solar energy
The US Department of Energy (DOE) will send more than $145 million to dozens of projects across the country focused on speeding up advances in solar energy technologies. Funding will go to 69 projects in 24 states aimed at increasing efficiency, lowering costs and improving materials, manufacturing processes and supply
solar energy
What was planned as the world’s largest solar energy facility will now rely on photovoltaics rather than concentrating solar power to generate electricity. Solar Trust of America says it plans to convert the first 500-megawatt (MW) phase of the Blythe Solar Power Project from concentrated solar power (CSP) to
solar energy
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has inked a 25-year deal to buy 150 megawatts (MW) of renewable power from Sempra Generation’s Copper Mountain Solar complex in Boulder City, Nevada. Photovoltaic solar module producer First Solar will provide the ground-mounted thin film panels for the project, and
solar energy
Construction has started on what’s expected to be one of the largest solar installations in Hawaii, as well as one of the largest solar-powered communities in the US. The Hickam Communities/SolarCity project aims to provide 4 megawatts of power to more than 2,000 military family homes at
solar energy
Insurance group Munich Re and investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) have acquired a 49-percent equity stake in Grupo T-Solar, the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) power generator in Europe. The assets acquired in the deal include 42 PV plants — 34 in Spain and eight in Italy — with a
solar energy
A 2.5-megawatt solar carport is the latest advance in reinsurance giant Munich Re’s quest to make its worldwide operations carbon-neutral by 2012. San Jose-based SunPower will design and build the solar panel system that will go onto a carport structure at Munich Re’s facility in Plainsboro, New
solar energy
GE and Germany’s Gehrlicher Solar plan to build a series of solar power plants around the world. The two companies have already begun construction on one of their first joint projects, a 1-megawatt (MW) solar park in Aschheim, German. Being planned and built by Gehrlicher Solar, the plant will
solar energy
Google and SolarCity have launched a $280 million fund to help bring solar power to residential customers. It’s Google’s largest investment to date in the clean-energy sector, as well as the largest residential solar fund ever created in the US. It’s also the 15th project fund for
solar energy
Large-scale solar energy projects are all well and good, but they shouldn’t be underwritten at the expense of households that want to add solar panels to their rooftops, British officials have decided. The UK’s Department for Energy and Climate Change confirmed today that it will roll out new
solar energy
As part of their strategy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, the US Marines are turning to solar power to provide energy for airfield lighting in Afghanistan. The Marine Corps just signed a contract for a solar hybrid airfield lighting system that’s fast to deploy and wirelessly controlled. The
solar energy
A solar power plant in the Middle East is proving that large-scale sun energy is a viable option in the region … but it’s just a warmup for a much bigger solar plant of a different kind soon to come. Just entering its third year of operation, the 10-megawatt (MW)
solar energy
If you think about it, it’s crazy for us not to try and find every way possible of harnessing energy from the sun. After all, the sun is pretty much the source of every other power source we’ve tapped: wood (try growing a tree without sunlight), oil (brewed