Why You Should Care
The thin film solar panel maker received the first DOE loan guarantee, planned an IPO and filed for bankruptcy in 2011.
Solyndra
Two months ago we asked whether utilities should invest in solar manufacturing because Pacific Gas & Electric was proposing to do just that. The answer from California regulators, who were divided over the issue, was “no” as they voted 3-2 to deny the request on Thursday. Read More »
There is still not a solar panel capable of displacing electricity from fossil fuels. Disruption calls for smart innovation; several companies are ready for the challenge. The clear winner will be the solar-energy player that breaks new records in solar efficiency without the breaking the bank.
Azure Power will be building one of India’s first megawatt-scale rooftop solar projects that will put solar panels on dozens of rooftops and share revenues from power sales with building owners. Read More »
Japan plans to close its last nuclear reactor this weekend, a move that will take nuclear power out of its energy supply for the first time since 1966. Among those who will celebrate that will be solar companies as Japan gets ready to boost its … Read More »
Solar bellwether First Solar has two pieces of big news out of its earnings on Thursday: a new CEO with deep experience with conventional power and a new 5-year plan to transform the company into a power plant developer. Read More »
As the 2012 election unfolds and debates about clean energy foment, looking back at the history of energy subsides tells us how the bulk of subsidies have gone to fossil fuels.
SunPower, whose fight for survival forced it to find a new owner and embark on a significant cost-reduction plan, said on Monday that it will stop producing cells at one of its factories to save money. Read More »
More Must Reads
This quarter the EV market struggled to find its footing. Meanwhile, the smart-grid sector solidified and low-power technology proved itself important in the data center. Read more to learn what these news pieces and others mean for the larger space over the next few months.
It’s not meant to be after all. Solar power plant developer BrightSource Energy, plans to withdraw its plan to go public because of poor market conditions, the company said Wednesday night. Read More »
Brightsource Energy could go public as early as Thursday on the Nasdaq, and with that move the solar power plant developer will be making history. Read More »
The solar death spiral has been long and ugly. Over the past year, there have been over a dozen stalwarts and startups that have headed to bankruptcy court. Here’s our chart: Read More »
Q-Cells was once the largest solar cell maker in the world. Now the company says on Monday it’s filing for bankruptcy, which makes it the latest example of an industry turmoil that has forced many other manufactures out of the business as well. Read More »
Stuart Bernstein, the head of the clean energy group at Goldman Sachs, showed up at Cleantech Forum in San Francisco to talk about the IPO market, and his message to startups and investors was: hang in there. Read More »
The dark cloud of Solyndra might have lifted a bit, but, yes, it’s still here. Solyndra’s Chief Restructuring Officer, Todd Neilson, an outside bankruptcy expert and former FBI agent, has just completed and published a 204-page report on what-the-heck happened with Solyndra. Read More »
SolarCity isn’t content with being just an installer of solar panels on rooftops. The company, which reportedly has plans to go public, has expanded beyond solar to a broader set of energy-related services, including upgrading air conditioners and insulating air ducts. Read More »
Three environmental group on Monday filed suit against the federal government over a proposed solar farm in California, contending that the government has failed in its duty to ensure the project would not pose a significant harm to wildlife. Read More »
Solexant, a Silicon Valley solar thin film startup that once plotted to build its first commercial-scale factory in Oregon, has quietly raised a $30,000 round. Read More »
Research firm Lux Research has named the top ten global makers of solar modules — which make up solar panels — by production for 2011. Read More »
Alan Salzman, co-founder of VantagePoint Capital Partners, has two words of advice for investors trying to make money on their cleantech investments in a difficult year: be patient and embrace the enemy. Read More »
Apple plans to buy solar panels from SunPower for the huge solar farm it’s planning to build at its data center in Maiden, North Carolina, according to a report. Read More »
Solar thin film maker MiaSole is fighting for survival in a solar market that has seen many manufacturers shutter factories over the past year. The startup announced Wednesday that it’s raised $55 million to help it enter a new market and boost its sales staff. Read More »
The past year has been difficult for solar panel makers as many of them shuttered factories and filed for bankruptcies. The latest sign of this bleak time comes from a Tuesday announcement by Abound Solar, which is now suspending production and letting go of 180 workers. Read More »
Enphase Energy, which makes solar electronics and filed for an IPO last June, is still waiting for the right time to make its public market debut. But in the meantime, it’s been doubling its sales. Read More »
SunPower said on Thursday in its earnings call that it will be going on the offensive in 2012, aggressively selling solar projects and residential leases, and developing more efficient solar panels. Read More »
Solar Frontier, the largest manufacturer of copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) solar panels, announced Wednesday that it’s shipped 13.2MW to NRG Solar, which is evolving from being a buyer of solar power projects to a developer. Read More »
The White House sent its proposed budget for 2013 to Congress on Monday, and the plan calls for boosting funding for clean power and energy efficiency, seeks to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and doesn’t seek additional funds for the loan guarantee program. Read More »
It’s been painfully apparent that many of the well-funded startups building next-gen solar tech have yet to ship solar panels in any large volumes and have missed their targets. And even the folks in the solar industry are starting to take each other to task. Read More »
Electric vehicle maker Fisker Automotive announced on Monday that it has halted work on its second electric car called Project Nina at its factory in Delaware, has laid off 26 workers, and is attempting to renegotiate the terms of its loan with the U.S. government. Read More »
The Green IT section of our GigaOM Pro service has been cranking out a lot of rock solid research and long form reports in 2012. Come check out our new 30-page state of solar report, our smart thermostat research and new analysis on batteries. Read More »
A 1 GW solar farm in California whose fate was in limbo for a while is finally moving forward: Solar Millennium has sold it to Solarhybrid, which will change the technology for the project from concentrating solar thermal to photovoltaic panels. Read More »
By Ucilia Wang
Feb. 3, 2012, 8:44pm PT
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The solar industry has begun 2012 with some trepidation, with many on the warpath to cut costs and reduce output. These moves give the market a chance to reduce inventories and get production more in sync with demand. But recovery will likely come slowly.
Solar companies worldwide will remember 2011 as a dark time in their history; the failing of Solyndra symbolizes that market volatility, and 2012 no doubt started with trepidation, writes Ucilia Wang in a comprehensive report on the solar industry in 2012 for GigaOM Pro. Read More »
The failure rate of developers to fulfill their renewable energy contract in California has historically been around 30-40 percent, but that failure rate is expected to come down now that utilities are seeing better prepared and managed projects — and more developers who are in the … Read More »
Markus Beck, the former head of First Solar’s now shuttered next-gen solar tech project, is looking to keep his dream alive and develop a new process to make thin film solar panels. Given the state of the market, it could be a tough play. Read More »
Nanosolar, which has struggled for years to fulfill its promise as the next major thin-film solar manufacturer, announced Thursday it has a new CEO. Eugenia Corrales, who has been the startup’s head of engineering and operations, is taking over the chief executive post effective immediately. Read More »
If you follow solar news, chances are you’ve heard of Dow’s solar shingles — a more aesthetic way to put panels on rooftops. Well, according to the founder and CEO of thin film solar startup NuvoSun, Dave Pearce, NuvoSun is the latest producer of Dow’s solar … Read More »
While so many startups in the U.S. and Germany have been trying to build commercial-scale businesses off of making solar panels made of copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS), really only one is making strides at any kind of scale: Japan’s Solar Frontier. Read More »
First Solar has broken its own record. The company announced Tuesday that it’s able to produce a thin-film solar panel that can convert 14.4 percent of the sunlight that hits it into electricity. The new record exceeds the 13.4 percent it achieved last year. Read More »
Solar service provider Sungevity under went some serious expansion in 2011 as it began to target the East Coast and overseas, and lined up Lowe’s as an investor and partner. Now following that growth, the startup has started raising a new funding round of $40.8 million. Read More »
The turning of the new year didn’t make the solar industry any easier for solar manufacturers. Power electronics maker, Satcon Technology, announced Wednesday that it’s laying off 35 percent of its workers and shutting down its factory in Canada. Read More »
While 2011 was a busy year for the tech industry, don’t expect things to slow down in 2012. We’ve rounded up some of GigaOM’s biggest stories of the year with a bit of insight on what each will mean for 2012. Read More »
By Adam Lesser
Dec. 28, 2011, 8:01am PT
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As we look toward the next year, the cleantech sector faces many challenges, which we examine in detail in this 2012 outlook. Renewable energy generators encounter an increasingly difficult subsidy environment, and key cleantech innovations like electric vehicles face an uphill climb in terms of connecting …
Solar tech companies have suffered in 2011, and a speedy recovery in 2012 doesn’t seem likely. But the market holds huge potential for growth, and this dark time shall pass. Here is our look at solar trends to watch for in 2012. Read More »
Let’s face it. For cleantech, at least in the U.S., this year was kindof a bummer. But that’s what New Year’s resolutions and wishes are for: turning a new page when the year starts over. Here’s what I want from cleantech in 2012. Read More »
Which stories dominated the green GigaOM clicks in 2011? This year was filled with smart thermostats, a dream of Apple getting into solar, the bankruptcy of Solyndra, the efficiency of cloud computing, Google’s green data centers and Tesla’s Model S. Read More »
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