Topaz Solar Farms The Worlds Largest To Date

Posted on May 21, 2012 by quest

Less than two weeks after its official groundbreaking ceremony, MidAmerican Solar and First Solar, Inc. marked another milestone at Topaz Solar Farms, located in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. On Wednesday, the first solar panel was installed on what is the largest solar project under construction in the world. When complete, the 550-megawatt AC project will include nearly 9 million photovoltaic panels.

To mark this significant event, the first solar panel was installed by Greg Abel, chairman, president and CEO of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, and Walter Scott, Jr., who serves on the boards of directors for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and MidAmerican.

“The installation of this first solar panel is more than symbolic,” said Paul Caudill, president of MidAmerican Solar. “It represents nearly five months of hard construction work put in by a dedicated crew of craftspersons and on-site supervision, a large majority of whom live in the local area. They are helping us achieve our goal of safely and reliably delivering energy to our customer, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, all while adhering to our core value of respect for the environment.”The Topaz project will create approximately 400 construction jobs during its three-year construction period; will generate nearly $417 million in local economic impact, the majority of which will be generated during construction; and will provide California with renewable electricity. The Topaz project will provide enough energy to power approximately 160,000 average California homes.

Insight on US China Solar Tariffs

Solar Decathlon Gets $1 Million For Great Park XPO

Posted on May 18, 2012 by quest

At their meeting on May 17, 2012, The Orange County Great Park Corporation Board approved an agreement with the United States Department of Energy that provides a $1 million grant to host the Solar Decathlon 2013 at the Great Park. The agreement establishes a two-phase planning and implementation process that also includes the staging of the first ever multi-day exposition set for October 3-13, 2013, dubbed the XPO: Clean+Renewable+Efficient Energy Exposition.

“We are excited to host the Solar Decathlon and XPO at the Great Park,” said Beth Krom, Chair, Orange County Great Park Corporation Board. “Today’s action allows us to move forward on developing plans for this international event that will bring worldwide attention and economic development to the Great Park and the region and raise public awareness about the benefits of clean energy and energy conservation.”Under the first phase of the agreement, the Great Park accepted $375,000 from the United States Department of Energy for the planning and development process. This planning phase includes event programming and sponsorship planning as well as a finalized site plan that shows the location of the Solar Decathlon Village, where 20 collegiate teams will showcase their solar-powered houses.

The Solar Decathlon challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are cost effective, energy-efficient and attractive. The winning house best embodies affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence while also providing optimal energy production and maximum efficiency. The XPO, featuring the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013, will showcase technology, products, arts, education and business opportunities that arise from clean and renewable energy generation and efficient energy use. Both events will occur simultaneously October 3-13, 2013.

2012 LOHAS Forum And Eco Integrity

Posted on May 17, 2012 by quest

The LOHAS Forum, the nation’s premier gathering of thought leaders, investors and industry executives focused on the $290 billion LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) market, announced today the speaker lineup and full program for this year’s LOHAS Forum 2012. Now in its sixteenth year, the event will take place June 12 – 14 in Boulder, Colorado with interactive discussions focused on a broad portfolio of current issues including alternative energy, health and wellness, social justice, branding, green customer loyalty and effective ways to raise capital.

“The LOHAS community is looked at to pave the way for today’s consumers when it comes to the latest and greatest trends in healthy and sustainability – and it is events like the Forum that bring together the thought leaders in the space to facilitate open and creative dialogue,” said Ted Ning, director of the LOHAS Forum. “We could not be more excited for this year’s LOHAS Forum, as we will be turning Boulder into the ultimate eco-conscious hotspot and playing host to some of the most influential thinkers in sustainability.”

Speakers at LOHAS Forum 2012 include Chip Conley with Joie de Vivre Hospitality, Toni J. Bellafiore with American Honda Motor Company, Inc., Gopi Kallayil with Google, Jodi Berg with VitaMix, Sue Harvey Brown with Patagonia Footwear, Madeleine Buckingham with Mother Jones, Mary Jo Cook with Fair Trade USA, Tom Laforge with The Coca-Cola Company, among many others. LOHAS Forum 2012 will also feature a full schedule of interactive programming where attendees will be given access to thought leaders and industry experts with deep diving workshops, networking opportunities during daily receptions, meals and exercise activities; and intimate break-out sessions each afternoon. For the first time ever, this year’s LOHAS conference will integrate all the richness the city of Boulder has to offer. Attendees will not only be treated to an inspiring and powerful event, but will also get to dive head first into the cultural roots of Boulder.

U.S. Slaps High Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels

Solar and Renewable Energy Innovations Awarded 200k

Posted on May 15, 2012 by quest

Young entrepreneurs developing energy from waste water treatment, robots for cleaning solar panels and solar cell films with 20% more efficiency took the top prizes at the First Look West (FLoW) regional finals competition, which closed last week. At an awards celebration held at the California Institute of Technology on May 1, Stanford Nitrogen Group, Greenbotics and Xite Solar shared $200,000 in prize money.Professor Harry Atwater, Director of Caltech’s Resnick Sustainability Institute, says “Successful competitions such as this show how universities, working with investors and the business community, are leaders in accelerating innovation flow to the real world, and in launching our future entrepreneurial leaders.”

At the Regional Awards Celebration, keynoter and Judge Andrew Chung, Partner at Khosla Ventures, captured the tone of the competition during an address that touched on the importance of thinking beyond the obvious. “Entrepreneurship shouldn’t be about extrapolating the past, but rather inventing the future,” Chung said. “Startups shouldn’t let the word of the ‘experts’ or conventional ‘wisdom’ constrain them from imagining new possibilities.”

FLoW represents the Western Region of the DOE’s National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition (NCEBPC). The winning teams from six regions across the country will now participate in the National Competition in Washington D.C., June 12 and 13, 2012. The awards event was the culmination of a six month competitive process searching for the untapped clean energy innovation that lies in American university labs. In its first year FLoW attracted 83 applicants from 34 universities across twelve states, and saw inventions ranging from new battery materials for portable electronic devices to net energy+ home kits, hydroponic farms and telephone apps for tracking energy use in the home.

Solar Powered Light Little Sun Launched

Suniva Named 2012 Cool Provider in Solar Energy

Posted on May 14, 2012 by quest

Suniva, Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, today announced that it has been recognized by Gartner as a 2012 Cool Vendor in Solar Energy. The Gartner Cool Vendors in Solar Energy 2012 report highlights four vendors whose innovations could have a disruptive impact on the PV solar industry by dramatically reducing the cost of solar-generated electricity. The report highlights that improving the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells can be an effective cost reduction strategy, but only if increases in manufacturing complexity and cost are kept to a minimum. Suniva recently announced that its ARTisun(TM) Select series solar cells are now averaging 19 percent efficiency in plant-wide production, yielding conversion efficiencies of up to 16.3 percent at the module level.

“The report by Gartner recognizes that the Solar industry will continue to be driven by innovation that produces high efficiency, high performance cells at a cost that is sensible for today’s market conditions,” said John Baumstark, CEO, Suniva. “We’re proud of our inclusion in the report and for the recognition of our pioneering and proprietary work in producing the highest efficiency cells and modules possible through low cost manufacturing techniques.”

Suniva’s continued research, innovation and deep experience have led to these most recent cost-effective cell-efficiency improvements. In 2011, the company formed its Manufacturing Innovation Center to improve processes and enhance performance. Suniva’s unique, low-cost approach achieves these efficiency gains without the added steps and processing costs that traditionally characterize the means of increasing performance, thus avoiding the complexities and premiums of enhanced performance.

End Polluter Welfare Invest In Solar

The Power of A Solar Salary

Posted on May 14, 2012 by quest

First Solar, Inc. recently announced that James Hughes has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. Hughes succeeds Mike Ahearn, First Solar’s founder and Chairman, who has been serving as interim CEO since Oct. 2011. Hughes joined First Solar in March as Chief Commercial Officer. Ahearn will continue in his role as Chairman of the Board.“Jim has been instrumental in developing the strategic plan that will enable us to compete and win in this new era for the solar industry, and it became clear he is the right person to lead the execution of that plan”

Bloomberg BusinessWeek is reporting that Hughes will receive a $750,000 salary. He is being promoted from within the company.“Jim has been instrumental in developing the strategic plan that will enable us to compete and win in this new era for the solar industry, and it became clear he is the right person to lead the execution of that plan,” said Ahearn. “Jim brings a wide range of experience that will be invaluable in leading our organization, having owned and operated utilities, built power projects, cultivated partnerships and led profitable growth in a wide array of key markets around the world.”

“I am excited for this opportunity to lead First Solar into a new era for the industry,” said Hughes. “First Solar is unrivaled in terms of talent and experience and has the premier platform from which to implement solar power at a meaningful scale around the world. The rapid cost reductions in the industry position solar at the threshold of the mainstream energy markets, and we are well-positioned to capitalize on that opportunity.” First Solar, the world’s largest maker of thin-film solar panels recently closed it plant in Germany and laid off 2000 workers.