Solar power continues to be a high-revving jobs engine in the United States, surging to 173,807 positions industrywide by late 2014, a 21.8 percent increase over a year earlier, according to an annual survey released on Thursday. High-profile trade cases brought by Oregon-based SolarWorld Industries Americas have put a focus on solar manufacturing in the… Keep reading →
Solar is one of the fastest growing industries in the US, which now employs more people than the coal and natural gas industries combined, but women have largely been left behind. In our series on careers in energy, we take a look at the women, organizations and companies pushing for a more gender diverse workplace.… Keep reading →
From a rooftop in sunny California, a Breaking Energy writer learns about the need for a national solar policy targeting low-income families. The sun was rising quickly as I drove down I-580 to a part of Oakland that has yet to attract a significant influx of Silicon Valley’s high-tech workers and the gentrification that follows. … Keep reading →
There’s nothing more grassroots than a local chamber of commerce. No organization has a better understanding of its community and what it means to run a business and establish a life in its hometown. No other group is tasked with helping so many businesses – from mom and pop entrepreneurs to leading corporate voices –… Keep reading →
What are the similarities between Ace Hardware and the solar industry? Many more than you might think after the recent announcement that the nation’s only solar purchasing cooperative, Amicus Solar Cooperative, chose Locus Energy as the preferred monitoring provider for its 30 members throughout the country. Amicus, meaning “friend” in Latin, is a group of… Keep reading →
The story of how net metering and onsite residential solar is eating way utilities’ profit margins is getting old, so what can these companies do about it? This piece suggest two strategies. “Clean Power Finance’s new partnership with North American Power demonstrates one of two ways in which a retail electricity provider (REP) can profit from selling… Keep reading →
A Solar Foundation report shows U.S. solar industry jobs increased by 19.9 percent, 10 times faster than overall job growth. On January 27, 2014, the Solar Foundation (TSF), a non-profit research organization, released the 2013 National Solar Jobs Census, its fourth annual report on U.S. solar industry employment and projected growth. The report shows the… Keep reading →
SolarCity and Vivint Solar vie for personnel, funding, technology and customers in residential solar. We spoke with Brendon Merkley, the COO of Vivint Solar just last month. Vivint is the second largest solar installer in the U.S. behind SolarCity (SCTY). GTM has learned from sources close to the company that Merkley has resigned to join… Keep reading →
