The Man With The Golden Sun…A New Solar Bond

Posted on September 21, 2011 by quest

By Ken Paulman: As we mentioned back in June, Environment Minnesota is hosting a video contest to promote its solar power campaign (full disclosure – the contest is funded by RE-AMP, which also funds Midwest Energy News). The group recently announced the finalists, and it appears there’s a ringer in the bunch. This entry, title “The Man with the Golden Sun,” baffled the contest organizers, as it clearly cost much more to produce than the $1,500 first prize. So they contacted the producers.

The video, it turns out, was produced by a team of more than 50 people, led by Steve and Lisa Fait. Lisa Fait works for a solar company in San Francisco, while her husband, Steve (a native Minnesotan), spent ten years working for a variety of film studios, including Industrial Light and Magic (yes, THAT Industrial Light and Magic). Steve currently works at Splice, a Minneapolis production company.

The Man With The Golden Sun

The Faits are living on different coasts (here in Minnesota, we consider the Mississippi River to be one of the coasts) until Lisa can find the right job opportunity to rejoin her husband. Meanwhile, the solar film contest provided them with an opportunity to combine both their passions. Lisa explains:

Pandas and Biofuel

NASA Night Rover Challenge Seeks Solar Solutions

Posted on September 21, 2011 by quest

NASA has selected The Cleantech Open of Redwood, Calif., to manage the agency’s Night Rover Challenge that will culminate in a competition in fall 2012. The event is a new Centennial Challenges prize competition seeking revolutionary energy storage technologies for future space robotic rover missions. NASA is offering a prize purse of $1.5 million to challenge winners.The Night Rover Challenge is to demonstrate solar energy collection and storage systems suitable for rovers to operate through several cycles of daylight and darkness. During daylight, systems can collect photons or thermal energy from the sun. During darkness, the stored energy would be used to move the rover toward a destination and to continue its exploration work.

Mars Needs Moms

“The Cleantech Open runs the world’s largest clean technology business competition and is a proven leader in developing clean technology startup entrepreneurs,” said Larry Cooper, program executive for NASA’s Centennial Challenges Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The team has significant experience in tech entrepreneurship and innovation, and access to expertise in aerospace, making them a great choice to manage the Night Rover challenge. We look forward to the competition and bringing together innovative teams with creative problem-solving ideas.” The objective of the competition is to encourage innovations in energy storage technology and system designs for space operations. In particular, NASA seeks solutions to meet the demands imposed by the daylight and darkness cycle on the moon. Energy innovations stemming from this challenge may be beneficial to broader terrestrial applications, including vehicles and renewable energy generation systems.

The Cleantech Open team is partnering with YouNoodle Inc., a San Francisco-based startup to manage the competition. The Cleantech Open and YouNoodle will begin preparations for the challenge, publishing rules and registering competitors for the competition. NASA’s Centennial Challenges seek unconventional solutions to problems of interest to the agency and the nation. NASA provides the prize purse, but the competitions are managed by non-profit organizations that cover the cost of operations through commercial or private sponsorships. Competitors have included private companies, student groups and independent inventors working outside the traditional aerospace industry. Unlike contracts or grants, prizes are awarded only after solutions are demonstrated successfully.

Push for solar energy to continue says Ken Salazar

Solar Energy Growth In America Outpaces Global Market

Posted on September 20, 2011 by quest

The U.S. solar energy market continued its rapid growth during the second quarter of 2011, according to the latest release of GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association quarterly U.S. Solar Market Insight report. Solar photovoltaics (PV) led the way with 314 megawatts installed across the U.S. in the second quarter, 69 percent more than during the same period last year. “Even in this tough economy the U.S. solar industry continues to be one of the fastest growing in America,” said SEIA president and CEO Rhone Resch. “There are now more than 100,000 Americans working in the solar industry, twice as many as there were in 2009. They work at 5,000 companies – mostly small businesses – across all 50 states.”

The utility and commercial solar market segments grew 37 percent and 22 percent, respectively. The residential PV segment slowed, installing 60 megawatts, a 5.7 percent drop over last quarter. Still, the industry’s overall growth means it is powering the equivalent of 630,000 homes. The industry faces challenges in 2012 that could slow its torrid pace from the past year and a half. “The potential expiration of the 1603 Treasury program, along with current malaise in major markets, such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, threaten to slow growth in 2012,” said Shayle Kann, Managing Director of Solar at GTM Research. “Still, with increasing market diversity and the continued emergence of the utility-scale solar market, we anticipate that the U.S. market share of global installations will triple over the next four years.”

“The dynamic second quarter growth is a result of increased competition in the solar market, competition that drove down the price of solar panels by 30 percent since the beginning of 2010,” added Resch. “This is good news for residential and business customers as solar becomes more affordable every day.”

First Solar Advances Thin Film Solar Technology

JinkoSolar To Sponsor San Francisco 49ers

Posted on September 19, 2011 by quest

The San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) today announced its sponsorship agreement with JinkoSolar, a fast-growing, vertically-integrated solar power product manufacturer. JinkoSolar will serve as the team’s exclusive solar sponsor for the 2011-2012 NFL season. “Our agreement with JinkoSolar is a reflection of the San Francisco 49ers’ dedication to promoting environmentally friendly practices within our facilities and throughout the greater community,” said Paraag Marathe, Chief Operating Officer for the 49ers. “As we look to the future with a new stadium, we plan to incorporate significant green building and design elements, including energy and water conservation measures in addition to the use of clean solar power. As such, we are proud to count such a respected provider of solar energy technologies among our valued network of sponsors.”

Under the terms of the agreement, JinkoSolar will display its signage in a variety of locations within the team’s stadium, Candlestick Park, including the scoreboard, LED message boards and a prominent ribbon panel. JinkoSolar will also have exclusive branding rights to Gate F in Candlestick Park, which will be known as “JinkoSolar Gate” for the duration of the season.

Additional branding opportunities are included for radio and online outlets, with JinkoSolar entitlements during halftime radio broadcasts and commercials, as well as on the team’s website and official Facebook page.“JinkoSolar is dedicated to building strong relationships in the United States through partnerships with customers and distributors – and now, with one of the country’s most esteemed sports teams,” said Arturo Herrero, Chief Marketing Officer for JinkoSolar. “We are honored to align ourselves with an organization that shares both our commitment to sustainability and our high-performance ideology, and we look forward to a successful season all around.”

Al Gore and the battle for climate opinion

Solar Energy Production Shines On Brazil

Posted on September 18, 2011 by quest

GE and MPX, a division of EBX Group have announced an agreement that will double the output of MPX’s first solar power plant in Brazil. The announcement signifies an important step for both MPX and GE in helping provide clean, renewable energy to the people of Brazil and marks GE’s entrance into the Brazilian solar energy market. Currently the plant in Taua, Fortaleza, Ceara state, has 4,680 solar panels capturing sunlight and turning it into 1 megawatt (MW) of clean energy, which MPX estimates is enough to power 1,500 households in the region. With this new expansion, GE will provide an additional 1-MW solar power plant, which includes the company’s thin film panels, Brilliance inverters, transformers and SunIQ monitoring and control system.

“MPX is a pioneer in solar energy in Brazil and has invested in developing solar energy for the medium and long term. Working with GE, we plan to grow our business at this plant to 50 MW,” said Eduardo Karrer, the CEO of MPX. “Today’s announcement with MPX signals our entry into the Brazilian solar industry,” said Marcelo Soares, president and CEO of GE Energy Latin America. “GE is committed to providing innovative solutions for our customers’ challenges, and we look forward to working with MPX in the solar arena.”

Shine On

Approximately 360 kilometers from Fortaleza, MPX Taua is connected to Brazil’s national electrical grid through a local substation. For the second phase, the Taua solar plant has been authorized by the National Electrical Energy Agency (ANEEL) and licensed by the Ceara state Environment Department (SEMACE) to expand its capacity up to 5 MW. The project developed by MPX for the solar power plant is expected to reach 50 MW, and the partnership between GE and MPX is expected to continue with this future expansion.

Listen In: This Week on Sierra Club Radio

SunPower Donates Solar Training To Greenpeace Africa

Posted on September 16, 2011 by quest

The SunPower Foundation, today announced the donation of high efficiency SunPower photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to Greenpeace Africa. The panels will be installed in September by 30 local youth during a two week solar training course in Durban, South Africa, led by Greenpeace. They will learn more about solar PV and other renewable energy technologies as well as complete course modules covering social entrepreneurship and Greenpeace’s Energy (R)evolution report. “Greenpeace Africa is thrilled that the SunPower Foundation has offered to solarize our headquarters and mobile solar showcase units for the upcoming UN climate talks in Durban, both benefitting the people of South Africa,” said Olivia Langhoff, campaigns director for Greenpeace Africa. “This donation provides an impetus for investment and is a demonstration that renewable energy solutions are feasible.”

Once installed, the four high efficiency SunPower solar panels will generate clean energy for two Greenpeace Africa mobile solar showcase units to be displayed at the 17th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNGCCC), being held in Durban, South Africa from November 28 through December 9, 2011. Each unit will utilize solar-powered multi-media technology devices, including televisions, laptops and sound systems, to communicate the growing need for renewable energy solutions while staffers share their knowledge and experience with solar PV.

“With this donation, the SunPower Foundation remains true to its mission – to empower the world’s next generation of solar leaders,” said Doug Richards, SunPower Foundation chairman. “We hope that the Greenpeace Solar Training course will inspire local youth to explore solar technology and create renewable solutions for energy needs in this part of the world and beyond.”Furthering the relationship, the SunPower Foundation has also agreed to solarize the Greenpeace Africa Johannesburg headquarters with a high efficiency SunPower rooftop system later this year.