Tag Archives: north america
SolarCity Raises $500M
SolarCity (Nasdaq: SCTY), a provider of distributed energy, just announced a $500 million lease financing agreement with Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). That translates to more than 100 megawatts of solar power. The combined lease is the largest of its kind for U.S. residential rooftops. SolarCity allows consumers to get electricity from grid-tied solar rooftops at [...]
L.A Dreaming? 20% Rooftop Solar By 2020
With sweeping views of LA’s ample solar friendly rooftop space, elected officials, business, health and environmental groups assembled on the top floor of LA City Hall to launch an unprecedented solar campaign. The goal? To get 20% of LA’s power from rooftop solar by 2020. This week’s press announcement highlighted a new report called Solar in the Southland, [...]
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 [...]
In Focus: Connecting the Americas 2022
By 2022, the Obama administration hopes to finish off an electrical grid that will connect all of the Americas, from northern Canada down through the Caribbean and ending at the southern tip of South America. The idea behind ”Connecting the Americas 2022″ is to make electricity universally available – and is part of the US State Department’s broader effort, the Energy and Climate Partnership [...]
A123 Systems: Going to Zero?
There was so much enthusiasm when high-performance battery manufacturer A123 Systems (NASDAQ:AONE) came on the scene. The promise of an advanced battery manufacturing facility pumping out batteries for next-generation electric cars while providing jobs for US workers was a bold one, and one that a lot of folks cheered. But certain realities rapidly turned that [...]
Can Vivint be the Biggest U.S Solar Installer in 2013?
Following on the heels of the announcement that Vivint would be purchased by Blackstone for more than $2 billion, Vivint has said it plans to install solar on at least 10,000 homes in 2013. That’s according to founder Todd Pederson, who discussed expansion plans with Bloomberg earlier this week. That’s up significantly from about [...]
Renewable Energy Trust Capital: Reinventing Solar Financing
One of the downsides to solar power is often the enormous cost associated with getting these projects underway. An American trust company is exploring new ways to finance solar energy projects, and it claims that it can cut the cost of generating solar power by up to 20 percent. Renewable Energy Trust Capital (RET) says [...]
Japanese Solar Bubble: In The Cards?
It’s been a big year for global renewable energy development as Japan announced its intention to phase on nuclear energy and instead rely heavily on clean energy sources. Recent clean energy subsidies in the county sparked $2 billion in clean energy investments in just two months while the Japanese government predicts a “$640 billion spending boom” [...]
Mecca: Leading Saudia Arabia Solar Effort
The holy city of Mecca could be the first in Saudia Arabia to host a utility-scale solar power plant, as the sun-rich desert kingdom seeks to diversify its energy mix, reports Bloomberg. In early January 2013, the city will select from at least 20 bidders that want to build local power plants in Mecca to [...]
“Stop the War on Coal Act” Passed
The House Republicans recently passed H.R. 3409, the “Stop the War on Coal Act” that supposedly counters the Obama Administration’s hostility to coal jobs. Although it won’t pass the Democratically-controlled Senate, it’s part of their election year messaging, along with Solyndra. Obama has promised to veto the bill if it does get to his desk. The bill would “protect coal [...]
Update: Israel’s Solar Market
Fifty years ago, Israel was on the cusp of developing a promising solar industry. Solar hot water systems in particular made a splash in the country, but many decades later, those same systems are just about all that exists for solar development in the country. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that while the climate is appropriate for [...]
The 18 Most Common Solar Questions Homeowners Ask
I went around and asked 18 employees to give me a question that they answer every single day with solar customers. Together as a company we probably answer these questions thousands of times a week, so I figured I’d bang out all the questions in individual helpful videos with straight-shooting answers. Here they are: 1. [...]