solar energy
What parts of the world have the best potential for solar energy developments? Desert regions like the Sahara and Death Valley seem like obvious locales, but they’re not the only places on Earth to receive a wealth of sunlight. Scientists and engineers use a measure of “direct normal irradiation”
solar energy
What do we know about solar energy? We know that, despite the popular criticisms leveled against government loans to the occasional failed enterprise (yes, Solyndra), incentives work and price wars can benefit users, even if they’re not always good for solar-energy companies. These factors, among others, help explain why
solar energy
The company name Eight19 doesn’t seem to suggest anything … until you hear the reason its founders called it that: “It takes 8 minutes and 19 seconds for light to reach the earth from the sun.” Aha, solar energy. Not just any kind of solar energy, though, but solar energy
solar energy
Nuke-abandoning Germany is rapidly expanding its already large base of renewable energy, putting it on track to get 10 percent of its power from the sun by 2020. Solar-generated electricity skyrocketed by 60 percent to more than 18 billion kilowatt-hours in 2011, according to the latest figures from the Federal
solar energy
Cash-strapped water utilities in California are turning to solar energy to keep operating in the face of ever-tighter public budgets. Four new solar-power systems with a total capacity of 3.8 megawatts have recently come online in Santa Clarita, Riverside County and the city of Galt. In every case, the
solar energy
Our thoughts today are with the family, friends and co-workers of Amonix CEO Brian Robertson, who passed away Dec. 22 in a plane crash in York County, Pennsylvania. He is survived by his wife and three children. “We are devastated by this tragic accident,” said Vahan Garboushian, Amonix founder, CTO
solar energy
If the US wants to promote the much-vaunted “job creators,” it should do more to help the solar-energy industry grow. That’s the takeaway from The Solar Foundation’s second annual Solar Jobs Census, which finds that, from 2010 to 2011, employment in the US solar industry grew at a
solar energy
Think about the uses solar energy can be put to, and what comes to mind? Solar panels for making electricity, certainly. Solar thermal for heating water. Solar chargers for powering up cellphone and laptop batteries, maybe. But what about using solar energy to help pull more crude out of aging
solar energy
Construction of the US’s largest solar highway project continues to move forward in Oregon. The $10-million “Baldock Solar Highway” is being put up on seven acres of land owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Located behind a highway rest area, the project will be built and operated
solar energy
They’re calling this coming Sunday’s game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Washington Redskins the “Solar Bowl” … and it’s got nothing to do with Arizona’s reputation for hot, sunny weather. Instead, the name refers to the 8,000-odd solar panels that will make their debut at
solar energy
The cost of making silicon-based wafers for solar energy applications could be cut in half, according to a company that’s just won a $150-million loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy (DOE). 1366 Technologies says it could produce 700 to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of silicon-based wafers per
solar energy
MEMC Electronic Materials has completed its acquisition of Fotowatio Renewable Ventures US (FRV US), boosting its portfolio of US-based solar energy projects up to as much as 1.4 gigawatts (GW), once a number of projects in development are finished. MEMC, together with its solar energy subsidiary SunEdison, purchased the