Solar installer and financier SolarCity announced on Thursday that it plans to raise a $750 million fund to invest in installing solar…
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Why Chile has emerged as a big solar market
It might surprise you to learn that Latin America — including Mexico, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean — was the…
Read MoreA huge floating solar farm will be built on a reservoir in Japan
Japan has been aggressively building solar projects — close to 11 GW in two years — in the wake of the decision…
Read MoreThe booming rooftop solar industry
Remember a few years ago when Solyndra went under, solar manufacturers in Europe were tanking and complaints about China dumping their excess…
Read MoreWhy your utility could go the way of Kodak, Blockbuster — totally disrupted
Down the road, the utility sector could be totally fracked (power joke) if they don't embrace and enable new cleaner, distributed, and digitally-managed technologies for the grid.…
Read MoreWhat 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 MorePodcast: What you really need to know before buying connected devices
This week's podcast stars our gadget reporter, Kevin Tofel, who helps me figure out a few tips for consumers thinking about buying connected devices to build out an internet of things in their homes.…
Read More5 charts that show the massive growth of solar in 2012 [charts]
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 MoreOne month with the Chevy Volt; so far, so very, very good
Has it really been four weeks since we bought a Chevy Volt to supplement our 41 solar panels? Indeed it has and after topping 1,300 miles we're about to fill the gas tank for the very first time. Here's how the initial month of driving went.…
Read MoreWhy 2012 hasn’t been such a bad year for cleantech
Despite a lot of hand wringing this year, various cleantech sectors are on the difficult path to market maturation, and not necessarily in a “crisis."…
Read MoreGoing electric: Adding the 2013 Chevy Volt to a solar-powered home
After a year of using 41 solar panels on our home, we generated more excess electricity than expected. So this past weekend, we drove a 2013 Chevy Volt of the lot and our first impressions are pretty positive, both for the technology and the efficiency.…
Read MoreOne year with solar energy at home: Mostly sunny!
A year ago, we took the solar plunge and installed 41 panels on our back roof. How much did it cost; what's the benefit; would I do it again? Read on for the answers to these questions and more because there's little I'd do differently.…
Read MoreToday in Cleantech
There’s an interesting post from Lloyd Alter that went up earlier this year that’s worth a mention. Alter points out that DC…
Read MoreToday in Cleantech
The reactions to the Commerce Department’s slapping of a 31 percent import tariff on major Chinese solar panel manufacturers ranged from Li…
Read MoreThe details of Google’s solar thermal research
After a couple of years under development, Google has shut down its project to design its own solar mirrors for a centralized solar thermal farm. Now it's the job of researchers and solar execs to see if there's anything to use from Google's solar research.…
Read More5 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 MoreAn exercise in galactic-scale energy
Follow physics professor Tom Murphy on an exercise in galactic energy that points out the absurdity that results from the assumption that we can continue growing our consumption of energy forever.…
Read MoreSurvey: Weigh in on the impact of Solyndra’s bankruptcy
This week Solyndra announced plans to file for bankruptcy and said it will lay off 1,100 employees. How will the event impact the larger cleantech industry, greentech startup funding and the solar sector as a whole? We ask you to weigh in.…
Read MoreSolar crunch: Solon to close U.S. factory
Low solar prices and global competition continue to rock solar manufacturers. On the heels of Evergreen Solar filing for bankruptcy on Monday, on Tuesday, German solar maker Solon announced that it will shutter a Tucson panel factory and cut 60 jobs.…
Read MoreSolar maker Evergreen Solar files for bankruptcy
It's not a startup, but it's the latest member of the cleantech graveyard. On Monday, Evergreen Solar filed for Chapter 11 and announced it will be selling its assets, laying off 65 people and suspending operation of its Midland, Mich. filament factory.…
Read MoreWhy we need a Kelley Blue Book for solar
More solar panels are sprouting from the rooftops these days, along with an increasing number of equipment models and installers. Yet there is no good consumer guide to help people compare shop and avoid scams. The time has come to create one.…
Read MoreToday in Cleantech
More bad news for China’s solar sector this morning, as LDK Solar becomes the latest Chinese solar equipment maker to replace a…
Read MoreThe Groupon for solar looks nationwide
A startup offering Groupon-style group discounts for solar panel roof installations is now looking to connect with potential solar customers nationwide.…
Read MoreTurning a building into a solar honeycomb
Fusing solar technology with buildings is an area that tends to invite creative ideas. An intriguing design caught our attention at Intersolar in San Francisco this week: It’s a solar panel with a honeycomb structure that replaces the glass facades of a building.…
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