The Sierra Club and the Center for American Progress (CAP) have launched a new video series, “Harnessing the Sun to Keep the Lights on in India”. The series documents the health, economic, and environmental benefits to local communities living in Uttar Pradesh, India, a rural, low-income, off-the-electric-grid region that is rapidly becoming a hotbed of solar activity. The film provides …
DNV GL Identify Solar Module Quality Leaders
DNV GL has released its new PV Module Reliability Scorecard 2014, that found that nearly 2/3 of the cumulative 130 gigawatts of installed solar photovoltaic modules in the world were produced in the last three years. This period marked record module price reductions as well as module manufacturers’ aggressive cost reductions. This cost reduction, finds the Scorecard, has led to …
Iowa Supreme Court Rules for Solar
In a setback to the regulated utility model, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that a power purchase agreement (PPA) between the city of Dubuque and Eagle Point Solar does not violate state law. Regulated utility companies had fought the arrangement, claiming to have exclusive rights to sell to customers in their service areas. On Friday, July 11, 2014 Iowa’s …
UCR Helps Solar Energy Get a Boost
A recent article published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters by University of California, Riverside (UCR) chemists looks at the research focused on “singlet fission,” a process in which a single photon generates a pair of excited states. This 1->2 conversion process has the potential to boost solar cell efficiency as much as 30 percent. In addition to improving …
Dominion Virginia Power Dedicates ODU Solar Project
Norfolk, Virginia-based Old Dominion University (ODU) is the recipient of the first solar roof installation in the Hampton Roads area. Dominion Virginia Power dedicated the solar project located on ODU’s Student Recreation Center. Last May, Dominion selected the university to be one of the first participants in the company’s Solar Partnership Program under which Dominion builds and operates solar facilities …
Intersolar North America Awards Champion of Change
The first ever Champion of Change award was bestowed upon Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission during Intersolar North America taking place this week. The award was given in conjunction with the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA) for Peevey’s outstanding commitment to supporting renewable energy at the national and international levels. “For three years, the Intersolar …
Solar Power Helping to Power the U.S. Economy
With the U.S. 4th of July holiday celebration just a few days away, IBISWorld has announced the top five industries that have helped to “re-power” the U.S. economy since the recession. The industries are characterized by strong employment growth and increasing revenue, with both trends expected to continue through 2019. The top five industries include: Car and Automobile Manufacturing Solar …
Windiga Energy to Become Indepedent Solar Producer
Burkina Faso, located in Africa, is going solar. Windiga Energy will become the first independent solar energy producer in the country with the signing of an investment support agreement. The company has selected Siemens Energy Smart Generation Solutions to build and operate the 20MW photovoltaic power plant to be located in Zina, in the Mouhoun province. The solar power system …
CGI America Launches Feed-Out Program
The world is about to see the first market-based, fixed-price funding program for solar and renewable technologies through a Feed-Out Program. The program, the brain-child of the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) and Demeter Power Group, has a goal of helping modernize the nation’s power grid with distributed energy. “The Feed-Out Program will bring together independent power producers and …
IESI Selects Solectria SMARTGRID Inverters
Innovative Engineering Solutions has selected Solectria Renewables‘ SMARTGRID Inverters for seven projects in Massachusetts totaling 22 MW. The projects include the Concord Landfill, the Grafton Water District and five commercial sites. Massachusetts has set ambitious solar energy targets since 2001 and met each of the goals early. In April 2007, Governor Deval Patrick announced a goal of 250 MW of …