Google's Bill Weihl expresses his opinion, "We see a chance to make a difference in the field of renewable energy and energy information that can help bring the world to a lower carbon and more efficient economy." Google is known for its Internet search engine. Now they want to make inroads into green technology... Posted in: Ethanol  permaLink:1268112000-9844

CNPV Solar Power SA has entered into a long-term strategic partnership sales agreement with Techbank Company Limited, a South Korean photovoltaic company that develops and sells turnkey photovoltaic (PV) power plants.  permaLink:1268111000-2344

The main reason that more people don't invest in solar power is because of the solar power cost, but solar pool heaters have one of the quickest payback periods compared to other solar products. A solar pool heater can pay for itself in as little as one year and depending on the type of solar pool heater it can cost as little as $100, so the solar power cost is very negligible.  permaLink:1268085000-8125

BOULDER, Colo., March 8, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Real Goods Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq:RSOL), a leading residential solar energy integrator, today announced results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.  permaLink:1268082000-8906

If you're seriously considering investing in a solar electric system, there are several important steps you'll need to take from learning about solar energy to maintaining your system once it's installed. To help make sure you've covered all the steps you need to take, here's a checklist of steps you should follow and check off as you go through the process of going solar.  permaLink:1268069000-7344

Locating Green Contractors For Your Green Home Project OfficialWire (press release) They also provide a Learn the Basics section for the sites visitors with articles such as Solar Energy, Benefits of Geothermal Energy and more... and more »  permaLink:1268065000-6172

Isolating the minute crystals of the PSI super complex from the pea plant, a biochemistry researcher suggests these crystals can be illuminated and used as small battery chargers or form the core of more efficient man-made solar cells.  permaLink:1268053000-3906

TORONTO--(Marketwire - March 8, 2010) - Atlantic Wind and Solar Inc. (PINKSHEETS: AWSL) is pleased to report that negotiations with several Green Energy funding companies are advancing toward finalizing a financing that would fund AWSL's current activities, including numerous JV Ontario rooftop solar projects, production ramp up of the Company's outstanding Inverters/Converters, continued aggressive marketing across Ontario, and potential entry into new markets where the Company's systems would enjoy similar competitive advantages as those being realized here in Ontario. Satisfactory Financing Agreement Anticipated Pertaining to its ongoing negotiations to complete the largest financing in AWSL's history, the Company has received Letters Of Intent from two of Ontario's leading Green Energy funding companies to negotiate a proposed $120 million+ financing. Both funding companies are strong participants in the emerging solar energy boom in Ontario. As well, AWSL is involved in advanced negotiations regarding a $75 million debt financing from a multinational energy company that is aggressively expanding its participation in the Renewable Energy sector. While these proposed financings are in the negotiation stages and there is no agreement on final terms as yet, AWSL management is optimistic that one or more significant financings will be completed in the weeks ahead. AWSL... Poised for Growth The acceleration of orders, financing, and other developments in the last few months augurs well for Atlantic Wind and Solar's business and overall growth in 2010. The Company intends to further expand in 2010 through strategically targeted acquisitions. AWSL is in advanced discussions regarding a new global distribution network focused on both the American and European markets. Atlantic Wind and Solar Inc. is also involved in discussions regarding additional technologies and prospective agreements aimed at broadening the Company's exposure to growth in the multibillion dollar Renewable Energy industry, both at home and....  permaLink:1268028000-3984

LUXEMBOURG, March 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- On 3 March 2010, Enovos Luxembourg SA and Avelar Energy Ltd. (based in Zurich), signed a contract to form a joint venture under the name 'Aveleos S.A.'. The objective of this new company, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, is to develop, operate and bring to the market photovoltaic plants in Italy and France with a total capacity of up to 95 MW. Enovos Luxembourg SA is a 59% shareholder in the new company with an investment of EUR 36 million. Avelar is investing EUR 25 million, giving it a 41% stake. Aveleos SA makes use of attractive feed-in tariffs and high sun intensity in Italy and France. With this investment, Enovos Luxembourg underlines its commitment to the field of renewable energies. 'The joint venture with Avelar Energy is a strategic partnership that allows us to build on our experience in the field of photovoltaics,' says CEO of Enovos Luxembourg, Jean Lucius. 'We're also delighted that the headquarters of the new company will be in Luxembourg.' Enovos commissioned a photovoltaic park with an output of 6 MW near Trier in November last year. Besides the majority stake in Aveleos, Enovos Luxembourg will acquire 11 photovoltaic parks with an energy output of 1 MW each from Avelar Energy. The plants, which are all located in the region of Apulia, Italy, will go into operation later this year.  permaLink:1268027000-4375

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XsunX, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: XSNX), the developer of advanced, thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) solar cell technologies and manufacturing processes, today announced the company has reached a significant milestone in its development process: the completion of a co-evaporation processing chamber design that combines several thermal evaporation techniques in one unified process to produce the CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide) solar cell's absorber layer. "This development is crucial to both the equipment and process technology side of our efforts," said Tom Djokovich, CEO of XsunX, Inc. "The completion of this chamber converges several operations that we have been developing separately, allowing all of the processes necessary to produce the CIGS layer for our cross-industry technology to work in unison. This development increases the rate with which we can develop this new technology towards our initial baseline commercialization goals. This is a fundamental next step in our plan to commercialize our hybrid CIGS manufacturing process, and deliver a potential replacement solution for the use of silicon." The hybrid cross-industry system XsunX is developing is an integrated delivery method that uses proven material handling and automation technologies from the Hard Disk equipment (HD) industry and adapts them to small-area thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) co-evaporation processes to configure the absorber layer, or solar power conversion portion of the cell, to produce low cost solar cells. The chamber will process 125 mm x 125 mm production-sized substrates that the company anticipates will be replicated as the key component of a full commercial production toolset, after additional testing of the chamber itself. "This integration of numerous processing technologies into a single chamber design will allow us to begin testing the value of hard disk material handling and systems management technologies," said XsunX's CTO Robert Wendt. "From the start, we....  permaLink:1268027000-4766

BAODING, China, March 8 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE) ("Yingli Green Energy" or the "Company"), a leading solar energy company and one of the world's largest vertically integrated photovoltaic manufacturers, which holds the brand "Yingli Solar," today announced a 300 MW PANDA mono-crystalline silicon-based manufacturing capacity expansion project at its Baoding headquarters. The Company also announced a project loan of RMB 1.5 billion for the financing of this expansion project and a working capital credit facility of RMB 250 million, both granted by the Bank of Communications Co., Ltd., Hebei Branch ("BOCOM"). 300 MW PANDA Mono-Crystalline Manufacturing Capacity Expansion at Baoding Headquarters Yingli Green Energy announced its plan to build PANDA mono-crystalline silicon-based manufacturing lines with annual production capacity of 300 MW in each of mono-crystalline ingots and wafers, cells and modules at its Baoding headquarters, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Yingli Energy (China) Co., Ltd. ("Yingli China"). The new production lines will be designed to produce next-generation high efficiency PV cells based on the technology developed through Project PANDA, a collaboration among Yingli Green Energy, the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, a leading solar research center in Europe, and Amtech Systems, Inc. ( ASYS), a global supplier of production and automation systems and related supplies for the manufacture of PV cells. RMB 1.5 Billion Project Loan and RMB 250 Million Working Capital Credit Facility Granted by BOCOM Yingli Green Energy also announced Yingli China has secured a project loan of RMB 1.5 billion and a working capital credit facility of RMB 250 million from BOCOM. Under the loan agreement, BOCOM has agreed to provide to Yingli China, subject to certain conditions, a five-year project loan of RMB 1.5 billion to support Yingli China's 300 MW expansion project in Baoding. In addition, BOCOM also granted a working capital credit....  permaLink:1268027000-5547

Published: Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 1:00 a.m. Last Modified: Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 9:57 p.m. Despite all the attention Florida has gotten for its clean energy efforts -- including President Barack Obama's recent visit to a solar plant in Arcadia -- many experts say the state's clean energy market is on the verge of collapse.  permaLink:1268026000-3086

SANTA CLARITA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BioSolar, Inc. (OTCBB:BSRC), developer of a breakthrough technology to produce bio-based materials from renewable plant sources that reduce the cost of photovoltaic solar modules, today announced plans for an extended line of BioBacksheets used to protect PV modules compatible with conventional c-Si PV modules. Conventional c-Si Photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers will soon have two different types of BioBacksheets to choose from depending on their durability and cost requirements: 1) a multi-layer BioBacksheet-C for conventional applications and 2) a new mono-layer BioBacksheet product line for premium applications. These products were developed to meet the existing and future direct needs of potential customers. The announcement represents the latest addition to a broad and growing portfolio of bio-based backsheet materials made from renewable plant sources that reduce the cost of solar modules and eliminate the need for dangerous toxins found in petroleum based backsheets currently in use. Hailed by Design News as one of the companies developing plastics from sustainable resources, such as plants not used as food sources, for photovoltaic cells, which are on the verge of an explosive growth burst, BioSolar recognizes the key to success is providing manufacturers various backsheet grades with corresponding price points to accommodate both the durability and economic requirements of each solar panel manufacturer. The premium grade BioBacksheet will also feature monolayer construction, which eliminates the inner de-lamination issue associated with incumbent petroleum based backsheets, drastically improving its long term durability over traditional multi-layer backsheet construction. All grades of BioBacksheet will be less costly than their petroleum-based counterparts. As the global demand for solar energy continues to increase, BioSolar is uniquely positioned to replace conventional petroleum-based backsheets for c-Si PV modules which represent more than 70 percent of....  permaLink:1268026000-8828

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SunLink Corporation today announced that its industry-leading roof module mounting solution has begun shipping for one of the nations largest municipal solar installation, a five megawatt project located on the Sunset Reservoir in San Francisco, California. Chosen by Recurrent Energy, an independent power producer and a leading developer of solar power projects, SunLinks solution will be used to mount over 23,000 Suntech (NYSE:STP) solar modules on the flat, seismically retrofitted rooftop of the Reservoir. We are pleased to have been awarded this project, particularly given its magnitude and advancement of the City of San Franciscos renewable energy goals, said Christopher Tilley, CEO, SunLink. Our flagship roof mounting solution is one of the most widely adopted in the industry due to our extensive engineering, design expertise, and ability to work within a projects constraints such as this one, which required no penetrations in the Reservoirs roof surface. We have worked in cooperation with SunLink on numerous solar projects and we continue to be impressed with their value-added services and reliable mounting technology, said Arno Harris, CEO, Recurrent Energy. We look forward to furthering our relationship with SunLink throughout the development of this large distributed-scale solar power installation. Upon completion in the Fall this year, the Sunset Reservoir project will more than triple the municipal solar generation in San Francisco and reduce carbon emissions by over 100,000 metric tons. The solar plant is being developed and operated under a Power Purchase Agreement between the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and Recurrent Energy. The clean solar electricity will be fed into the distribution grid and used by the General Hospital, San Francisco International Airport, Muni light rail, public schools throughout the city, and streetlights.  permaLink:1268026000-9219

Proponents of renewable energy see a ray of hope in growing interest in solar power.  permaLink:1268024000-7969

A subsidiary of SP-One LLC has gotten a $1 million state grant to help pay for installing a solar power generation system on the rooftops of a Bucks County retail and office complex owned by Grasso Holdings Inc., which is talking about teaming with SP-One on similar projects.  permaLink:1268024000-9531

After getting off to a slow start with its solar rebate program, CPS Energy is planning a big push later this year to promote its efforts to encourage residential and commercial customers to use more solar energy.  permaLink:1268024000-0156

The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) reports that 40 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) contracts were in commercial operation by the end of 2009. This represents about 46 MW of installed DC capacity in the industry's standard notation.  permaLink:1268024000-1016

The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) reports that 40 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) contracts were in commercial operation by the end of 2009. This represents about 46 MW of installed DC capacity in the industry's standard notation.  permaLink:1268024000-6875