Solar Reviews Blog - Solar Energy and Solar News

Colorado’s pine and spruce forests are being devastated by beetles that bore under their bark, reproducing and spreading tree-killing fungi. As the world gets warmer the problem gets worse. Spurred by warmer temperatures and longer growing seasons mountain pine beetles are now reproducing twice annually, compounding the problem. These assaults are leaving wide swaths of tree carcasses throughout the evergreen stands that are among the magnificent hallmarks of the Rockies, offering ready fuel for wildfires—or perhaps electricity. That’s the aim of a new pilot project announced by Xcel Energy in Colorado this week. 

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., which owns over 1,100 high-end hotels and resorts throughout the world, including the W, Sheraton and Westin brands, has partnered with NRG Energy to use renewable energy onsite. Already, NRG will install nearly 3 megawatts of PV at three Starwood locations. In forming the partnership with NRG, Starwood is joining a growing number of hotels across the world, and might be one of the first times an international hotel chain has partnered to install solar at multiple locations. 

With the amount of energy required to produce a vehicle, it makes sense that automobile manufacturers are exploring solar power to help cut costs and position themselves as environmentally-conscious companies. Incorporating solar energy into their operations is already popular among European vehicle manufacturers: from SEAT’s 10.6 megawatts (MW) of solar on the rooftops of its facilities in northern Spain to Renault’s 55 MW project that will cover the roofs of its six French plants—currently the world's largest installation for the auto industry.   

Rooftop solar is taking off across the U.S., and it’s starting to scare the utilities. Over the past few years, utility companies have increased efforts to rescind or dismantle state-level policies, like net-metering, which have helped homeowners go solar. Now, rooftop solar companies including SunRun, SolarCity, Sungevity and Verengo recently forged The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC) in response to attacks on net-metering policies across the U.S. 

Last year the US Department of Commerce imposed antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese silicon photovoltaic imports. In reaction China threatened to impose antidumping and countervailing duties on US polysilicon exports to the country. Now, as the European Union is on the eve of establishing its own tariffs on Chinese imports, China, the EU and the US are working together in attempt to avoid further trade wars over the cheap Chinese PV modules. 

It’s a Goooooooooaaaaaaaaal! And it’s happening. As soccer-loving Brazil preps for hosting FIFA’s World Cup in 2014, at least seven of its stadiums are incorporating solar arrays to provide on-site power generation for one of the world’s largest sporting events. At least two of the installations were recently completed, one in the capitol city Brasilia—which may become the world’s first LEED Platinum stadium, too—and another in Rio De Janeiro. More installations are on the way. 

On May 20, Green Mountain Power (GMP) and NRG Residential Solar Solutions held a media event where they unveiled a new partnership to develop two community solar projects in Rutland, Vermont. GMP is a local utility that’s working to make Rutland the “solar capital of New England”. NRG Residential Solar Solutions is part of the NRG Energy family of companies, which is the largest owner of solar projects in the U.S. Recently expanding into the residential solar leasing market, NRG is now stepping into an even newer field; community solar. 

We proudly announce that Solar Energy Services, Inc. of Millersville, Maryland has earned the coveted designation of 2013 SolarReviews Pre-Screened Solar Pro. 

Southern California’s Lake Skinner was swarming with solar-powered canoes this weekend, as students from 39 area high schools competed in the 11th Annual Solar Cup. For the past seven months, students constructed their single-seat canoes by hand, using only solar energy to power their vessels. The teams were judged on their technical abilities, along with a 30- to 60-second public service announcement (PSA) video on water conservation that each team is required to produce.  

A recent report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) looks at how the permitting process can impact the costs and time it takes to install solar. The report, “The Impact of City-level Permitting Processes on Residential Photovoltaic Installation Prices and Development Times: An Empirical Analysis of Solar Systems in California Cities,” determines that city-level permitting processes can have a big impact on the cost of solar and project completion time. 

Your rooftop solar system doesn’t have to sit idle in the midst of a downpour. Aside from harnessing the sun’s energy, photovoltaic (PV) panels can also provide an opportunity to collect rainwater. With water supplies becoming an increasing concern, more states in the U.S. are embracing rainwater harvesting as an effective means for water conservation. As rainwater catchment systems become more attractive, some residents see solar PV panels as a versatile tool to aid self-sufficiency.

For the past four years the Department of Energy was run by Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Dr. Steven Chu. But like many appointed senior government officials do, he decided to resign after President Barack Obama’s first term. On May 16, after months of waiting, the U.S. Senate confirmed his replacement, Professor Ernest Moniz, a former Energy Department undersecretary Ernest Moniz, who has led MIT’s Energy Initiative. The unanimous confirmation vote by the Senate shows he has bi-partisan support to hopefully carry on the work that Chu started. His confirmation drew praise from the renewable energy industries as well as the energy industry.

Guest blog by Jim Jenal, Founder and CEO of Run on Sun

Guest blog by Walter Rumpf of Syndicated Solar

Financial institutions and other companies, such as Google, began developing tax-equity funds years ago to support third-party ownership companies like SolarCity. They’ve created significant funds reaching up into hundreds of millions of dollars to support rooftop solar across the country. But with the announcement on May 16 of a $500 million fund, SolarCity and Goldman Sachs have upped the game, with a new record for rooftop solar. This is also making it easier for more homeowners to install solar by allowing anyone with a credit rating of 680 or more to go solar. The news also follows shortly after SolarCity reported its results for its first full quarter as a publicly traded company.  

The name SunCredit sounds like it should be a solar-friendly policy. But sun-loving denizens of San Antonio, Texas, apparently weren’t happy with it and, led by Solar San Antonio, forced the local utility CPS Energy to shelve the controversial program, which would have reduced the incentives it paid to solar energy producers. 

We proudly announce that El Paso Green Energies of Colorado Springs has earned the coveted designation of 2013 SolarReviews Pre-Screened Solar Pro. 

Rockland Capital has raised $120 million in financing to support solar installations in nine towns along Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. The financing will allow Broadway Electrical to install more than 37 megawatts of photovoltaic (PV) projects throughout the region, including projects on landfills and rooftops. The projects have been in the works for a while and the 37 megawatts falls short of the nearly 50 megawatts of projects originally planned, the projects will supply power for the Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative’s customers throughout the region. 

There’s no shortage of solar chargers for hikers or adventurers these days, but a new crowdfunding campaign is supporting a new tablet designed specifically for outdoors adventurers, with solar baked in. This is Earl, whose developers are calling it a backcountry survival tablet. 

Thirteen oil spills in 30 days. Nine of those took place in North America, from the Shell pipeline leak in Houston that dumped crude oil into the bayou to the Exxon Mobil spill that leaked 12,000 barrels of tar sands throughout Arkansas. The amount of oil that spilled from mid-March to mid-April could fill two Olympic sized swimming pools—and that’s just in North and South America.