China, finally, emerging as big market for solar demand
Suntech, the largest solar manufacturer in China if not the world in terms of production capacity, saw 22 percent of its sales in the third quarter of this year from China. Read more »
Disappointing solar earnings across the board
Solar makers continue to struggle in 2011 with weak third quarter earnings, as the price of solar panels has dropped by 40 percent and important European markets have cut subsidies. Solar companies Suntech, JA Solar, LDK Solar and Canadian Solar all issued disappointing earnings. Read more »
10 things to be thankful for in greentech this year
As you sit down to your sustainably raised turkey dinner this year, it’s a good time to think about the things that have gone well for greentech in 2011. Yes, there have been clouds for the industry, but there have been quite a few milestones, too. Read more »
On the ground with clean power in India
Vineeth Vijayaraghavan is the founder and editor of a site focused on cleantech in India, Panchabuta, and here’s what he’s been watching, reading, and writing about this week: Read more »
Pump up the energy storage
If we adopt solar and wind as major components of our energy infrastructure, we have to solve the energy storage problem in a big way. Here, we will take a peek at pumped hydro and evaluate what it can do for us. Read more »
Cleantech Open announces winners
Twenty-one cleantech startups from across the U.S. competed for a grand prize of $250,000 in investment and services at this year’s Cleantech Open Business Competition. And the winners are . . . Read more »
OPINION: Jumbo-sized solar is a jumbo-sized mistake
The article this weekend on the front page of The New York Times, “A Gold Rush of Subsidies in the Search for Clean Energy,” clearly underscores why the U.S. should phase-out all permanent and long-term subsidies for energy. Read more »
Our Pearl Harbor moment for solar is coming
There will soon be enough solar projects globally to drive economies of scale to reach our Pearl Harbor moment in solar. That moment won’t be the end, but will start the first war for control of the power sector in 100 years. Read more »
Why we need to focus on solar deployment jobs in the U.S.
We need smart government but we have limited funds for incentives, so we have to focus on our core strengths. For us that is innovation and deployment, particularly for solar. Read more »
How solar can make data centers more efficient
Paring solar with data centers may not be a novel idea, but you will have a hard time finding companies that rely solely on solar electricity to power their servers. But what if the use of solar could help data center owners save energy? Read more »
10 things that sold at Solyndra’s auction
Bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra held a two-day auction for part of its assets last week in an attempt to recoup some of its losses, and reportedly drew thousands of people looking for both bargains and gear with Solyndra logos. Here’s 10 things that were bought. Read more »
First Solar: Boosting production is a bad idea
Solar manufacturers have been on supercharged expansion mode over the past five years in order to cut costs and solar prices. But to continue that march at this point is just unwise. First Solar is now putting off bringing online a solar panel factory in Vietnam. Read more »
Facebook turns to solar for heat and power
Facebook plans to build a solar system on the rooftop of its headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., from startup Cogenra Solar that will generate both electricity and heat. Read more »
Apple spending big next year on retail and cloud
Apple doesn’t willingly telegraph its plans, but thanks to the filing of its 10-K, we get a peek into where the company plans to invest. Based on the reported capital expenditures for 2012, it looks like it’s doubling down on its retail stores and cloud infrastructure. Read more »
On the ground with clean power in India
Power companies in India are funding both solar and wind as a way to add more power generation, as many areas in India are facing blackouts. Vineeth Vijayaraghavan watches cleantech in India closely, and here’s what he’s been reading this week. Read more »
What utilities really think about solar
Here’s a snapshot of what utilities really think about solar: it’s still too expensive but more consumers are starting to want it (but not necessary willing to pay for it). How can we get more utilities to invest in solar? Read more »
Today in Green IT: Will Apple’s solar moves be meaningful?
Will Apple embrace solar in any meaningful way? Seems like even Apple is realizing that it needs to hedge its brand against being labeled anti-environment. Now that Apple is the 800 pound gorilla of tech, managing negative publicity surrounding its sustainability practices will matter more. Read more »
Apple building solar farm for data center
Apple has been laying plans for a solar farm next to its massive data center in Maiden, N.C., according to The Charlotte Observer. The solar project will reportedly be built across the street from its $1 billion data center that will partly serve Apple’s iCloud. Read more »
Solar Mosaic, Kickstarter for solar aims high
Introducing crowd sourcing meets solar, with a kick. Startup Solar Mosaic has built a Kickstarter-style platform that is bringing together peer-to-peer lenders that want to make loans for solar projects in underserved communities, and plans to one day offer ways to make money from solar. Read more »
Silevo unveils hybrid solar cell tech, Chinese factory
Are there still opportunities for tech innovation for solar cells, now that solar panels are rapidly becoming commoditized? California startup Silevo thinks it has a shot with a hybrid solar cell design and a plan to build its first factory in China. Read more »
In wake of Solyndra, DOE Loan Chief to step down
As the failure of now-defunct solar panel maker Solyndra continues to make headlines, the Department of Energy’s Loan Chief Jonathan Silver plans to step down. Silver will become a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the think tank Third Way. Read more »
5 bets the DOE made that are better than Solyndra
It’s been over a month since the Solyndra news came out, but it’s still dominating. Because it just won’t go away, here’s my top five list of projects that the DOE also backed with loan guarantees and that are showing some early signs of success. Read more »
Chinese cleantech firms under spotlight for financial disclosure troubles
U.S-listed Chinese public companies are facing growing scrutiny for their accounting practices, and that investigation has extended to cleantech businesses as well. The latest example comes from A-Power Energy Generation Systems, a Chinese wind turbine maker. Read more »
Solar struggles: Stirling Energy Systems files for bankruptcy
Solar thermal company Stirling Energy Systems has filed for bankruptcy, according to Renewable Energy World. Stirling Energy Systems developed solar concentrators based on stirling engines, which use the sun’s heat to produce electricity, and planned to build projects to sell the power to utilities. Read more »
Google invests $75M into Clean Power Finance solar fund
Google is investing millions of dollars into its second fund that will go toward installing solar panels on rooftops. On Tuesday Rick Needham, Google’s Director of Green Business Operations, announced that Google will invest $75 million into a solar fund for startup Clean Power Finance Read more »
What the clean power industry needs: more lobbying
Is the clean power industry not doing enough to win political support in the nation’s capital? While Solyndra has gotten flack for its significant lobbying efforts, the reality is that the industry should do more, not less. Read more »
Logitech’s Wireless Solar Keyboard review: Here comes the sun
Logitech’s new Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac looks a lot like the Apple keyboard at first glance, but adds a strip of solar panels above the function keys. It also has a numeric keypad, slightly indented keys, and a 2.4 GHz wireless connection. Read more »
Don’t be a solar PV efficiency snob
Physics professor Tom Murphy fights solar PV snobbery with his explanation of why 15 percent efficiency rates for solar panels is actually quite remarkable and not the real barrier to clean power. Read more »
The military: where the future of cleantech lies
The future of cleantech may depend more on the work of our military than climate change talks. The Pew Charitable Trusts released a report on Wednesday that showed the U.S. Defense Department’s cleantech investment ballooned 300 percent between 2006 and 2009 to reach $1.2 billion. Read more »
Solyndra’s hearing: Introducing DOE Loan Chief Jonathan Silver
While DOE Loan Chief Jonathan Silver will testify before the House Energy Committee, Solyndra’s execs have decided to skip tomorrow’s hearing, and say they’ll testify the week of September 19th. We’ve interviewed Silver many times, particularly on Solyndra, including via this video in April 2011: Read more »
The Googlization of solar
The Googlization of solar is here, and software, big data, wireless networks and IT will be a fundamental part of the future of modern energy infrastructure. Read more »
And now for the details: Solyndra files for bankruptcy
As expected, beleaguered solar startup Solyndra has officially filed for bankruptcy. The company’s rise and fall has turned into the clean power controversy of the summer and increasingly ugly details continue to emerge. Read more »
Subscriber Content
Solyndra and the future of cleantech investing
When all was said and done, solar panel maker Solyndra raised over a billion dollars, making it No. 2 on the list of companies that have raised the most equity, according to a 2010 list from Dow Jones VentureWire. But unlike Facebook or MetroPCS, two other names on ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The under-the-radar hot solar markets for investors
Looking at the internal rates of returns (IRR), which basically considers the capital investment needed and determines how profitable an investment in a project will be, the top solar markets of tomorrow, according to Lux Research, will be: New Jersey, Portugal, Australia, Italy, and India. Read more »
How Apple could revolutionize solar
If Apple launched one of its gadgets with embedded solar cells, it could revolutionize the market for solar. Read more »
Reader feedback: the impact of Solyndra’s fall
In light of solar startup Solyndra’s announcement this week that the company plans to file for bankruptcy, we decided to turn to our readers to hear about what you think are the most important impacts and lessons learned. We got some very interesting feedback. Read more »
Subscriber Content
Flash analysis: lessons from Solyndra’s fall
Solar technology startup Solyndra, which has raised more than $1.5 billion in private and government funds, has suspended manufacturing and laid off 1,100 full-time and temporary employees. We conducted a survey and asked GigaOM readers for their views on the fallout of Solyndra’s decision to file for bankruptcy and what the future holds for the company. This research examines the survey’s results. It also includes an analysis of Solyndra’s struggles over the past two years to move into mass production, and to do it amidst difficult and volatile economic conditions. Companies mentioned in this report include Evergreen Solar, First Solar and SpectraWatt. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Clean Power Finance raises $19M from Kleiner, Google VC
Clean Power Finance, a solar software and financing startup, has raised $19 million from investors, according to a filing. Investors listed on the company’s filing include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Partner Ben Kortlang, and Claremont Creek’s Nat Goldhaber. Read more »
PHOTOS: Solyndra, a walk down memory lane
For the past four years I’ve been covering solar company Solyndra’s events, including its ground-breaking ceremony, and a more recent factory tour. Here are some of my photos from the past few years. Read more »
Solyndra is a black eye for the DOE’s clean power support
Solyndra’s bankruptcy is the worst outcome possible for a company that the DOE has touted as a game-changer and which received an unusual amount of government support and attention. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the nail in the coffin for the loan guarantee program. Read more »
