The Google-backed clean energy projects around the world [map]
Germany, South Africa, North Dakota—Google is investing in clean energy projects all over. Take a look at our map of where, what and how much. Read more »
Google invests in big South African solar project
photo: Ucilia Wang
Google’s huge clean power investing project now includes Africa for the first time — a large solar panel farm being built in South Africa. Read more »
Using data and computer models to store wind energy underground
Power companies in areas with a growing amount of clean power are looking at new ways to store compressed air underground. The Pacific Northwest could get some of these next-gen air technologies in the coming years. Read more »
What SolarCity’s earnings say about the challenges of building a solar retail business
SolarCity is one of the leaders when it comes to installing solar panels on home owner’s rooftops. But the company’s $31 million loss, in its latest quarter, shows the growing pains for the retail solar players. Read more »
Adding an electric car cut the payback point of our solar panel investment in half
When planning our solar panel home project in 2011, we figured on paper that it would take nearly a dozen years to break even on the investment. Turns out that adding an electric vehicle has cut that figure roughly in half. Read more »
Tiny antennas that can harvest light and heat could deliver new solar tech
photo: photo courtesy of fdtate
Capturing energy from light and heat using tiny antennas could be a way to produce solar energy at a lower cost, and capture and reuse waste heat from industrial processes. They’re still in the prototype phase. Read more »
Bright outlook: First Solar sells out of solar panels, inks new deal in China
After reducing production and costs and closing a big solar panel factory, First Solar says it’s done a better job of managing its supply and has sold out of its production through nearly the end of the third quarter of this year. Read more »
Video: The trends behind the year of clean energy turbulence
Global clean energy investing dropped by 22 percent in the first quarter of 2013 says Bloomberg New Energy Finance CEO Michael Liebreich. In his keynote address for Bloomberg’s energy conference this week, he unpacked some trends in the global financing of next generation energy technology. Read more »
What you need to know about shopping for solar panels
Lost in a sea of conflicting information on solar installers, panel makers, and various subsidies? We’re here to help. Here’s 7 things you need to know about putting solar panels on your rooftop. Read more »
Grid giant ABB throws down $1B for Power-One and its solar gear
ABB plans to buy power inverter leader Power-One for around a billion dollars. The move shows the expected strong growth in solar panel installations, despite the hard times for the solar panel makers themselves. Read more »
How energy harvesting tech could power wearables and the internet of things
From smart fabrics to sensors that are powered by the very vibrations they measure, researchers and companies are hard at work figuring out how to make the most of the energy around us. Read more »
In a brutal solar market, Sweden’s Midsummer looks to optical discs for solar
Swedish thin film solar manufacturer startup Midsummer is taking a cue from optical disc manufacturing for its solar panels, but is facing a difficult solar market. Read more »
Tiny wires could be a breakthrough for cheap solar panels
A Swedish startup has developed a new technology that it says can boost the efficiency of standard solar panels at a minimal cost using nanowires. Is this the great bright hope for solar manufacturers who have been crippled by the difficult solar market in 2013? Read more »
BrightSource’s cancelled projects highlight hurdles for desert solar thermal plants
Even while some of the huge solar thermal plants being built in the deserts are hitting their milestones, others are facing hurdles due to transmission line delays and cost concerns. Meanwhile solar panel farms, particularly of utility scale, reached a record in 2012. Read more »
Introducing new solar gear that could change the game
A new solar inverter has been developed by a quiet startup called Empower Micro Systems, which could land on the market by the end of the year. The company’s CCO says the tech could disrupt the landscape. Read more »
A Chinese solar giant goes bankrupt, and why that’s a good thing
Beleagured Chinese solar giant, Suntech Power, was once the largest solar maker in the world. This week the company was forced into bankruptcy. But it’s not all bad news. Read more »
There’s high trust in clean power despite the negative headlines
Contrary to the politics and headlines of the day, clean energy is a relatively trusted sector, and companies should be leveraging that good faith to lead. Read more »
2012 was a record-breaking year for solar panels in the US
Solar panels are breaking through into the mainstream. Last year there were a record-breaking amount of panels installed on rooftops in the U.S. making solar the fastest growing source of energy in the U.S. Read more »
A Chinese solar company’s fall from grace
Suntech Power once seemed unstoppable as the largest solar panel maker in the world. Now it’s facing internal turmoil and market forces that could very well lead to its demise. Read more »
Despite major growth, SolarCity shares drop on Q4 loss
Now that SolarCity is publicly-traded it’s got the quarterly numbers game to play. In its first earnings report post-IPO SolarCity’s shares drop on quarter loss. Read more »
6 questions for DuPont’s CEO on startups, ethanol and solar (interview)
The leader of the 210-year-old science giant DuPont, Ellen Kullman, sits down with GigaOM to give us her take on the future of energy for a world population that will boom to 9 billion in 2050. Read more »
Bringing a little cheer to energy innovation
Following the close of a year which saw the politicization of clean energy technologies, the struggles of dozens of solar manufacturers and electric car companies, and a “cleantech cliff” for startup investing, the 2013 ARPA-E Summit could be a sober affair. Read more »
Struggles continue for thin film solar startups, Nanosolar latest with layoffs
Once hot thin film solar startup Nanosolar has done a round of layoffs — which could be substantial — following a major down round last year. So goes the trend of the once promising next-gen solar panel maker startups. Read more »
President Obama: If Congress won’t act on climate change, I will
President Obama made one of his most aggressive declarations to using market-based means to fight climate change since early on in his first term. Read more »
Yikes: Peabody uses Super Bowl blackouts to push coal agenda
Coal giant Peabody turns to a tactic that has long been used to cling to old school technology: the manipulative press release. Read more »
6 technologies that could shape the future of energy
photo: ThinkStock
The future of energy technology can come from surprising places: algae, hot rocks, fireflies and crowdfunding? Here’s a round up of stories this month that show off 6 technologies that could shape the future of energy. Read more »
OneRoof Energy raises $30M from Korea’s Hanwha for solar financing
Financing the emerging boom of solar rooftops is an area where startups increasingly are doing well. OneRoof Energy, a startup launched just in 2011, has raised another round of equity from Korean giant Hanwha to grow its solar panel financing and sales business. Read more »
China is buying up a third of the world’s solar panels
China is emerging as a massive market for solar panels, not just the world’s solar panel supplier. As of Q4 2012, China has been buying a third of the world’s solar panels. Read more »
A new site that aims to make solar shopping ultra simple
Buying solar electric equipment takes a lot of time, and good information can be hard to come by. A startup in Massachusetts plan to launch a solar shopping portal that it hopes will make solar shopping far less painful. Read more »
The fourth quarter of 2012 in cleantech
The fourth quarter in cleantech saw attention paid to two prominent, publicly traded companies: EV maker Tesla and newly minted public listing SolarCity. It remains a transitional period for the sector as investment declines, with a shift toward those companies able to scale with little additional capital. Read more »
Why crowd funding could disrupt how solar power is created
Will the combination of Kickstarter-style crowd-funding and low risk investing lead to a disruptive new form of financing for the world’s solar projects. With some good execution and marketing, I think so. Read more »
There will be blood: Solar shakeout expected to slash solar makers by 70%
While opportunities abound for solar installers, marketers and service companies, the companies that make solar wafers, cells and panels will face an ugly crunch in 2013. There will be 70 percent less of these firms by the end of 2013, according to a report. Read more »
Solar Mosaic fully crowd funds its new solar projects in less than 24 hours
In less than a day, startup Solar Mosaic says its first publicly available solar roof projects have been 100 percent funded. Can crowd-funding revolutionize solar? Read more »
Solar Mosaic turns “the Kickstarter of solar” into a way to make money
Who wants to make money off of solar roofs? Startup Solar Mosaic is making that possible starting Monday morning, when California and New York residents can put money into solar projects and, the company says, earn a 4.5 percent annual return. Kind of like a mutual fund. Read more »
Deep sea bacteria could provide breakthroughs for solar panels
photo: Wikimedia Commons
Can bacteria that live at the bottom of the ocean provide secrets for how to boost the efficiency of solar panels? Certain bacteria can use photosynthesis to harvest 100 percent of the trace amounts of light they encounter. Read more »
Post-IPO, SolarCity plans to ratchet up solar roofs to 250MW in 2013
Following one of the only successful cleantech IPOs of the year, solar installer and financier SolarCity says it will grow its solar rooftops next year to 250 MW, up from 156 MW in 2012. Can it achieve profitability at the same time? Read more »
Don’t even think about it: 5 things that won’t work for cleantech in 2013
photo: huskyte77
Boom — the numbers for cleantech VC investing in 2012 are out and they ain’t pretty. A cleantech cliff of sorts has arrived and represents an end of an era. If you still want to be in the space in 2013, here’s 5 things you should avoid. Read more »
Building integrated solar panels set to boom over the next 5 years
Solar panels that can be integrated right into roofs and walls could provide a bright spot in a difficult solar market over the next five years, according to a new report from Pike Research. Read more »
Tesla’s solar powered super chargers hit the east coast
Tesla’s solar-powered super chargers — which can charge Model S cars in 30 minutes — have officially hit the east coast. Last week Tesla announced it had installed two fast chargers, one in Connecticut and one in Delaware. Read more »
5 charts that show the massive growth of solar in 2012 [charts]
photo: Shutterstock/ciarada
From low silicon and solar module prices to a rising amount of solar panels installed on rooftops, these five charts show that the future of solar is brighter than ever, despite the difficult times for solar manufacturers in 2012. Read more »
