Tag Archives: california
Foxconn Goes Solar
Infamous Foxconn, best known for the deplorable working conditions for Chinese workers that make Apple’s iPod and other products, is intent on developing a strong presence in the solar industry. The company first announced this decision in 2011 at the height of overcapacity in the industry. The last thing that was needed was a big new player that would bring [...]
Will Nanosolar Survive?
Earlier this year Nanosolar went through a round of layoffs. Our sources claimed 75 percent of the staff was let go with 60 days’ pay. Here’s a California WARN notice showing all 170 employees to be lost on April 15. We spoke with two sources close to the company under conditions of anonymity. There are [...]
Palo Alto Goes 100% Carbon-Neutral
The City of Palo Alto has voted to use only carbon neutral sources of electricity from now on, effective immediately. It can do that because the city owns the utility and recognizes environmental sustainability as a top priority. “Palo Alto has been a leader in reducing its carbon emissions,” says Mayor Greg Scharff, “but when we realized we could achieve a carbon neutral electric supply right [...]
Shared Solar Lands in California
Solar is already a huge California success story. The Golden State is leading the nation in new installations, helping to drive costs down and reaping economic and environmental benefits as more and more of our power comes from the sun. Now momentum is building in Sacramento for a new approach that will let the state [...]
SEIA Has California Solar’s Back
The good folks over at the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) are all too aware of the threat facing the solar industry from utility attacks and they are fighting back – with facts about the industry and its importance. Here’s our take. Nowhere is the solar industry more vital than right here in California. Indeed, [...]
CSP Big Tuna’s Team Up on Palen Solar Project
Two of the giant concentrating solar power (CSP) companies, Abengoa and BrightSource Energy have agreed to jointly develop, build and operate the 500 MW Palen Solar Power Project. BrightSource purchased the Palen project from Solar Millennium, which went bankrupt. But now the two CSP companies will work together to permit and finance the two power tower [...]
California Clean Energy: Ready to Launch
Environmentalists and other policy makers have long touted the economic benefits of investing in energy efficiency and renewable projects. For California, that vision is on course to being realized. Yesterday, EDF, Citi and Wilson Sonsini held Innovations in Energy Efficiency Finance II, a sequel to the successful conference we hosted in 2011. That year, we [...]
PV Rebates Ending Soon in California
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which coordinates California’s solar incentives programs through the California Solar Initiative, said earlier this week that residential solar incentives in an increasing number of utility service areas are reaching fulfillment. And the solar industry and its supporters, like the Vote Solar Initiative say that’s a good thing. But another [...]
Interactive Map of Los Angeles Electricity Use
A new energy map of Los Angeles developed at UCLA lets residents find how much electricity the average customer in their neighborhood uses, see how a neighborhood’s energy use relates to its average income level and track energy use over time. The map, released by UCLA’s California Center for Sustainable Communities, is the most highly interactive map of [...]