Solar Forces Unite

Posted on January 9, 2012 by quest

The Solar Energy Industries Association, the national trade association for the solar energy industry, recently announced that it has officially merged with the Solar Alliance, an advocacy organization committed to establishing solar policies at the state level. Effective immediately, the Solar Alliance will operate under the SEIA brand in an effort to present a unified solar industry voice in all advocacy efforts at the state level. Carrie Cullen Hitt, president of the Solar Alliance, is now Vice President for State Affairs at SEIA, and the Solar Alliance team joins Hitt as part of SEIA’s new department for State Affairs.“The solar energy industry is expanding and it is critical for SEIA to mirror this growth and put our resources and expertise into developing state policy that expand markets for solar energy,” said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA. “Adding Carrie Cullen Hitt and her top-notch staff to the SEIA team is a critical step as we continue to scale the U.S. market and move toward our goal of installing 10 gigawatts of solar annually by 2015.”

“We have tremendous opportunities for opening markets for solar across all regions,” said Hitt. “With the Solar Alliance now a part of SEIA, we have the unified voice that is necessary on the policy front – both in Washington and in the states – to really take the U.S. solar industry to the next level.” Additionally, SEIA has established more formalized, collaborative relationships with nearly a dozen state and regional SEIA chapters to coordinate efforts. While the state and regional SEIA chapters remain wholly independent entities, this partnership brings additional resources and coordination on efforts that align with SEIA’s policy goals in the states.

In 2012, SEIA will present a unified voice in policy issues ranging from international trade, extension of the Section 1603 Treasury Program, and improved access for solar developers on public lands to the policy efforts in the states. State efforts will entail a number of different policy efforts including net metering, a financial tool for recognizing value of distributed generation on the grid, and removing barriers to grid interconnection and permitting. The combination of state and federal policy has driven access to energy markets for solar project developers across the country. In 2010, 17 states installed more than 10 megawatts of new solar capacity compared to only four in 2007.

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New Energy Solutions At Las Vegas CES

Posted on January 9, 2012 by quest

A cleaner and smarter energy future – available today – is on display at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.“Consumers have the power to move clean energy forward,” said Jason Few, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of NRG. “We are making solar power and electric vehicle charging easy and affordable. We’re empowering consumers with information, tools and plans to help them manage the electricity that runs all the incredible innovations at CES. With our investment in large-scale solar generation and repowering our generation fleet with cleaner technologies, we are forging a more sustainable energy future.” NRG is at the Consumer Electronics Show for the second time to highlight how innovations from NRG and two of its consumer businesses – electricity retailer Reliant and electric vehicle charging network eVgo – are pioneering cleaner, smarter energy choices for consumers.

NRG’s interactive exhibit features the largest gadget ever seen on the CES floor, The Reliant Smarter Home on Wheels. In addition, the prototype of DeLorean’s DMCev, the all-electric version of one of the most iconic cars in automotive history, will be on display at the NRG booth. In the ‘Human NRG’ backyard at the NRG CES booth visitors and people linked in through social media will be able to use their energy to help raise funds for two national charities, Rebuilding Together and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In addition, those who visit the booth in person or via Facebook will have the chance to win an all-expense paid trip to Houston to drive the prototype DeLorean DMCev, the only automobile of its kind in the world.

The NRG booth at CES features The Reliant Smarter Home on Wheels, Electric Vehicle Charging at Home and On the Road, The Human NRG Backyard and Solar for Consumers – the nation’s largest developer of solar energy – on top of the Smarter Home on Wheels show how solar is working – today. NRG and its retail businesses provide consumers with options that make solar easy, affordable and convenient without a large upfront investment as well as options that allow consumers with solar installations to sell electricity back to the grid.

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SunPower Expands Its Global Solar Shine

Posted on December 27, 2011 by quest

SunPower Corp the Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, just recently announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Tenesol SA, a global solar provider headquartered in La Tour de Salvagny, France. Tenesol, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Total SA, has operations in 18 countries and solar panel manufacturing facilities in France and South Africa.

“Our acquisition of Tenesol is another step toward differentiating ourselves in the competitive solar market, further expanding our downstream presence and benefiting from the strong backing of Total,” said Tom Werner, SunPower president and CEO. “We said on day one that the partnership with Total would provide strength to our balance sheet, access to new markets and investment in research and development. In six short months, we have seen these benefits accrue to SunPower.””Combining the activities of Tenesol with SunPower is a step forward in Total’s strategy to become a world player in the promising solar industry,” said Philippe Boisseau, president, Total Gas and Power Division. “SunPower brings the world’s highest efficiency, highest reliability technology to market with guaranteed performance. Tenesol’s well-established channels, manufacturing base and complementary global footprint will help expand SunPower’s market reach and accelerate its share gain during market consolidation.”

Under the terms of the agreement, SunPower will acquire Tenesol from Total for $165.4 million in cash. Concurrently with the closing of the acquisition, Total has agreed to purchase 18.6 million shares of SunPower common stock in a private placement at $8.80 per share, a 50 percent premium to SunPower’s December 22, 2011 closing price. The transaction has been approved by an independent committee of SunPower’s board of directors and is expected to close early in 2012 following the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. SunPower expects the acquisition will positively affect its financial position in 2012. After the sale of Tenesol, Total will own approximately 66 percent of SunPower’s common shares.

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Patrick Dempsey Trina Solar Light Me Up Supporter

Posted on December 20, 2011 by quest

Trina Solar Limited a leading integrated manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) products from the production of ingots, wafers and cells to the assembly of PV modules was joined by actor and race car driver Patrick Dempsey to announce the launch of “Plug me in, Light me up” video. The video discusses solar power and the difference solar panels can make to communities off the traditional energy grid and the human significance of the solar industry’s technological advances.

The actor discusses the real power of solar energy to help people and the solar industry’s ability to provide products to meet their needs. While Dempsey is not a company spokesman his participation was motivated by a personal interest in solar power as an energy solution; an interest which he plans to action by installing solar panels at his home in Southern California.

Solar photovoltaics present an affordable, reliable and clean way to generate much-needed electricity for communities off the traditional energy grid and to supplement existing, more expensive electricity generation for those on the grid. As the industry continues to make great progress in improving product efficiencies and lowering the cost of solar energy, we hope that the solar industry will play a leading role in bringing energy independence to empower individuals and their communities. The video introduces viewers to Trina Solar’s philanthropic efforts in bringing energy independence to a Mexican home for orphaned children, an African hospital, and an American camp for children with special medical needs.

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Beyond Solar Lighting Up The Developing World

Posted on December 19, 2011 by quest

The United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the Global Economic Symposium and others have all issued reports supporting – A rural family in Africa burns around 60 liters of kerosene a year to light their home. The average kerosene lamp in Africa spews a ton of CO2 in less than 10 years. Solar lighting can replace kerosene and wood, and improve the health of the people and the environment. Last year QuestPoint interviewed Jeff Olshesky, a cofounder of Beyond Solar a US based organization whose mission is to improve the educational, medical, and economic well being of individuals and communities in the developing world by providing solar powered electricity. He and co founder Trevor Knauf had just completed a project with D. Light Design, a solar lantern manufacturer in New Delhi with distribution capabilities throughout India, and South Orissa Voluntary Action, a registered non-government organization in the Indian state of Orissa.

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I recently spoke with Jeff Olshesky of Beyond Solar who completed its third project providing solar power in the eastern province of Zambia. Beyond Solar partnered with Dwankhozi Hope, to provide solar powered lighting in three separate rooms in a primary school. Their earlier projects involved the distribution of pre-assembled solar powered lanterns to hundreds of families in multiple villages, while utilizing a hybrid micro-finance model that required the beneficiaries to pay for a portion the products they received. In Zambia, they installed solar panels on the roof of a school building to power lights and three laptop computers. Financing was provided in a joint effort by Beyond Solar and Dwankhozi Hope. While the planning of this project began months in advance, the actual time required to complete the project, after arriving in Zambia, was five days. Jeff said while the benefits to the school is fairly apparent…the real reward is to me and the deep feeling I get from making a real difference in the world. They are in the midst of planning the next project in Zambia One potential project would be to install a small, roof-mounted solar lighting system in each of the neighboring villages. This would provide a “study room” for the students whose distant proximity from the central school prevents them from returning to the school in the evening. Another potential project that would bring income to the area would be a solar-powered water pump that could irrigate a cash crop such as cotton. These and many other potential projects would greatly improve the quality of life for the members of the Dwankhozi School District. The challenges to execute them will be difficult but equally rewarding as well.

A Green Door

Meanwhile, Empowered by Light a west coast non profit partnered with Lemnis who has supplied more than a thousand Pharox Solar Kits to schools in rural villages also in Zambia. Through its Solar: Zambia project, Empowered by Light hopes to donate a total of 5,000 solar-powered lights to communities in the rural parts of the country. Providing inexpensive electric lighting encourages nighttime activities such as studying and reading and can displace open-flame kerosene lamps and candles, saving money and eliminating the hazards of fire, burn and respiratory disease. “Our hope is that the educational benefits of our project will ultimately gain the attention of elected officials and encourage them to provide the same service to their own people,” said Marco Krapels, Co-Founder of Empowered by Light.

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Spray On Solar Windows Generating Energy

Posted on December 14, 2011 by quest

New Energy Technologies, recently announced that researchers developing SolarWindow, capable of generating electricity on see-through glass, have successfully fabricated its latest working window prototype using a faster, rapid scale-up process for applying solution-based coatings. The prospect of rapidly scaling up the size of SolarWindow while applying electricity-generating coatings onto glass at faster speeds, are important technical advancements in New Energy’s drive to aggressively advance the world’s first-of-its-kind technology towards commercial launch. Among other commercial considerations, researchers developing New Energy’s SolarWindow have been vigilant in their efforts to improve transparency and keep manufacturing costs low. For example, last year, scientists undertaking advanced SolarWindow research achieved the ability to ‘spray’ the Company’s electricity-generating coatings onto glass also, at room temperature and pressure.

John A. Conklin, President and CEO of New Energy Technologies, Inc said,“Today’s faster and improved scale-up application breakthrough marks a significant leap forward in our SolarWindow evolution from advanced research towards commercial product development.Importantly, this new and improved processing method still allows for the application of our novel electricity-generating coatings to be applied at room temperature and pressure. We’re not at the mercy of cumbersome and expensive temperature and pressure sensitive systems often utilized in the manufacture of conventional and thin-film solar photovoltaic products.”The new solution-coating method announced today provides an alternative to spray and allows for rapid scale-up to larger glass surface areas. This improved process also generally provides for more uniform application of SolarWindow electricity-generating coatings than conventional methods.

New Energy Technologies, Inc., together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a developer of next generation alternative and renewable energy technologies. Among the Company’s technologies under development are MotionPower roadway systems for generating electricity by capturing the kinetic energy produced by moving vehicles.

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