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Solar Energy
SolarEdge named to Fast Company magazine list of Top 10 Innovative Energy Companies
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Fast Company magazine has selected SolarEdge Technologies, as one of the World's Top 10 Innovative Energy Companies for 2010.The Distributed Solar Power Harvesting and PV Monitoring Solutions provider was singled out for the innovative ways it can boost photovoltaic solar panel system output through their multi-string solar inverters they call PowerBoxes.The PowerBoxes, which optimize solar energy modules through unique solar monitoring software, can make solar installations up to 25 percent mor
Solar Energy
Enphase Energy wins award from Renewable Energy World magazine
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Renewable Energy World magazine has singled out Enphase Energy, a Northern California solar energy microinverter systems production company, for its innovation in the field with its products.The four-year-old company was singled out for its creation of the Enphase Microinverter System, the only such system that is available commercially. The system helps to improve the economic model that is currently attached to solar energy use, using microinverters and web-based monitoring to usher in "a
Solar Energy
New solar plant in Colorado to be financed by MetLife and John Hancock Finance
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
SunPower Corp. has found some serious investors for a new photovoltaic power plant being built for Xcel Energy in Colorado, as MetLife and John Hancock Financial Services have come forward as financiers and third-party owners for the project.The solar energy plant, which will serve the state's Alamosa County, will be the largest solar energy plant in Colorado and generate 19 megawatts of power. The plant will utilize SunPower's T20 Tracker systems that tilt solar panels to move with the sun as i
Solar Energy
Rockland, Massachusetts Grade School Follows in Steps of High School, Installs Solar
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
In Rockland, Massachusetts, where the only high school already has its full complement of solar photovoltaic panels, a $150,000 federal grant from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will now allow one of Rockland’s four elementary schools to also install a solar energy system.The solar panels are destined for the roof of the R. Steward Esten Elementary School, or Esten School, at 733 Summer Street on the southeast side of the city.There will, according to school energy commit
Solar Business
Morris County Improvement Authority to Install $22.3 Million in Solar Power
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The most remarkable thing about the 3.2-megawatt solar project in Morris County, New Jersey is not the solar financing offered through the recently formed (2002) Morris County Improvement Authority (MCIA) via low-interest bonds (guaranteed by the county), nor is it the 19 schools, local government buildings and recreational facilities that will benefit by having solar installed at their locations.It may not even be the fact that the Morris County Improvement Authority, which received the evaluat
Solar Business
Nevada Fire Station Looking to Solar Power
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Sparks, Nevada officials are funding two solar arrays on area fire stations with money left over from a former city solar project, and the expectation that the NV Energy SolarGenerations program will pay for the balance. NV Energy was formed in 2008 by the merger of Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power.The fire stations, one on Disc Drive and the other on Vista Boulevard, will receive ground-mounted solar systems costing $349,152, but none of the money will reportedly come from the city’s shrin
Green Energy
Why Vetting Your Solar Contractor is Important
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Last fall, Ventura County, California resident Greti Croft mortgaged her home to install solar panels on the apartment building she owns in order to help low-income senior residents stretch their meager budgets.For Croft, the solar installation at the Peppertree Court Apartments was meant to save residents about $40 a month on electricity costs – or just enough to make needed medications affordable on Social Security Part A.The cost, according to the solar contractor Croft chose, was $276,000. T
Solar Energy
Satcon to provide solar products to Czech Republic plants
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Satcon Technology Corporation has announced that it will provide a number of solar energy products to power 15 solar energy power plants in the Czech Republic.The 33 Powergate Plus solar photovoltaic inverters will be provided to Energy 21, a European private power utilities company, to deliver approximately 30.5 megawatts of solar power through the power plants. Satcon will also provide 13 one-megawatt CE inverters, four 250-kilowatt inverters, and more than 600 smart subcombiners as part of th
Solar Business
Global Solar Energy achieves 13.2 percent efficiency with thin film solar cells
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
A leading photovoltaic cell and module producer has confirmed a notable achievement in efficiency regarding one of its thin-film cells used for the creation of solar panels.Global Solar Energy announced this week that the U.S. Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Laboratory has confirmed that a module using the company’s production-line thin film solar material achieved 13.2 percent aperture area efficiency.With the confirmation in hand, GSE can now call itself the first manufacture
Solar Energy
Real Goods Solar completes 790kW solar energy project in California
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The completion of a new solar energy system for the residents of Richmond Village, California will be unveiled next week in a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of a larger solar energy project across the state.The 417-kilowatt solar electric system, which was the result of a partnership between Sunwheel Energy Partners and Solar Richmond, will bring new green jobs along with solar energy and reduced costs to residents of the town. The installation also marks the completion of an
Green Energy
Kohl?s to bring stores up to LEED standards
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
In an attempt to become more environmentally conscious in their everyday operations, Kohl’s Department Stores has taken a number of steps to make their stores greener and more efficient.As part of a partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, Kohl’s will open a new store in Queens, New York’s Rego Park area that will be its first to be built according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards for retail stores.Among the green features the new store will feat
Solar Energy
U.S. Dept. of Energy commits $1.3 billion to California solar thermal power project
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The U.S. Department of Energy has committed to providing $1.37 billion in loan guarantees to BrightSource Energy Inc. to finance the creation of California's first large-scale commercial solar thermal power planet in nearly 20 years.The loan guarantee, which was developed under a DOE program started in 2005 under the Energy Policy Act, will provide funding to complete the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. The project will be located in Southeastern California and provide approximately 40
Solar Energy
New solar energy program to offer discounted renewable energy to Texas residents
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
A new solar energy program being introduced for homeowners in North Texas is attempting to spur the use of solar power throughout the state by offering it at monthly prices equivalent to a cell phone bill.Energy provider TXU Energy has announced a new cooperative effort with SolarCity, a solar financing, design, and installation service, which will provide a discounted solar energy service to customers.The program will consist of a solar lease option that will cover the installation, monitoring,
Solar Energy
Suntech provides solar panels for 'net-zero" home in Vancouver during Winter Olympics
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Suntech provides solar panels for 'net-zero" home in Vancouver during Winter OlympicsWith the world spotlight focused on Vancouver, British Columbia for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Suntech Power Holdings Co. has utilized the attention to show off its ability to use solar panels to create ultra efficient "net-zero" homes.The 2,200-square-foot "net-zero home" will utilize the company's Just Roof crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar roofing panels that will generate 6
Solar Business
Chevron to construct solar energy plant on Questa, New Mexico mining facility
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The Chevron Corporation has announced that it will be constructing a new photovoltaic solar panel facility on the site of one of its molybdenum mines in Questa, New Mexico.The solar energy facility will consist of approximately 175 solar panels spread across 20 acres of land, making it the largest concentrating solar photovoltaic installation in the country. Energy created by the facility will be sold to the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative as part of a separate power purchase agreement."Loc
Solar Energy
Pennsylvania Potato Grower, Producer to Use Solar to Cut Costs
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Keith Masser, a seventh generation potato farmer, is no dummy. A graduate of Penn State with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering, Masser always has his eye on the bottom line. This includes not only the best, most productive, and most wholesome ways to grow the humble but essential potato, but ways to get it to market, in all its myriad forms, at a cost that remains competitive with other potato producers.For Masser, who is both president of Keystone Potato Products and president/C
Solar Policy
EPA Targets Former Brownfields for Solar Energy
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, announced its continuing commitment to develop renewable technologies like solar energy on contaminated, or “brownfield”, sites around the nation.The lands in question, which include current and former Superfund sites, brownfields, and former landfill or mining sites, are ideal uses for land that doesn’t qualify for development as housing, retail, corporate or open space. That is, the land is cleaned up, or remediated, sufficiently to allow peopl
Solar Business
Axion Power International receives state grant to incorporate PbC batteries into solar energy systems
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Axion Power International Inc., a leading advanced lead-carbon PbC battery manufacturer, has been awarded a state grant to lend its technology towards the creation of a new renewable solar energy system.The grant, which was awarded by the Solar Energy Program of Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Financing Authority, will total $300,000 and will allow Axion to use its PbC PowerCube battery technology in a system that uses renewable energy. After creating energy via the sun or wind, the batteries will b
Solar Energy
Confirmed Clear Skies Solar projects for 2010 already create half a megawatt of solar energy
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Clear Skies Solar has announced that it will be undertaking two significant renewable energy projects that will install more than 500 combined kilowatt hours of solar energy.On Tuesday, the renewable energy solutions company announced that it would be installing a 324 kW solar energy project at a ShopRite building located at Metro Park in New Jersey. The project will be financed by the New York City-based G&S Investors.The announcement comes soon after the announcement of their first project
Solar Energy
Salfex Solar Encapsulants introduces new products to assist in creation of solar modules
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Salfex Solar, a subsidiary of Solutia, has announced the creation of a new solar panel encapsulant that will improve processing costs for manufacturers of solar modules.The Salfex PG41, which is classified as a new "thin gauge encapsulant," will utilize a technology that creates micro-channels that make the vacuum lamination encapsulation process that is necessary in the creation of some solar modules more efficient and quick. The product is only the latest encapsulant to be released b
Solar Business
Portland-Based Tanner Creek Energy Installs Solar at Northwoods Nursery
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
On Feb. 17, Tanner Creek Energy, which develops commercial scale renewable energy systems, completed its installation of a 12.6-kilowatt solar system at the Northwoods Nursery, a 66-acre wholesale landscape nursery and greenhouse operation in Molalla, about 30 miles south of Portland.It is not the first “green” initiative Northwoods Nursery/One Green World has engaged in. In addition to Salmon-Safe certification, earned by instituting a variety of sustainable agricultural practices to protect wa
Solar Policy
Western Colorado Utility Holy Cross Energy Cuts Solar Incentive
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
In what might be considered a sign of the times – albeit a little too soon for solar energy supporters, who see most of the heavy lifting still ahead – Colorado electric utility Holy Cross Energy’s board of directors recently voted to reduce the solar rebate from $2 to $1.50 per watt. The rationale behind the reduction? The Colorado Governor’s Energy Office, or GEO, will begin offering rebates of up to $3 per watt in March of this year, less local utility offerings, so the Holy Cross board figur
Solar Energy
Massachusetts School Aims at 38-Kilowatt Solar Power System
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Thanks to 97 renewable energy projects announced by Massachusetts’ Governor Deval Patrick on Feb. 17, Drury High School in North Adams will be getting a 38-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array that school officials expect will save $5,000 in electricity costs and prevent more than 39,631 pounds of carbon emissions from being generated by regional electric utility National Grid.National Grid, one of the largest U.S. utilities, operating through about 11 subsidiaries, has an electricity generating pr
Solar Business
WMECO Selects Pittsfield as First Megawatt Solar Site
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, at the far western edge of the state of Massachusetts, doesn’t appear to have a lot to recommend it for cutting-edge technology other than its designation as the Berkshire County seat (and the fact that it is the largest city in that county).Until you consider the fact that, in 2008, Country Home Magazine ranked it No. 24 on a list of “green” cities east of the Mississippi.That green profile is about to become hugely more relevant with the Wednesday announcement by reg
Green Energy
Refill Energy acquires Utah-based Green N-energy
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Refill Energy Inc., a Nevada-based green energy company specializing in downdraft gasification technologies, has announced the acquisition of the Salt Lake City-based Green N-ergy Corporation to further its renewable energy initiatives.Using its gasification technologies, Refill can create 100 percent renewable and green energy through the conversion of carbon-based feedstock, solid waste, coal, sewage, agricultural waste or carcasses into electricity, steam, ethanol, fuels, chemicals or hydroge
Solar Energy
Natcore to bring anti-reflective film production to China with new company
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Natcore to bring anti-reflective film production to China with new companyNatcore Technology Inc. has entered into an agreement that will allow them to open a China-based exclusive manufacturer/seller of their solar energy products.Through a letter of intent that was recently signed with the China-based Zhuzhou Industrial Development Zone, Natcore Technologies will form Natcore China to manufacture anti-reflective growth equipment and materials. The company will initially be funded through a $3
Green Energy
BioStorage building in Germany to run on 100 percent renewable energy
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Indianapolis-based BioStorage Technologies has announced that an 18,000-square-foot full-service biorepository near Frankfurt, Germany has received its green certification from sustainable energy supplier ENTEGA Vertrieb GmbH & Co and will run on 100 percent renewable energy.BioStorage - which provides long- and -short-term biometrics storage, sample management, and cold chain logistics - will have its German biorepository use an estimated 360,000 kilowatt hours of renewable energy annually.
Solar Energy
Honeywell installs solar energy systems in Wilmington, Delaware
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Honeywell International has announced that it is installing two solar energy systems in Wilmington, Delaware that were funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.The two projects - which were installed at the Porter Reservoir Filtration Plant and the Public Works Yard and Municipal Complex - will use approximately 3,400 solar panels and reduce electrical consumption in the town by 2.8 million kilowatt hours annually, or enough electricity to power more than 260 homes. The installations
Solar Energy
Is 1960s technology the Future of Solar?
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Writing in the journal Nature Materials, materials scientists Michael Kelzenberg and Harry Atwater from Caltech discuss vertical silicon strings, or wires (“like blades of grass”), that could eventually work as cheap and highly effective solar collectors to generate electricity.The original article, though almost incomprehensible to a layman, suggests that these Si (silicone) wire arrays are a promising architecture for solar-energy harvesting in that they are able to absorb sunlight over a wide
Solar Policy
First Native American Tribe Gets $250,000 Grant for Solar Power
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The Delaware Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans whose official reservation is in Oklahoma, recently received $250,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to install a building integrated solar photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing system at the tribe’s governmental building.The Delaware Nation – one of only 87 applicants for the funding, and the only Native American tribe chosen – wrote the grant application under the auspices of its Going Green Initiative, which aspires toward
Green Energy
Pennsylvania stimulus money used to create jobs and green energy sources
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
More than 350 employees in Pennsylvania will once again have a job because of a new set of grants announced on Thursday by Governor Edward Rendell that will create three solar wind farms across the state. During a visit to the Gamesa Wind USA plant, Rendell announced that $22.8 million in grants through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act had been approved through the Green Energy Works! wind grant program, which will retain or create 387 jobs. Almost 130 of those jobs will be for the Gam
Solar Energy
Recurrent Energy awarded for its innovation in Fast Company magazine
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Solar energy producer Recurrent Energy has been named as one of the Most Innovative Companies in the world for its work with solar power stations, according to Fast Company magazine. The San Francisco-based energy company was named in Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies issue, which is on newsstands now, because of the work they have done with solar power installations from 2-20 megawatts in size that are built in or close to cities. The magazine specifically noted Reccurent's recent 5 MW r
Green Energy
Southern Nevada College May Use Solar Power to Halve Operating Costs
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
In the Las Vegas Valley of Nevada, where solar insolation values meet or exceed 6.5 – the highest level in the continental U.S. – a college is considering installing a major solar photovoltaic distributed power system across three of its campuses.The College of Southern Nevada (CSN) – which includes a 22-year-old, 80-acre campus at 6375 W. Charleston Blvd. in Las Vegas, as well as a 36-year-old building at 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave. in North Las Vegas, and a 29-year-old building at 700 College Drive
Solar Energy
Florida waste management company commits to going green with solar energy
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The largest independent trash and recycling company in Florida has announced a new attempt to go green as it will power its headquarters with solar energy. Waste Pro USA, which has its headquarters in Longwood, will install a 25 kilowatt solar energy power plant that utilizes photovoltaic solar panel modules on its roof and will be capable of providing 120 kilowatt hours of energy every day. Able to withstand hurricane-force winds of up to 148 mph, the solar system will also be light-sensitive e
Solar Business
Innovalight awarded 'key' patent to manufacture solar cells using silicon ink
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
A solar technology and silicon-based cell manufacturing plant based in California has announced that it has been awarded a patent for its manufacturing of crystalline wafer solar cells using silicon ink.Innovalight Inc was issued U.S. Patent No. 7,615,393 that solidified their process of manufacturing "high efficiency selective emitter solar cells" using silicon inks. The process serves to boost the output capacity of the cells while also reducing costs.Alex Sousa, who served as counse
Solar Energy
Western Massachusetts Electric Company to develop 1.8 megawatt solar energy station
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Massachusetts may soon be seeing an influx of solar energy projects, as a new deal announced Wednesday will provide nearly 2 megawatts of solar power to parts of Western Massachusetts.The Western Massachusetts Electric Company has declared that it will begin development on an eight-acre solar power plant - the combination of a 2-acre business park and 6-acres of utility-owned land - in Pittsfield that will have a solar capacity of 1.8 megawatts. The project will also create a substation that wil
Solar Business
GSA Installs Solar to Kansas City Courthouse for $1.6 Million
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) in 2009 initiated the installation of a solar photovoltaic energy system to the roof of the Robert J. Dole U.S. Courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas.In early January of 2010, the installation was dedicated, with Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS3) joining GSA officials to honor the “green” installation, which consists of a “cool roof” membrane topped by more than 200 solar panels acting together to keep the building cool during warmer weather and generate electr
Solar Energy
Satcon Technology Corp. to develop solar energy installations on Greek island
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Satcon Technology Corporation has been chosen to provide a portion of its solar panel technology to help provide solar energy solutions to an island in Greece.The solar power plants will be constructed by EasyPower S.A., a renewable energy systems management and operations company, and supply 2.5 megawatts of solar energy through the use of Satcon's PowerGate(R) Plus 100 kilowatt solar photovoltaic inverter solutions. The power will be generated through 25 different installations across the isla
Solar Energy
Suntech provides solar panels to 19 remote schools in Lebanon
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The world's largest producer of crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules has supplied almost 20 Lebanese schools with supplies to let them utilize solar energy through the sponsorship of the Country Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Demonstration Project for the Recovery of Lebanon.Suntech Power Holdings provided the solar panels for 19 remote schools in the country that had been working with Asaco General Trade & Contracting, a local renewable energy company. After previously having to
Green Energy
GE Energy Financial Services invests in Oklahoma wind farm
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
GE Energy Financial Services has announced it is making a $65 million investment in the construction of an Oklahoma wind farm capable of generating 152 megawatts of green energy.The CPV Keenan II wind farm in Woodward, Oklahoma will be constructed by the CPV Renewable Energy Company, which is an affiliate of Competitve Power Ventures Inc and will cost an estimated $319 million.GE Energy's $65 million investment, which has an option to increase to $100 based on the commencement of future commerci
Solar Policy
Frederick County Looking at Public/Private Solar Partnership
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Late in January, Frederick County officials drafted a letter to the Maryland Energy Administration expressing its interest in an initiative known as the Sunburst Project.According to Hilari Varnadore, director of the Frederick County Office of Environmental Sustainability, which is pushing the Sunburst Project, the initiative would allow county officials to authorize private companies to install solar systems on the roofs of county buildings, which the companies would then own, leaving the count
Solar Policy
Frederick County, Maryland, Looking at Public/Private Solar Partnership
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Late in January, Frederick County officials drafted a letter to the Maryland Energy Administration expressing its interest in an initiative known as the Sunburst Project.According to Hilari Varnadore, director of the Frederick County Office of Environmental Sustainability, which is pushing the Sunburst Project, the initiative would allow county officials to authorize private companies to install solar systems on the roofs of county buildings, which the companies would then own, leaving the count
Solar Business
Arizona Cab Company Installs 400 Panel Solar Array
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The next time you catch a Discount Cab in Phoenix or Tucson, you can rest assured your taxi is “green” (even if it is red, white, blue or yellow) thanks to a recent installation of $750,000 worth of solar panels.The cash outlay comes from Discount Cab parent company, Total Transit, Inc., and the 400 panels are arranged on top of the roof of its Glendale, Arizona headquarters on Camelback Road. Glendale is a suburb about 10 miles from downtown Phoenix. The panels, each providing 230 watts of powe
Solar Policy
Alabama Focus on Solar Energy
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
This past week, Alabama Governor Bob Riley’s office announced the award of $600,900 in economic stimulus grants to three east Alabama governmental entities to use solar to reduce their electricity costs and the size of their carbon footprints.The largest allocation, of $250,000, to the city of Anniston, will see the installation of 156 solar panels to help provide electricity to the city’s Museum of Natural History. The panels will reportedly save about $4,500 in electricity costs per year, and
Solar Energy
San Diego Diocese to enter into solar energy agreement with Perpetual Energy Systems
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
A number of solar energy companies have joined forces with the Diocese of San Jose to install and activate solar panels on their parishes and school that will generate 70 percent of each site's annual energy needs.Perpetual Energy Systems will lead the solar power purchase agreement, which will include their installation of the solar energy systems with the help of MBL-Energy and Photon Energy Service as well as federal energy tax incentives for funding.The five parish/school locations chosen by
Solar Business
Maryland to encourage job creation through solar panel construction rebates
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Maryland is about to get much greener, as Governor Martin O'Malley is planning on using funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to bring more renewable energy jobs into the state.Project Sunburst, which will be run by the Maryland Energy Administration, will offer rebates topping out at $1,000 for every kilowatt of solar energy that is created through photovoltaic solar panel constructions on public buildings.The project is expected to create 100 jobs in the next year - and up to
Solar Energy
Constellation Energy singled out by AEE for New England projects
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Two Massachusetts-based solar energy projects constructed by Constellation Energy have been singled out by the New England Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers as being the best in the region.One solar energy project singled out by the AEE is currently being constructed in Foxboro at the home of the NFL's New England Patriors. Once completed, the 2,600 solar panel project will produce 525 kilowatts of photovoltaic solar energy, enough to power 30 percent of the Patriot Place retail are
Solar Energy
Ingeteam announces construction of Milwaukee renewable energy component plant
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
A Spain-based electrical equipment and services company has announced it intends to open a new facility in Milwaukee that will specialize in designing renewable energy products such as solar energy stations and wind turbines.Ingeteam Inc., which has its headquarters in Bilbao, Spain and is made up of 28 companies employing more than 3,500 people, intends to begin construction on the project in April so it can be finished by the end of the year. The production facility will be approximately 100,0
Solar Energy
Solar energy market could lead to more jobs in Pennsylvania, says report
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The state of Pennsylvania stands to benefit greatly from a growing solar energy market in the coming years if certain legislation is passed, a new study has found.According to a recent report from the Community Foundation for the Alleghanies that was conducted by energy analysis firm Black & Veatch, the burgeoning solar energy market could add 48,000 jobs to the state of Pennsylvania while also replacing jobs that would be cut from the fossil fuel sector.Additionally, the study found that re
Solar Business
SunPower Corp to acquire U.K.-based SunRay Renewable Energy
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
SunPower Corp. has announced the acquisition of a leading European solar power plant developer and its array of solar energy projects that total more than 1,200 megawatts in power.SunRay Renewable Energy, which currently has offices across Europe and in the Middle East, will be acquired by the San Jose, California-based solar energy company for approximately $277 million in a deal that should be completed by mid-year.Once finalized, SunPower will assume control of SunRay's project pipeline of so
Solar Business
Advanced Energy awarded 5MW solar energy project in San Francisco
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
A Fort Collins, Colorado-based solar energy product manufacturer has been awarded a solar energy project that will include the creation of a solar energy system to power the San Francisco Sunset Reservoir.Advanced Energy Industries, which specializes in the creation of technologies for "high-growth, thin-film manufacturing and solar-power generation," will create a solar power plant capable of generating 5 megawatts of solar energy that will power the reservoir.The project will consist
Solar Energy
Kia introduces concept hybrid vehicle that utilizes solar energy
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Kia is entering the world of green energy with one of its newest plug-in hybrid concept vehicles, which features a range of 746 miles and utilizes solar energy for some of its smaller functions.The Kia Ray, which was debuted Thursday at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, is one of Kia Motors America's first forays into hybrid vehicles that will offer an array of green technologies designed to reduce its carbon footprint compared to more conventional vehicles.In addition to its plug-in capabilities that
Solar Energy
IBM sets record in efficiency with new solar cells
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
IBM has created a new form of solar cell using inexpensive products that can convert sunlight into solar energy with an efficiency that has never been seen before without using more expensive materials.The electronics company announced on Thursday that it has constructed a new solar cell that comprises its entire layer that absorbs light for conversion into energy from readily-available elements - copper, tin, zinc, sulfur, and selenium.Using the inexpensive materials, the new cell can convert s
Green Energy
SEI to build solar power academy in South Carolina to promote statewide job growth
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Solar Energy Initiative has announced that it will be joining forces with a number of organizations to create new projects throughout the state of South Carolina that will showcase solar energy while also creating jobs for the state.Along with the help from state officials as well as the North Eastern Strategic Alliance, the multi-phased project will begin with the construction of a 6,000-square-foot solar academy training center that will eventually be part of a "solar technology campus&qu
Solar Energy
Massachusetts OKs $20 million in funding towards solar energy projects
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The home of the Green Monster is looking to make its energy sources greener as well, as Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has awarded $20 million in stimulus-funded contracts to create solar energy stations at 12 wastewater plants across the state.The funding, which will come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and act as part of Patrick's Massachusetts Recovery Plan, will go to 12 separate contracts that will each install solar energy systems at a public water treatment f
Solar Policy
Atlantic Cape Community College to Save $6.8 Million on Energy Costs with Solar
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Atlantic Cape Community College (ACCC) in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Pepco Energy Services, Inc. for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations at two of its campuses as a result of a meeting of the college’s Board of Trustees on Jan. 26.The installations, at the Mays Landing and Cape May County facilities, will represent a 2.3-megawatt distributed solar array which Pepco will design, own and operate.It will reportedly be one of the largest land-based
Solar Policy
San Bernardino County Supervisors Prefer Solar to Wind Power
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
On Feb. 9, the San Bernardino County (California) Board of Supervisors okayed changes to the county code regarding renewable energy projects like solar, with said changes aimed primarily at expediting the permitting process and instituting tougher regulations.In a 3-1 vote, with one member absent, the supervisors agreed to institute stricter regulations regarding the size and color of wind turbines, and to make it easier for small solar installations (i.e., more than five acres but less than 20)
Solar Energy
Ohio introduces new fund to encourage green energy production while adding employment
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has officially launched a new partnership between various public and private entities to help further the production of storage for fuel, wind, and solar energy while also adding jobs throughout the state.The Ohio Energy Gateway Fund will consist of $40 million in state and federal funding and at least $40 million more through partnerships with private capital resources.Among the organizations that will work together on the fund will be the Ohio Department of Develop
Solar Energy
Retailer donates two solar powered electrical systems to Haiti relief efforts
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
In a display of how renewable green technologies can be used for good, a residential/office supplier has sent $100,000 of solar-powered lights to aid the rescue and recovery effort in Haiti.Aaron's Inc. - which owns and operates more than 1,695 stores across the U.S. and Canada - announced last week through its community outreach program that it had sent two solar-powered electrical systems to Haiti.Spencer Smith, a franchise owner of Aaron's who is heading the donation, said that those in Haiti
Solar Policy
Vermont Introduces, 10 Million Homes With Solar, Bill
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
A joint bill introduced by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Tennessee Representative Steve Cohen, which aims to put solar photovoltaic electrical systems on 10 million American roofs (and 10 million gallons of solar-heated hot water in those same homes from 200,000 solar water heaters), has been introduced.Officially called the 10 Million Solar Roofs and 10 Million Gallons of Solar Water Heating Act of 2010 – a name some are describing as “catchy”– the act is reportedly modeled on some highly
Solar Energy
NJ retailer cuts electrical costs in half through photovoltaic panel installations
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
In an example of just how cost-effective the installations of solar panels can be, a New Jersey-based solar energy company has reduced the monthly electrical costs of a furniture showroom by two-thirds.Arosa Solar Energy, one of the leading photovoltaic panel supplier and installers in the Garden State, recently installed a 41.3 kilowatt solar panel system on the roof of Dina's Interiors & Leather in Lakewood, New Jersey.The solar power system will reduce Dina's electric costs by more than 6
Solar Energy
NYC power company hopes to develop solar energy projects throughout city
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Solar energy may be hitting the bright lights of Broadway.New York City energy provider Con Edison has requested permission from the New York State Public Service Commission to back their development of 25 megawatts of solar energy projects throughout the city in the next five years.In order to get underway with the project, the proposal by Con Edison - which provides electric, gas, and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York - calls for $
Solar Policy
SunRun 4 Free Months of Energy Extended!
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
The SunRun program, which HelioPower offers, enabling homeowners to receive 4 free months of electricity has been extended through the end of February. If you sign up with SunRun through the end of February, your first 4 months of solar electricity are free! If you sign up in March you get 1 month free.With HelioPower, this promotion is available to new customers who reside in California. The specific dollar value of the monthly credit will be equal to the value of an average monthly bill for t
Solar Policy
Knoxville, TN to Install Solar Power at Convention Center
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
Tthe city of Knoxville plans to install a solar photovoltaic energy system to the roof of its convention center.These EECBG grants, authorized in Title V, Subtitle E of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) and signed into Public Law (PL 110-140) on December 19, 2007, were only recently funded thanks to ARRA, which became law in 2009 under President Barack Obama. The total amount funded under the EECBG program, $2.7 billion, provides grants to state and local government, Indian
Solar Energy
Dow Likely to Manufacture Solar Shingles in Michigan
Posted 1 year ago — Read Full Story
In the first week of February, Dow Chemical Co., developer of the revolutionary Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle, said that Midland, Michigan had been designated as the likely site for its new, commercial-scale, solar shingle-making factory.Dow, which announced the development of the solar shingle late last year, also received TIME Magazine’s 2009 award for its product as the one of “The 50 Best Inventions of 2009".The shingle, which integrates low-cost, thin-film CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Sele
Solar Energy
French nuclear power plant acquires U.S-based solar thermal power plant company
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
French-based Areva has announced the full acquisition of California-based solar energy company Ausra as a step towards the nuclear power company's expansion into the concentrated solar power market while also strengthening its renewable energy portfolio.Ausra was initially formed in Mountain View, California in 2006. With offices in the U.S. and Australia, the company had designed, developed, manufactured, and installed Compact Linear Fresnal Reflector solar steam generators. It also constructed
Solar Energy
Petra Solar receives $15 million investment from Craton Equity Partners
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
A clean-technology fund based in California has invested $15 million in solar and smart grid solutions company Petra Solar to continue the development of their unique type of solar panels.The money was invested by Craton Equity Partners as part of a $40 million equity that includes a number of other companies such as Element Partners, BlueRun Ventures, and OnPoint Technologies. The investment will go towards Petra's SunWave UP solar panel system series, which are designed to mount easily on util
Solar Business
AMSOLAR Corporation recognized in The Energy Daily 2010 Leadership Awards
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
Prominent trade publication The Energy Daily named AMSOLAR Corporation as an Honorable Mention for Most Successful Energy Start-up Company in its 2010 Leadership Awards list last week.The recognition was given for the company’s ongoing work with the University of San Diego (USD) to construct the 8th largest solar-power system on a North American college campus.“We’re proud of this achievement, but prouder still of how the award is a reflection of the amazing work that our teams of solar industry
Solar Business
Vibrant, Helios Eye Pueblo, Colorado for Solar Factory
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
Vibrant Solar and its manufacturing partner, Helios Solar, are eyeing Pueblo and several other Southern Colorado cities as potential sites for a new, advanced solar panel factory.Vibrant and Helios are allied by virtue of the fact that four of Helios’ owners are also Vibrant owners, and Vibrant is the only U.S. solar company authorized to sell and install Helios’ patented SunCubes (which are licensed exclusively through Helios in the U.S). These concentrating solar photovoltaic (CPV) modules, ba
Solar Energy
New study finds connection between increased green technologies and job growth in Pennsylvania
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
A new study has found that an increase in wind and solar energy initiatives across the state of Pennsylvania would help the state's unemployment situation while also aiding the environment.The study, released by the Black and Veatch consulting firm, found that increasing the renewable energy requirements in the state's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act could lead to the creation of up to 211,000 new jobs.Pennsylania Governor Edward Rendell approved of the report saying that as the econo
Solar Business
Pittsburgh Turns Coal Into Solar Power
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
The mayor of Pittsburgh says he'd like to put a solar farm on the site of a former coal mine.Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl thinks putting ground-mounted solar photovoltaic panels on a 15-acre abandoned mine site in the Glen Hazel suburb of Pittsburgh will not only restore the land to useful function, but provide electricity for area residents within two miles of the array.The sloped 15-acre site, owned by the Pittsburgh Housing Authority, or PHA, overlooks the Monongahela River. At one time,
Solar Policy
Myrtle Beach Campground Installs Solar Hot Water
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
Ocean Lakes Family Campground, which was awarded the distinguished 2006 Governor’s Cup for its attitude of environmental awareness in introducing its iCare Program, recently installed a solar hot water heater as part of that program to determine the future use of solar hot water heaters in its campgrounds.The single Apricus solar panel is installed on the roof of one of Ocean Lakes’ bathhouses, where it provides hot water for a full dozen shower stalls and sinks.The Apricus solar water heater ab
Solar Energy
Rivermoor Energy announces largest solar project ever undertaken in Boston
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
A government solar projects investment firm located outside of Boston has announced that construction of the largest solar project in the city's history will soon get underway.Rivermoor Energy, which will be part of a consortium teaming up to develop, design and build the project, announced on Thursday that the project would be built on the rooftop of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission headquarters and connect to the NSTAR power grid.The project, which will cost approximately $1.075 million a
Green Energy
Gresham, Oregon, Gets Biggest Solar Field in Pacific Northwest
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
Thanks to the cooperation of REC Solar, a design-build solar firm, and Sun Edison, the nation’s largest distributed solar energy provider, the town of Gresham will soon celebrate the activation of the largest ground-mounted solar power “farm” in the Pacific Northwest.San Luis Obispo, California-based REC Solar, with 13 locations nationwide including Portland, Oregon, was founded in 1997 by Judy Ledford and Fred Sisson. Since 2006, the company has been ranked by the California Energy Commission (
Solar Business
Recurrent Energy to Sell San Bernardino Solar Production to SCE
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
San Francisco, California-based Recurrent Energy recently announced it has signed power purchase agreements, or PPAs, with one of the state’s biggest utilities, Southern California Edison, to buy all the power from three solar power systems Recurrent plans to construct in San Bernardino and Fresno counties.Privately held Recurrent Energy is an independent power producer heavily invested in distributed solar energy projects in the utility-scale range; that is, one megawatt or greater. Recurrent,
Solar Energy
Oregon town days from activating 419 kilowatt solar energy system
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
The city of Gresham, Oregon is only days away from activating a new ground mounted solar power array that will be the largest one to have ever been constructed and put into action in the Pacific Northwest.The solar energy system will be owned and operated by SunEdison, the largest solar energy services provider in North America, meaning that its services will be made available to Gresham taxpayers with no upfront costs. The city will purchase all of the energy used as stated in their contract.Th
Solar Energy
California power provider to purchase 100 percent of power from new solar energy facilities
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
Southern California Edison has agreed to purchase 100 percent of the solar energy from three separate solar projects in the state that will be built and operated by Recurrent Energy.The three projects, which will consist of photovoltaic ground-mounted solar panel power systems, will generate a combined peak output of 50 megawatts of DC power. Two of the projects will be located in the state's Kern County, while the third station will be built in San Bernardino County.The projects will begin cons
Solar Business
World Leading Cement Maker Goes Solar in Colorado
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
The Holcim Portland cement plant near Penrose, Colorado, owned by Swiss-based international cement giant Holcim, is reportedly the first cement plant in the United States to go solar.The item wouldn’t even be news, if not for the fact that cement-making facilities are among the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, second only to power plants and oil refineries. Not only do cement plants produce record amounts of carbon dioxide by burning cheap, high-sulfur coal to heat kilns, but they also e
Solar Energy
Solar Living Institute introduces online capabilities to PV training program
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
Sify Technologies Limited has announced a partnership with the Solar Living Institute to create a brand-new online solar energy training course that teaches consumers and businesses how to install solar panels and which will be eventually available to customers all over the world.The online education and training course, titled PV Design and Installation Training, will initially be developed for U.S. markets before it is eventually translated and localized for various markets in India, China, La
Green Energy
Dayton Power & Light Invests in a 9,000 Solar Panel Sized System
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
Dayton Power & Light, has 1.1 megawatts of solar photovoltaic (PV) power currently under construction on seven acres near its Yankee substation, about 10 miles south of downtown Dayton in Springboro.DP&L, founded in 1911 and operating as a subsidiary of DPL Inc., serves about 515,000 retail electric customers in the area from 3,213 megawatts of generation comprised of 78 percent coal and the balance from natural gas and oil. The addition of even 1.1 megawatts of clean, “green” renewable solar en
Green Energy
Solar Panels Lower Low Income Housing Bills $15 a Month
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
In Eugene, Oregon the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Lane County’s largest humanitarian organization, has facilitated a solar water heater system that will help lower rents at one of the city’s largest, low-income apartment complexes.The systems, fitted to 40 units at the Mary Skinner Apartments, are expected to reduce utility fees by about $15 a month – a paltry amount to most, but to Mary Skinner residents, the potential difference between buying needed monthly medications or milk.The panels cos
Solar Energy
UC Boulder installs nearly 500 solar panels to reduce carbon footprint
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
New solar panels that have been installed on a variety of buildings at the University of Colorado at Boulder will allow the company to reduce its carbon footprint while getting green energy at a discounted price.The solar panels, which were manufactured by Suntech Power and installed by Bella Energy of Louisville, Colorado, were completed in the final months of 2009. The panels will produce 140,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per year, or enough to power approximately 20 medium-sized houses.The pan
Solar Business
Boston Water & Sewer Going Solar Power with $1,075,000 Installation
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
According to recent reports, in the near future the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) building at 980 Harrison Avenue will be taking advantage of clean, renewable solar energy to provide about seven percent of its electricity.Seven percent may seem like a tiny amount, until you consider the size of the water and sewer commission’s new building, or the fact that the utility, established in 1977, serves more than one million residents; that is, 88,000 drinking water ratepayers, and a reside
Solar Business
Sedona Red Rock HS Greens on Solar Power Array
Posted 2 years ago — Read Full Story
Red Rock High School in Sedona, Arizona will soon be getting a 3,600-panel solar array, giving the high school – and the distinctly pro-environmental community that surrounds it – a huge shot of clean, “green” energy.The project, announced by Sedona Unified School District Superintendent Michael Aylstock, outlines a ground-mounted array of solar panels as big as the school’s football field. With a nameplate rating of 820 kilowatts, the solar farm will reportedly be the third largest in the natio

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