A new means of transport needs a new name. ELF is a “ velomobile” , a combination of bicycle and automobile powered with solar energy and good old pedaling force is raising funds via KickStarter. At the time of writing the project had raised US$26,397 out of the targeted US$100,000. The deadline is January 13. (more…)

The growth of the solar industry may soon face the reality of not having enough skilled workers to satisfy demand, suggests a recent report by The Solar Foundation and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). Despite a dragging economy overall, installed solar capacity has increased dramatically in the past few years. In (more…)

William Nelson of Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and Brad Browery of SRECTrade know Solar Renewable Energy (SREC) Markets like the back of their hands. Maybe better. They joined us for the latest edition of our Get Some Sun webinar series to offer their insights on the diverse and often complex nature of SREC markets. (more…)

A KickStarter project shows how solar panel factories could become a feature of any neighborhood, producing cheap solar panels for an age when these would become truly mass consumption items.

Devised by inventors Shayne Frayne and Alex Hornstein, the duo has come up with a concept called “solar pocket factory” to produce cheaper (more…)

One of solar’s many benefits is that it can deliver power when and where it’s needed most. At scale, that means solar reduces the need for expensive peak power generation, decreases electricity losses in transmission and distribution systems, and lessens the strain on the grid – good cost-saving measures for all ratepayers, not just those who have gone (more…)

There is something undeniably appealing about having solar panels installed on your roof. They bring a sense of modernism, of independence and of environmentalism. The decision to go solar is an exciting one, but it should be done with the foresight of the pitfalls that others have made before you. If you go about the process correctly, (more…)

Amid the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Sandy, we’re glad to share some good news from New York . . .

The Empire State is at it again, making moves towards ensuring that solar energy is a significant part of its energy landscape. Having increased the state’s commitment to solar development with the NY-Sun Initiative in early 2012, Governor Cuomo (more…)

Bill Powers, of Solar Done Right, tells Business Week in a timely article about the political hitches holding solar back in the U.S., that “economically and technologically, the game is over. The hang-ups in the U.S. are strictly political,” he said. Oil and gas still dominate the agenda of the political debate and alternative energy is treated with a certain indifference. (more…)

Okay, so you’ve got some equipment, you’ve got some know-how and you are ready to get out there and become a solar installer. Sounds easy enough, I mean everyone is talking about it, right? Well yes, but before you start going onto people’s roofs and drawing high-voltage DC electricity from the sun, you should know the common mistakes that others (many (more…)

While at most conferences on solar energy, people talk about the BoS (Balance of System), at the SOCAP 12 conference held last week in San Francisco, it was all about the lessons learned from the BoP (Bottom of the Pyramid)—or the world’s largest, poorest demographic. That’s not only because the many renewable energy businesses working in developing (more…)