SolarCity started off as an installer of small solar electric systems on residential and commercial rooftops. It’s since moved into new lines of businesses, including the construction of solar farms for utilities. Read more »
While the massive blackouts in India are focusing attention on the opportunities for clean power in India, the country already has many solar projects under way. Here are some of the most notable and promising efforts. Read more »
The path to winning over solar customers is through integrating data. San Francisco startup Genability began knitting together a collection of complex electric rates from utilities across the country, and its customers use the data to show how much could be saved by going solar. Read more »
Clean technologies are ready for investments. Are the traditional investors in VC and project finance willing to change their approach? Read more »
Many of India’s solar projects are being connected to the grid to generate power for cities. But some companies are looking to build businesses off of solar for off-grid rural India, including solar developer SunEdison, which announced a new rural solar project in India on Wednesday. Read more »
India is testing out an idea that marries solar panels with irrigation canals and conserves land and water. Read more »
Two opposing reports were just published, each supporting solar. Which one should we listen to? Read more »
The Indian state of Gujarat — a hot bed of solar power development over the past year — will throw a big party on Thursday to celebrate the commissioning of 600 MW of solar energy projects over just one year. 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 »
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. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
“It’s year one for solar in India,” says Alan Rosling, the chairman and executive director of Kiran Energy, a solar developer startup based in Mumbai. Kiran Energy has 75 MW’s worth of solar contracts; that makes it the largest solar-specific player in India. Read more »
A complaint accusing Chinese solar cell and module manufacturers of flooding the U.S. market with unfairly low-priced goods cleared a hurdle to move forward Friday with a 6-0 vote by the U.S. International Trade Commission. Read more »
Clean power giant NRG Energy has mostly been building a solar empire based on large centralized solar farms, but it’s keenly interested in the distributed solar market. That explains the company’s announcement that it has bought a project developer Solar Power Partners. Read more »
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 »
Jigar Shah talks about how the incumbent energy companies — utilities and power producers — can’t change the energy ecosystem because of economics and regulations. It’s up to the entrepreneurs, he says. Read more »
My organization, The Carbon War Room, has put together a consortium to tackle, as was reported this week: “one of the nation’s biggest energy problems — waste in older buildings — without new money from Washington.” 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 »
Banks are willing to invest in putting solar panels on rooftops, but not surprisingly, are only willing to back established project developers. The latest example is Rabobank’s $50 million construction loan to SunEdison. Read more »
Intermittent solar power systems could cause lots of grid instability, unless utilities can communicate with them in some kind of common language using a set of common commands. Here’s a list of those top commands, and how they may emerge as industry standards. Read more »
SunEdison said Friday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with a provincial government in South Korea to install 400 megawatts of solar panels, a sizable project considering the country’s market shrank dramatically following a cut in incentives. Read more »
