As part of its SunShot Initiative, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced $12 million in new funding aimed at streamlining and standardizing local solar permitting, zoning, metering, and connection processes.
In the next five years, revenue growth of the solar water heater installation market is forecast to strengthen on the back of rising corporate profit, booming housing starts, and technological advances that will make solar water heaters more economical, according to a report from industry research firm IBISWorld.
Tioga Energy has announced the completion of a 961 kW solar energy project for two sites in the Washington Elementary School District (WESD). This undertaking will save the WESD more than $1.5 million over the next 20 years, including over $28,000 in the first year of operation alone.
Global Photonic Energy Corp. (GPEC), developer of an Organic Photovoltaic (OPV™) technology designed to enable low-cost solar power generation, has announced the demonstration of a thin-film solar cell that can potentially provide electricity at grid parity, or the cost of traditionally provided electricity.
The Dow Chemical Co. has announced a major expansion in availability of its POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle, which protects a home like a standard shingle but includes embedded solar cells to provide solar power.
SolarCity has been honored by Inc. magazine with its ‘Hire Power’ award that recognizes the top job creators in the United States. SolarCity ranked among the Top 10 out of a list of 100 private companies that were credited for generating the largest number of American jobs in the past three years.
CALMAC has announced the installation of its IceBank® thermal energy storage tanks at the California State Lottery Headquarters in Sacramento, Calif. The old, inefficient building was replaced by a new building, which now consists of retail, exhibition, and office space plus a net-zero multi-purpose pavilion.
As part its SunShot Initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy has announced a $29 million investment in four solar energy projects. These projects are aimed at improving grid connection and reducing installation costs through plug-and-play technologies and reliable solar power forecasts.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved an increase in rebates offered through the California Solar Initiative (CSI)-Thermal Program of up to 45 percent. CPUC authorized the higher rebates to help boost adoption of solar water heating technology and encourage involvement in the statewide program.
The installed price of solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems in the United States fell substantially in 2011 and through the first half of 2012, according to the latest edition of Tracking the Sun, an annual PV cost-tracking report produced by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).