“What was that? Did you see that?” – Overheard in NY and CT

If you are New York or Connecticut resident you would be forgiven for feeling a little left out right now. You see, the solar industry grew at a break neck pace in the United States last year. Its something we all believed, but recently had confirmed by a (more…)

Are your solar panels looking a little grimy? No worries, there is now a team of seasoned professionals to do that cleaning for you.

Solar Maid, a one-of-a-kind New Jersey company, first began in 2003 but didn’t receive the boost it needed until 2008, when the solar industry really took off.

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(Reuters) – Germany’s fifth-biggest solar power park emerges as a smudge on the horizon long before you reach it on the outskirts of the small, sleepy village of Eberswalde, an hour’s drive north of Berlin. “In the far distance, you can see it,” Peter Kobbe says, pointing through heavy December snowfall as he steers his Citroen van along an icy road. (more…)

Consider that only one-quarter of residential rooftops are suitable for solar PV and that one-third of Americans are renters who are typically unable to install a solar system on their landlord’s roof. That adds up to a whole lotta energy consumers who simply can’t go solar in the usual way.

New community solar models aim to (more…)

As I have mentioned, the Solar Power International show a few weeks ago was a beehive of activity: 27,000 people busily learning, networking, excitedly establishing new business connections. As Americans, we need to be proud of this industry. Here are a few data points (more…)

If the American public were to have its way, solar energy would be powering the country now.

A new survey commissioned by Schott Solar and carried out nationally by independent polling firm Kelton Research, found that 94 percent of Americans think it is important for the U.S. to develop and use solar energy. (more…)

A market analysis of the U.S. solar industry predicts that nearly 1 gigawatt of added capacity will be installed in 2010, a 114 percent increase from last year. About 314 megawatts were added during the first six months of the year, according to the report by the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade organization. And with a major concentrated solar power project and (more…)

Solar Power International 2010 (SPI 10) has 27,000 registered attendees that are eager to learn what the future holds for the solar industry.

A year ago at SPI 09, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) energetically released the Solar Bill of (more…)

President Obama took the occasion of Independence Day to announce that the federal government will authorize $2 billion of Recovery Act funding to support the solar industry. Administered by the Department of Energy, the funds will target two companies: Abengoa Solar and Abound Solar Manufacturing.

Abengoa – an international solar firm with its roots in Spain—plans to build the world’s largest concentrating solar power plant in Arizona. The company says the facility, dubbed the Solana Project, will produce enough energy to power 70,000 households.  The plant will use thermal storage equipment to parabolically recover energy for a 280 MW output capacity. The administration says the project will create 1,600 construction jobs. (more…)

China is the world’s largest manufacturer of solar photovoltaic panels, providing roughly 40 percent of the global market share in 2008. China’s domestic solar market is on the cusp of a boom thanks to new solar incentives announced this year cutting the cost of purchase and installation by as much as half.

With over 150 attendees, including international senior executives, top-level Chinese government officials, industry experts and leading production and technology directors, the China Solar Energy Technology and Investment Congress organized by Noppen in close co-organization with Huhhot Municipal Government took place on 10-11 December in Huhhot, Inner Mongolia, China. The focus of the event was how to drive down the cost per installed watt and the future growth of the solar energy market in China.

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