Solar


Ground was broken on what will reportedly become the world’s largest solar facility.

US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar was joined by California state officials and representatives from the developer, among others, for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Blythe Solar Power Project. This project may well allow California to reach and even surpass its goal of 33 percent renewable energy by 2020. Keep reading →


With companies using millions to develop the most efficient and cheap renewable technology, many customers may have retreated to the backseat of energy innovation.

But one consumer, Ayub Khan Pathan, made his own solar-powered electric scooter. Keep reading →


The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) will refund up to 10% of capital investments in renewables in the form of income tax credits, the state agency announced on Tuesday.

The incentive will be one of six the state will begin to offer as part of a larger attempt to encourage renewables development, particularly solar, in its sun-soaked desert land. The other incentives for the renewables industry will include up to $9,000 in income tax credits for new jobs created, reimbursable grants up to $1.5 million for employees training, up to 34% R&D tax credit, various funding through the “Deal Closing Fund” and significant business tax reductions. Keep reading →


Southern California utility San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has been on a renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA) spree of sorts over the last year or so. As with all utilities in the state of California, SDG&E has to ramp up its renewable energy portfolio such that it represents 33% of its total energy distribution by the year 2020. Recent news of more renewable PPAs indicate the utility is well on its way to that goal.

According to SDG&E, it has just signed two contracts that will net it a combined total capacity of up to 237 megawatts (MW) of solar energy. The PPA contracts will allow SDG&E to buy solar generated electricity from the Catalina solar project and Arlington Valley Solar Energy II. Keep reading →


In a previous article we wrote about the developments with Bank of America, Prologis and NRG Energy and the Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee for a portfolio of distributed solar projects in the US. We observed that the framework that these firms had developed along with the DOE program could be a harbinger for a solar securitization market. We noted that for the market for solar structured transactions to grow within a capital markets approach, it would require standardization of solar power purchase agreements (PPA) and lease contracts. In this article we will explore a standardized PPA in more detail.

A solar PPA is an agreement between a developer/investor of solar energy and a customer/ off-taker to purchase the solar power at an agreed upon price in a long-term contract. The developer/investor installs, maintains and retains ownership of the solar facility on a customer facility – be it a rooftop or other property. The customer pays only for the power generated by the facility and not for the cost of the equipment and installation costs. Keep reading →


The US Department of Energy may have chosen a winner in the renewable energy race.

It will be offering nearly $4.5 billion in conditional loan guarantee commitments for three solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in California, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced today. The projects include a $680 million 230 MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch 1 project, a $1.88 billion 550 MW Desert Sunlight project and a $1.93 550 MW billion Topaz Solar project, all being built by First Solar with Cd-Te thin film solar PV panels. Keep reading →


These super high-efficiency thin film photovoltaic panels were just released into the American market on Wednesday.

Designed by global solar PV firm Q-Cells, the panels come with a Power Appreciation Warranty of 25 years, with the panels guaranteed to operate at 100% performance for the first three years and at a loss of no more than .7% efficiency per year for every following year. Keep reading →


It looks like a window, but this conference room is actually coated in solar panels.

Pythagoras Solar, whose conference room is shown above, was one of five Innovation Award winners last week in GE’s ecomagination contest. The California-based firm has developed a unique transparent photo-voltaic (PV) panel that acts as both a window and an electrical generator. In addition, the panel provides a thermal shading barrier that keep the sun’s heat out of buildings, ideally allowing them to use less energy for cooling during the summer. Keep reading →

Venture capitalists have repeatedly said they are excited to fund renewables. But they are worried about fledgling companies that have little track record.

GE’s ecomagination Challenge: Powering Your Home may succeed in solving this catch-22 by awarding $63 million to 10 winners, selected from among some 5,000 submissions. The innovation challenge also resulted in 22 new commercial partnerships with GE, all dedicated to smart grid technology and home energy efficiency. Keep reading →

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In the last few years, the world has seen a steady increase in renewable energy production and consumption. Key to this increase has been the increased flow of private and government capital to these projects. Keep reading →

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