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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Solar companies know what to blame for their weak first quarterly financials this year: Italy and the country’s revision of its solar subsidies. Solar bellwether SunPower this afternoon, announced a quarterly loss of $2.12 million ($0.02 loss per share). 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 »
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 »
A whole lot has changed since we rounded up the solar farms that are planned for the deserts of California and Arizona, from farms changing hands, to the DOE handing out loan guarantees. Here’s 7 of the solar farms that are being built in Southwestern deserts. Read more »
California is home to the U.S. solar industry, and it will continue to be. Of the roughly 2 gigawatts of installed domestic solar photovoltaic capacity, half of it is in California. But the industry is spreading out. — to the other coast. Read more »
While many of the next-gen thin film solar companies are in a make-or-break stage of ramping up to high volume production, a good deal of these companies don’t seem to have much trouble finding customers. Nanosolar says its scored a 1 GW deal with European utilities. 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 »
In honor of Earth Day, I’ve been testing a couple of solar chargers from Scosche and Choice Solar. The good news is that charger prices have dropped significantly. But their capabilities vary, so it’s important to select one that meets your needs. 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 biggest cleantech news of last week hit the wires late afternoon on Friday: Solar thermal developer BrightSource Energy filed for a $250 million IPO. Here’s the nitty-gritty of BrightSource’s financials, PPAs, and partner deals, via BrightSource’s S-1 by the numbers: 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 »
Is the greentech industry headed for a breakout year or is it retrenching for hard times to come? The first three months of 2011 provided evidence that could support both assertions, with a big rise in venture capital investment and a big drop-off in global energy financing. Solar power remained the largest green technology sector in terms of venture capital investment, while in the world of electric vehicles, GM’s Chevy Volt hybrid and Nissan’s all-electric Leaf — the first two mainstream plug-in vehicles — hit the showroom floors in significant numbers. Meanwhile the smart grid sector’s relative dearth of VC investment was more than made up for by the massive round of acquisitions. Companies mentioned in this report include NRG Energy, Microsoft, Silver Spring Networks, Tesla and BrightSource Energy. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Turns out Facebook has been eying clean power after all for its new data center. Well, a very small amount of solar compared to the sizable power needs of its data center. According to Data Center Knowledge, Facebook has built a 100 kW solar panel array. Read more »
Global clean energy investment fell to $31.1 billion in the first three months of this year, its lowest quarterly total in two years, Bloomberg New Energy Finance reported Friday. That contrasts with an uptick in greentech venture capital investing in Q1. Read more »
Can solar power inverters talk to the smart grid, to help make them a benefit rather than a burden to utilities? Here’s a new standard that could help solar and smart grid get along. 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 »
Greentech marked its best year ever in 2010, and part of that is thanks to the wealth of activity across sectors during the fourth quarter. Global investment in clean energy surged, and while wind power remained the biggest greentech area, solar power saw the fastest growth. The energy efficiency sector appears to have more room for smaller players to make their mark amidst a rapidly maturing market. Meanwhile, China’s stance as a growing greentech giant continued to complicate its relationship with the United States. Companies mentioned in this report include General Electric, Intel, ZigBee, iControl, People Power and EnerNOC. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Will 2011 bring recovery or retrenchment for the greentech industry? We’re tracking both the leaders and up-and-comers in the solar power, smart grid, biofuel, green vehicle and energy efficiency sectors, to discover the role that old-school energy industries are going to play in the greentech evolution. Read more »
The greentech industry’s 2010 showing wasn’t so bad, especially for a year that saw the world recovering from a once-in-a-generation economic meltdown. But despite this, venture capitalists won’t be investing in the sector like they used to, solar startups won’t see a great growth year in ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
California’s new Renewable Auction Mechanism (RAM) represents an important new move for the state into a feed-in tariff model for solar, wind and other renewable power — but with some critical twists. What are the advantages, and the potential drawbacks, of this reverse auction FiT model? ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Energy Secretary Steven Chu stopped by Google headquarters on Friday to talk about green technology. He would like China to invest in America’s green future, not own it. To challenge China’s growing lead, the U.S. may have to boost its support of homegrown technologies. Read more »
What’s in store for tomorrow’s Apple event? It’s possible only Steve Jobs and whoever does his Keynote presentations know for sure, but that’s not gonna stop us from making our bests guess. So get out those rumor checklists and see how yours matches up. Read more »
Most collaboration tools focus on assigning tasks to the people on your team who will get them done. Teamly takes a different approach, encouraging your team to look for the priorities in your project and exercise a little autonomy. Read more »
In the second quarter of 2010, greentech startups scored record venture capital and increased spending despite a weak economy. Solar power retained its lead in greentech venture financing, while global investment for clean energy asset financing fell. China, meanwhile, underscored its rising might in the greentech industry, raising billions of dollars in green energy financing. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The ARPA-E summit this week was flush with startups looking for government grants and VC dollars — and some looking for both. Energy-storage startup Sun Catalytix, which just won $4 million from ARPA-E in January, now plans to seek a new round of venture capital, Sun […] Read more »
In the first year that Macworld Expo San Francisco did not see Apple attend, the speculation leading up to the show was centered on what Macworld Expo would be like without its best known exhibitor. David Pogue gave us a look at the world without Apple, […] Read more »
I was only just talking about how long its been since Adobe released a new major update to its flagship Creative Suite product with an imaging professional friend, and now there’s a sign that we won’t have to wait much longer for said update to arrive. […] Read more »
Look at a solar panel and you might think of its manufacturer or installer, or maybe – if you’re a true solar geek – the company that made the cells inside the panel. But when Marc Doyle, global business director for DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions, looks at […] Read more »
Solar startup 1366 Technologies has closed $5.15 million in a second round of funding from North Bridge Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners and plans to announce the funding this morning. Xconomy first reported the story yesterday, and according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing […] Read more »
This week, it almost happened. The servers hosting all of Wikipedia’s media were ready to burst, filled up to the max with almost six million files totaling close to eight terabytes of data. Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia, was able to install a new server […] Read more »
One of the most commonly cited problems about solar power is that it’s intermittent, meaning that it’s not always sunny when electricity is needed. That means customers can’t count on being able to generate exactly as much solar power as they need to meet electricity demand […] Read more »
UPDATED: Wyclef Jean, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews and Justin Timberlake are just a few of music stars that will take part in tonight’s Hope For Haiti Now benefit concert, starting at 5 p.m. PST and 8 p.m. […] Read more »
