy totalled $25.9bn, down 9% from a revised Q2 total of $28.6bn**, but still markedly ahead of the dramatic low of $13.3bn reached in Q1.
Solar Power Inc. Announces Private Placement of $2,000,000 from One Additional Investor
This additional investment brings the aggregate gross proceeds to approximately $14,000,000 from the sale of approximately 14,000,000 shares of common stock before payment of placement agent commissions and offering expenses.
TECHNOLOGY
Dow to Roofers: Our Solar Shingles are Coming
The chemical giant says it will launch shingles with CIGS cells in 2010 and plans to work first with homebuilders in North America.
IMEC and BP Solar Demonstrate 18% Efficiency for Silicon Solar Cells
By combining IMEC’s advanced processing techniques with BP Solar’s high-quality low-cost substrates, the companies demonstrated that Mono2 TM has a good potential to become a new base material for low-cost highly-efficient solar cells.
Thompson Technology Industries Announces the New Generation 3.1 Sunseekerr
Tracker Saves Costs on Installation and Maintenance.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Solar Photovoltaic Remains Strong and will be Key to Achieving 2020 Renewable Energy Targets
Despite the global economic downturn, solar photovoltaic power retains huge, largely untapped potential to help Europe meet its energy and environmental goals.
Solon Awarded Contract by DSG Deutsche Solargesellschaft mbH
SOLON SE has contracted with the DSG Deutsche Solargesellschaft mbH for the construction of turnkey solar power plants and the supply of solar modules with a total capacity of around 8 MWp.
Canadian Solar & Satcon to Bundle Modules an Inverters for Canadian, Chinese Markets
As part of the contract, Canadian Solar and Satcon will market Canadian Solar’s commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with Satcon’s commercial solar PV inverters for commercial rooftop and ground mounted power stations.
VPK Packaging Group Builds 1.8MW Rooftop Power Stations
A joint venture was created with Origis to build a 1.8 megawatt solar power station on the roofs of the corrugated board factory in Aalst and the core winding plant in Deerlijk.
Europe to Throw $73B Behind Energy Research
Europe will this week launch a campaign to triple funding for energy research to 8 billion euros ($11.7 billion) a year in a technology race with Japan and the United States, a draft document shows.
OPDE Group to Build 17 Solar Facilities Producing 75MW of Power in Piedmont (Italy)
The OPDE Group and the regional government of Piedmont (Italy) have signed a collaboration protocol under which the Spanish multinational will build a total of 17 solar facilities with a total of 75 MW of installed capacity in the Italian region.
