Investment

China and Local Installers — the Big Winners in the Solar and Wind Energy Price…

14 years ago daveroberts 4 Comments

Reports from the clean energy industry show China has surpassed the U.S. in market share and pricing for PV solar panels and wind turbines, while offering comparable quality and reliability. The consequence of this recent Chinese dominance has caused the demise of companies like Solyndra and Evergreen, the most visible examples of bankruptcies in the pipeline for U. S. manufacturers. And these sales difficulties have occurred despite federal tax incentives and rebates from many utilities still being in place, such as NVEnergy’s (Nevada) Solar, Wind & Hydro Generations programs.

Google Invests Another $75 million to Bring Solar Power to Homeowners

14 years ago proteus 0 Comments

Google’s director of Green Business Operations Rick Needham announced the Internet search and technology leader will invest $75 million to create an initial fund with Clean Power Finance that aims to install solar power systems on as many as 3,000 homes. The investment brings to over $850-million the total amount of capital Google has invested in developing and deploying clean energy

1.4%

14 years ago Zachary Shahan 7 Comments

This is the percentage of DOE loan guarantees, to date, that was for Solyndra. (Thanks to a reader for doing the quick math for us and sending the figure along in a comment.)

Percentage of loan guarantees that was for solar? 3.3%

Why is this important?

Solar Leasing Provides Power for Pennies

14 years ago silviomarcacci 3 Comments

Millions of visitors go to the Cincinnati Zoo every year, but the newest attraction isn’t the new baby giraffe – it’s a solar panel. More accurately, over 6,000 solar panels installed over the zoo’s parking lot, spanning an area the size of four football fields. The sheer size of the arrays is impressive, but not nearly as impressive as their price tag: absolutely nothing.

The Cincinnati Zoo is the latest solar leasing success story, an innovative program that matches up investors with property owners who want to install solar but may not be able to afford the up-front costs. energyNOW! correspondent Patty Kim visited the zoo and SunRun, a San Francisco-based start-up to learn how solar leasing is generating power for pennies.

Chu: Solar Power on Track For Cost Parity With Fossil Fuels

14 years ago silviomarcacci 1 Comment

Even before Solyndra filed for bankruptcy, the U.S. clean energy industry was facing an uncertain future because of the slow economy, low-cost overseas competition, and political gridlock in Washington, D.C. But in spite of these headwinds, Energy Secretary Steven Chu says clean energy cannot be abandoned and is on track for cost parity with fossil fuels.

In this exclusive one-on-one interview, energyNOW! anchor Thalia Assuras discusses the outlook for clean energy funding, the Obama’s Administration’s plans to advance energy technology, and global competition with Secretary Chu.

Cleantech Investment, Green Economy Board Game

14 years ago Zachary Shahan 0 Comments

A friend of CleanTechica, Scott Cooney of GreenBusinessOwner.com, has developed a green economy board game, which will be launching for the holiday season later this year. In the game, players are impact investors shooting for the best triple bottom line return on their investments in the state of Hawai’i, where, currently, 90% of the state’s electricity comes from burning diesel fuel.