States that have been leaders when it comes to embracing state cap-and-trade green house gas emissions programs, are now facing a variety of hurdles due to state and federal politics, economics, and lawsuits. Read More »
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Ucilia Wang
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California regulators on Thursday approved changes to residential electric rates for customers of Pacific Gas and Electric that could have a major impact on whether consumers will readily sign up for solar and energy efficiency products and services. Read More »
Concentrating solar photovoltaic technology hasn’t always gotten a lot of respect, but it’s getting more attention these days thanks to government aid and a few well-known players and projects. In fact the technology could see 1 GW of power projects installed by 2015. Read More »
Natural gas power plants aren’t usually all that efficient. On Wednesday, GE announced a power plant design that’s more efficient than the standard and also allows plant operators to better manage supply and demand and integrate clean power with natural gas. Read More »
Applied Materials had a blockbuster quarter in its solar business in the most recent quarter, but its dim market outlook points reflects changes that aren’t good for manufacturers but great for project developers. Read More »
Persuading consumers to pay for solar is a tough challenge. A solar electric system commands the cost of a new car but, unlike a car, it isn’t necessary. Solmentum, a more recent entrant, says it’s found a more efficient approach to reeling in customers. Read More »
Here is another lucky winner of a federal loan guarantee program: The U.S. Department of Energy is offering a conditional loan guarantee of $737 million to SolarReserve for building an 110MW power plant in Nevada, the DOE said Thursday. Read More »
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After 10 years of technology development and lining up investors including Intel, solar thin film company Sulfurcell has retooled its business plan that includes a name change, a technology shift and a focus beyond selling solar panels, company executives said Thursday. Read More »
How do you encourage consumers to switch to electric cars? Here’s two not-so-obvious ways, according to an Accenture survey released on Wednesday: offer free parking and get more utilities to build charging networks. Read More »
In a sunny corner of Italy that produces roses and olive oil, an American startup will get to demonstrate its technology to harvest both electricity and heat. Solergy is a new entrant into the hybrid solar market and is raising a B round. Read More »
Big box stores have tried to market solar electric equipment and installation services for years, but they haven’t seen good results. Lowe’s is hoping to change that by offering services from Sungevity and investing in Sungevity. Read More »
We like trash technology — tech that can turn trash into something useful — and clearly garbage giant Waste Management does, too. The serial corporate investor just added another one to its portfolio: Agnion Energy out of Germany. Read More »
SunPower plans to discuss its first-quarter earnings tomorrow, and it’s likely to repeat the same sentiment expressed by fellow manufactures over the past week: Policy change in Italy, its biggest market, caused a slow start for its sales in 2011. Read More »
Here’s good news for proponents of a solar tech that some thought would never be widely used: The U.S. Department of Energy said Tuesday it’s offering a conditional commitment for a $90.6 million loan guarantee to build a concentrating photovoltaic solar power plant. Read More »
Bill Gates has positioned himself as a champion of energy innovation to solve climate change problems. Still, he’s surprised by how tough it is to get political support for boosting R&D spending and wondered if “perhaps we are not patient enough.” Read More »
Auto makers aren’t making much money (if any) off of electric cars yet. The same thing is true for the makers of the batteries that will run them. A123 System on Monday reported lower sales and widened its loss for the first quarter. Read More »
Solar project developers typically distinguish themselves, among other things, by technology choices. Those who develop photovoltaic power plants tend to stick with PV. That trend is changing. Solar Trust of America is teaming up with a German company to develop PV power plants. Read More »
It’s one thing for a small percentage of wealthy homes in California and New Jersey to get solar panels. It will be another thing entirely for India, with its 1.19 billion population, to make a substantial commitment to solar power. Read More »
Applied Materials refocused its solar business last year to concentrate on serving manufacturers of silicon-based equipment, and it’s continuing that strategy with Wednesday’s announcement to buy Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates for about $4.9 billion. Read More »
Changes in solar incentives in key markets such as Germany and Italy are making life difficult for major players such as First Solar, which reported a flat first-quarter revenue and lower earnings on Tuesday afternoon. Read More »
The leader of the U.S. solar microinverter market, Enphase Energy, needs to watch its back. On Tuesday U.K. startup Enecsys announced that it’s raised £25 million ($41 million) in equity to essentially try to conquer North America. Read More »
The blockbuster IPO by Tesla Motors revved up the public profile of electric cars over the past year. But Fallbrook Technologies, which makes transmission systems for bikes and EVs, pulled its $50 million IPO plan because of “unfavorable market conditions.” Read More »
The Electric Power Research Institute has released a report that lays out energy storage technology options, benefits, performance and costs and how the different technologies play a role in everything from managing the electric grid to managing home energy use. Read More »
SunPower, a stalwart U.S. solar manufacturer in Silicon Valley, plans to sell 60 percent of the company to French oil and gas giant Total Group, the companies announced Thursday. SunPower will get much need financial backing through the deal. Read More »
Wireless charging is an appealing concept for many of us who loathe the sight of messy power cords or the need to find outlets in public. Carmakers like it, too. Toyota announced a deal Wednesday with WiTricity to bring wireless charging to cars. Read More »
TenKsolar, whose wave-like solar electric system design is a radical departure from conventional solar panels, is looking to close a round of funding in about two months, the startup’s founder and president, Dallas Meyer, told us. Read More »
Intel is known for its ability to roll out chips speedily in giant factories. Can that knowledge help a solar startup? MiaSole announced Tuesday that it has enlisted the chip giant to help the company scale up its thin-film solar production. Read More »
BrightSource Energy has stopped working on phases 2 and 3 of the Ivanpah solar project –- which includes investors such as Google and NRG Energy –- after finding more desert tortoises on the project site than previously anticipated. Read More »
The rumor has become reality: BrightSource Energy, which is heavily backed by private and public money for its concentrating solar thermal technology, on Friday filed for an initial public offering to raise $250 million. Read More »
Solaria corralled political dignitaries such as California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom to show off a new headquarters and adjacent demonstration array of its solar panels in Fremont Friday. The occasion marks a milestone for a company that took a while to engineer a product that could … Read More »
Has Solaria finally hit its stride? The company is now on a path to expand production, and later this morning, it’s scheduled to celebrate the new dig with big-name guests such as California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sierra Club’s executive director Mike Brune. Read More »
Does a solar electric system add to the sales value of a home? The Berkeley Lawrence National Laboratory decided to answer this question, and the result is a report being issued Thursday that showed that, indeed, solar homes command higher prices. Read More »
The federal government, which is one of the biggest boosters of electric cars, announced two initiatives on Tuesday: a Google Map project featuring charging stations nationwide, and $5 million in funding for cities to come up with plans to popularize electric cars. Read More »
It’s a double-whopper: The federal government is offering the largest loan guarantee commitment yet to what will be the world’s largest proposed solar farm. Blythe Solar is set to get $2.1 billion in loan guarantees to build part of a 1,000MW plant in California. Read More »
Solar cell developer Suniva , which recently decided to suspend effort to secure a federal loan guarantee for a new factory, has raised about $94.4 million in equity out of a $115 million goal, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Read More »
Will your local utility one day go the way of dinosaurs? As more home and business owners install solar panels, wind turbines and other electricity and heat generating equipment, the roles of the utilities will change and new business opportunities will rise. Read More »
It’s a cliché you inevitably hear in any discussion about building energy efficiency retrofits: It’s the “low-hanging fruit” of cleantech. But the market hasn’t taken off quickly, and good money to be made will come from the commercial, rather than the residential, market. Read More »
Cleantech is losing its mojo to upstarts peddling coupons. These days, it’s not hard to find tech companies, investors and market analysts comparing cleantech to Groupon, which generated a lot of buzz when it turned down a reportedly $5-6 billion offer from Google late last year. Read More »
Are we underestimating the electric car market? A bullish outlook from Morgan Stanley and President Obama’s energy speech apparently have raised that question, even though neither has made a good case for the answer to be “yes.” Read More »
The popular California Solar Initiative (CSI) program has been so popular that it’s set to run out of money sooner than expected. What will happen if the state doesn’t authorize more money for the program? Consumers will lose some important protection from unscrupulous solar service providers. Read More »
California has led the country in solar policy and solar rooftop installations, but keeping its lead won’t be easy. The president of California Public Utilities Commission, Michael Peevey, laid out some of the challenges to promote renewable energy generation by homes, businesses, schools and government agencies. … Read More »
Renewable energy is enjoying a rising profile at the expense of nuclear power. But nuclear power producers and technology developers aren’t necessary the losers there. Some of them have been snapping up solar and wind companies and power plant projects, and the trend will continue. Read More »
Solar equipment installers and manufacturers have pointed out for some time now the hassles of dealing with disparate permitting rules and costs from one city or county to the next. A new report highlights this challenge in Colorado, where a bill is pending to cap fees. Read More »
Enphase Energy has made a name for itself as a trailblazer of the microinverter market. But keeping that lead won’t be easy, and the company is launching a series of new products that are smaller and lighter and more tailored for different customer types. Read More »
General Electric has shown no lack of ambition to be a big player in the solar energy market, but how well it’s doing developing cadmium-telluride (CdTe)-based technology — and become a major CdTe solar panel makers — remains a bit of a mystery Read More »
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