Rise & Shine: February 11, 2009
The Rise & Shine is your daily source for all solar-industry news. Brought to you by Sweet Solar Home and the Experts at SunRun.
CALIFORNIA NEWS
Create Your Own Green Job
Enter SunRun. For a very small fee up front, I could supply my home with all the power I need, even sell some back to Edison so I could use it at night. I wouldn’t have to finance $40k or more and if I watched day time consumption I could end up with a zero Edison bill.
Measure B: Solar Savior or Shady Politics?
Sarah Leonard and Jack Humphreville debate the proposed L.A. solar program on the March 3 ballot.
Yucaipa City Council Backs Off Solar Requirement Proposal
City officials want homebuilders to more aggressively harness the sun’s energy. But the Yucaipa City Council on Monday evening stopped short of requiring photovoltaic solar energy systems on the roofs of all new homes built in the city.
Another Big Solar Deal in the Works for SCE
Southern California Edison plans to announce what its calling the worlds largest solar deal this morning, but details are scarce. There are a couple of ways this could go.
Customer Service Ranks High in the Solar Game
Despite the economic crisis the country faces, So-Cal Solar continues to thrive and flourish, not just solely on their dedication and commitment to outstanding customer service, but by going beyond and creating personal connections with their clients.
NATIONAL NEWS
N.M. City Considers Solar Installations
The city government of Las Cruces, N.M., has hired Consolidated Solar Technologies of Albuquerque to study the feasibility of installing solar arrays on three new municipal properties.
Solar Company Starting Up in Roswell
A company that works in thin-film solar alternative energy technology has occupied a Roswell warehouse and plans to begin production within three months. Berken Solar makes solar panels from wafer-thin sheets of plastic and metal.
Applied Materials: No New Solar Contracts Expected
The solar factory equipment maker said some of its thin-film customers are having trouble lining up money to build their production facilities. The company expects to layoff roughly 200 more than previously anticipated.
Solar Energy Confabs Set
The Solar Energy Industries Association is so convinced that the mid-Atlantic region is going to become a hotbed for solar power generation that it’s holding its first conference focused solely on photovoltaic technology in Philadelphia.
FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS
Yingli Green Energy Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008 Results
Total net revenues were RMB 1,761.2 million (US$258.1 million) in the fourth quarter of 2008, a decrease of 20.3% from RMB 2,209.8 million in the third quarter of 2008 and an increase of 21.2% from RMB 1,453.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Sierra Solar Snags $40M for Cheaper Thin Film
The Fremont, Calif. company achieves its cost-effective prices by manufacturing its products in China. On the use side, Sierras cells are reportedly 16 to 17 percent efficient (the average is 15 percent for thin-film modules), and it sells excess power back to local utilities.
MARKETS & MARKET RESEARCH
Solar Shakeout Less Likely to Hit Wafer, Silicon
Solar energy companies which operate further away from end-customers — such as wafer and silicon producers — are likely to fare better during a looming shakeout in the sector than their cell and module-making peers.
The United States Has Some of the Best Untapped Solar Resources in the World
After the Southwest, the Southeastern United States boasts some of the best solar resources in the country. North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia have solar resources 60 percent better than Germany and are home to hundreds of companies that manufacture and install solar energy equipment.
Act Now to Harness The Sun and The Winds
According to Oxford Intelligence’s “Renewable Energies 2008″, a study of top executives in Renewable Energy companies worldwide and their plans for international development over the next 2-5 years, government policy remains the major motor for the successful implementation of international strategies.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
US Senate Passes Stimulus Package with Renewable Energy Provisions
President Rhone Resch noted that the SEIA is pushing House and Senate leaders to preserve a number of provisions directly related to solar.
Labor Organizers Focus on Renewable Energy Jobs
At the heart of the economic stimulus package making its way through Congress is the creation of jobs in renewable energy and other environmentally friendly services. But a new report released by labor organizers and environmentalists warns that those jobs must be more than green.
TECHNOLOGY
PV Powered Enhances Solar Inverter Line With Disconnect, Wire Raceway
Grid-tied solar inverter manufacturer PV Powered Inc. has incorporated a new installer-friendly feature into its line of residential inverters: a single-knob AC/DC disconnect with a wire raceway.
Luna Innovations Research on Solar cell Technology is Published in Nature Materials
Research shows promise for organic photovoltaic solar cells as alternative energy source.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Scheuten Solar to Construct 2 MW PV System
Scheuten Solar and GreenFever, the initiator of Zonnepark Veurne has signed a turn key delivery and operations & maintenance contract for the 5 hectare free field PV Power Plant in Belgium.
Sanyo Says it Will Build New Solar cell Plant
Sanyo Electric Co. said Tuesday it plans to build a new solar cell plant in Japan, as it aims to double its production of the technology to meet growing demand for clean energy.
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