Solar Energy News

The Solarcity military housing project has been approved to move forward, even after it missed out on a Federal loan.  Bank of America and Solarcity have collaborated to begin what will be the largest residential solar installation in the US.

Solarcity has also brought aboard other big names for financing the h$1 billion project, which will take five years.  Google is among the eight partners who will provide financing in the neighborhood of $1.75 billion.

The project is called Solarstrong, and will work with private military housing developers who would be the actual owners of the residential solar panel installations.  Military families benefit by paying comparatively low energy rates.

Solarcity buys its solar panels from several companies, including First Solar and (Chinese) Yingli Green Energy.  More solar panel companies are slated to construction in the US, including the new GE solar energy plant.

Solar panel costs are lower because the price of many commodities is declining worldwide.  And, since the makeup of solar panel costs for Chinese manufacturers is more heavily weighed on the raw materials side rather than the labor  side, it’s a huge advantage for them.

The weak global economy has contributed to the fall in the price of silicone, the main raw material for photovoltaic cells, which are what is used to manufacture solar panels.  Solar panel costs are lower, but that hasn’t helped all manufacturers.  Most have suffered in the face of weak demand at the moment for solar energy installations.  Margins are squeezed in solar energy companies across the world.  Just look at what happened with the Solyndra stock in California and with Evergreen Solar in Massachusetts.

Well it’s not exactly news anymore, but Solyndra stock and the fate of US solar energy start up is affecting solar energy news everywhere.  The Frement, CA company went bankrupt after what was apparently bad management.  Solyndra stock has plummeted and now that the company is bankrupt there is no more SOLY (their stock market ticker) on the boards.

This is bad news of course for Solyndra and those who bought Solyndra stock, but it’s also bad news for solar stocks in general, and therefore it’s not really good for solar energy in general.  With such bad PR for a solar energy company, investors won’t really rush to invest in other solar companies.  Without investors, solar energy companies will have trouble.

The other source of income for solar companies of course it government money.  Well that could be in jeopardy as well, since Solyndra received $537 million in federal loans and $25 million in tax credits from the State of California.  Of course that and other factors, including Obama’s energy policy, made Solyndra stock a great prospect in the beginning.  But the ensuing bankruptcy has drawn critics from every corner of the US, and it will be hard for any administration to pass aggressive energy policies for a long time now.

The latest solar energy news out this week has to do with the Obama administration, which announced its new desert solar energy zones.   President Obama’s plans for solar energy development involves desert land in the West and expedited permitting for energy plants there.

There are two large areas in California deserts that have no conflicts as far as developing them for solar energy development.  This latest solar energy news bit announced the designation of seventeen solar energy zones in these and in areas in five other states.  Solar energy development will be concentrated in these zones, which are sweet spots that have already passed several major hurdles on their way to becoming solar energy plants.

The zones have no major cultural conflicts or environmental conflicts that would prevent them from becoming ideal sites for solar energy plants. Many environmentalists may not like this latest solar energy news because they want the Bureau of Land Management to make areas of the deserts off limits to any kind of development.

This makes the latest solar energy news because development on government land is always a bone of contention but when the issue is alternative energy that bone is much larger and much more controversial.  Many eyes are always watching the latest solar energy news for developments like this because the stakes are high and many feel passionate about solar energy.

For those who feel passionate about solar energy and saving the Earth in general, it might be interesting to note that there’s new health data out showing the benefits of a vegetarian diet.  Growing vegetables is less taxing on the environment than raising cattle, pork and other sources of animal protein.  A diet rich in whole grains and vegetables in healthier, too.  Learn how to cook Whole Wheat Pancakes for breakfast, using 100% whole wheat rather than white flour.

Or learn how to cook leafy green veggies like Swiss Chard. Swiss Chard grows easily in anyone’s garden, even in cold Fall weather up North. It can go in soups, sautee it with onions, or bake it into a casserole.

And if you like the whole wheat in your pancakes, why not also try Whole Wheat Pizza Dough? It’s actually the latest craze but those of us who have been cooking it for years know it tastes way better. Whole wheat can be used in almost any baking, including Corn Bread. You can substitute 50% of the white flour called for in the recipe.

And round off your healthy environmentally conscious diet with some organic Greek Yogurt. Food grown according to organic priciples not only tastes better but also benefits the earth as well…just like Solar Energy!

This cute little USB solar charger has just come out on the market.  It uses the sun’s energy to generate enough power to charge an iPad or 2 iPhones. It’s one of the hottest new products world of solar energy news.

What the USB solar charger consists of is two parts: a small solar panel and a solar battery.   The panel works well on sunny days but there may not be enough sun in winter in some areas to charge the panel.  It’s the only negative to this otherwise great little USB solar charger.

The USB solar charger for mobile devices works like this: the solar panel plugs in via a wire into another device, and that’s the solar battery.  The USB solar charger absorbs the charge from the solar panel for 4 hours.  After that, it’s ready to charge any USB device.

The USB solar charger has social aspect,too.  The creators of the device have set up a social energy marketplace.  Their application will show the world how much energy you produce with your USB solar charger.  Then is will tell how much carbon you’re saving by using solar energy instead of grid energy.   Then it will post to Facebook how much carbon you’re saving.  If you want to congratulate yourself and annoy your friends this is a great idea.

The USB solar charger creators also set up a credit system based on how much you use your USB solar charger.   You will get credits to go shopping online when your USB solar charger credits are converted to discounts and vouchers for online purchases.  It’s like you can get rewarded for going green.

GE solar energy is expanding its horizons with a new plant in Aurora, Colorado.  The plant will produce solar panels ready for sale in 2013.  This is a long-awaited step in solar energy news, and it comes after months of discussions between GE and two states competing for the plant.

350 jobs and a $300 million plant are what the states were competing for, but it’s an uphill battle for the GE solar energy plant.  GE will have to bring its prices low enough to compete with the Chinese market, which produces over half of all solar panels produced in the world.  The solar industry in general is struggling, according to financial and solar energy news analysts.  The market is now oversupplied and leading solar panel manufacturers are suffering lowering stock prices.

Overall, the GE solar energy wing is investing $600 million in the solar business, with half that going to the new plant in Colorado.  GE will use an existing building for the new plant and will make enough panels to supply power to 80,000 homes.