Sandia National Laboratories last week said that its researchers are studying corrosion on solar panels to help industry develop long-lasting PV panels and increase PV system reliability.   [...]

When Kristin moved to a historic home in New England, she wanted to save money on her electric bill by going solar. Her biggest concern was how panels on her roof might change the look of her home, which was built in the 1800s. But what the installer was even more concerned about were the trees surrounding her home. Aesthetically pleasing to her but potentially a hindrance to solar production – especially in New England where once a year the trees turn beautiful colors and shed all their leave [...]

On Jan. 19, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2017-19 (Rev. Proc.) providing a safe harbor for certain alternative energy sales contracts with federal agencies to be treated as service contracts under Section 7701(e)(3). [...]

A battery made with urea, commonly found in fertilizers and mammal urine, could provide a low-cost way of storing energy produced through solar power or other forms of renewable energy for consumption during off hours.   [...]

Prices for solar wafers, cells and modules took a highflying leap off of the margin diving board in 2016 with the global average decreasing by 13 percent over 2015 from $0.72/Wp to $0.63/Wp and the range of prices widening vastly for a lowest available price of $0.31/Wp and highest available price of $2.50/Wp.  [...]

OneRoof Energy, Inc, a residential solar services provider and wholly-owned subsidiary of OneRoof Energy Group today announced that it is currently in default under its head office lease for failure to pay rent. [...]

The world’s biggest solar-thermal power plant is finally producing enough electricity. The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in Southern California initially failed to meet contractual obligations, and a yearlong forbearance deal with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. expired Wednesday. [...]

Would you believe that there are now more people working in the solar industry than at oil rigs and gas fields? With a 20 percent increase in size, the solar industry added more than 35,000 jobs — making about 209,000 solar energy employees working in the U.S. alone. [...]

Apple Inc. agreed to buy the output from a proposed 200-MW solar farm in Nevada to help power a data center in Reno. [...]

Everyone makes mistakes — and I’ve certainly made my share of them. On this week’s Energy Show on Renewable Energy World we will discuss in detail some of the most common homeowner and installer mistakes that I’ve seen over the past 15+ years — as well as the actions we can take to do things right the first time. [...]

COSEIA has just filed testimony to the Public Utilities Commission on an important Xcel docket that governs Xcel’s advance grid infrastructure including “smart” meters and the communication components that will transmit data from customers to Xcel and back again. Use, protection and ownership of the data produced by new grid and meter technology is a hot issue in many states right now. While utilities tend to want to control that data, consumers and solar companies could benefit in importa [...]

From Q215 to 1Q16, U.S. wind power jobs increased 32 percent and solar jobs increased 25 percent, while geothermal jobs decreased 25 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report. [...]

This week in Wyoming, legislators introduced a new law that would keep the state’s utilities from purchasing utility-scale wind and solar power produced inside or outside of Wyoming. [...]

At the center of our solar system, approximately 92.96 million miles away, is a nuclear power plant capable of powering the entire globe. We know it by its most common name: our sun. [...]

Americans like solar. Study after study has shown that the American public supports solar and wants the country to use more of it. Corporations like solar, too. When a company signs a solar PPA, it in effect locks in lower electricity prices for a fixed timeframe, which is music to the ears of the Chief Financial Officer.  The fact that that energy is clean and renewable is music to the ears of the Chief Marketing Officer or  Chief Sustainability Officer.  All good, right? [...]

Jenn Runyon, Chief Editor of Renewable Energy World and Paula Mints, Chief Market Research Analyst with SPV Market Research discuss three hot topics in the global solar industry for three minutes each. Today’s topics include an innovative utility program in Vermont, the importance of quality in the renewable energy industry and how low PPA prices for solar projects impact the industry. Check it out. [...]

Since April 2016, there has been 21 MW of new solar PV community mini-grid capacity announced in emerging global markets, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). [...]

COSEIA Executive Director Rebecca Cantwell published an Op Ed piece in Solar Industry Magazine (January 2017) describing her experiences negotiating a complex settlement agreement with Xcel Energy last year. The settlement resolved issues from Xcel’s virtual barrage of PUC filings in 2016. We republish it here for your convenience: “As executive director of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association, I spent much of my summer in corporate conference rooms at the headquarters [...]

Every year I gaze into my solar crystal ball and make ten educated guesses about the rooftop solar industry. Last year I was pretty lucky, getting 9 out of 10 right. [...]

Increased fixed costs with lower energy prices will make renewable energy and conservation investments less attractive Denver, CO, June 2, 2016 – Members of the public will have a chance to be heard June 9 and 16  at hearings on new rates that will affect everyone who pays an electric bill to Xcel Energy. The utility’s proposal would send price signals that discourage energy conservation and rooftop solar energy. Xcel Energy has mounted a massive PR campaign to convince Coloradans t [...]

Post Date: January 3, 2017 Job Title: Outside Solar Sales Consultant- Front Range, CO Location: Denver, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs Target Hire Date: Immediate To Apply: Please submit cover letter and resume to maggie.aey@ecomarksolar.com EcoMark Solar is a rapidly growing residential solar company based in Denver, CO. Our mission is to offer every homeowner in Colorado energy independence, financial independence, and a more environmentally responsible lifestyle through solar power. We are se [...]

Post Date: January 5, 2017 Job Title: Commercial Sales Associate Location:  Carbondale, CO Target Hire Date: Immediate To Apply: Please submit cover letter and resume to katharine@sunsensesolar.com Application Deadline: January 25, 2017 Primary responsibilities will be to support the Commercial Sales Department by implementing a targeted marketing strategy that will include customer pre-qualification, direct outreach, relationship building, event attendance and other peripheral duties pertainin [...]

In another shining example of renewable energy leadership, in 2016, Germany used more renewable electricity than ever before, receiving 32 percent of the gross amount of electricity consumed in the country from sun, wind and other renewable sources. The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) arrived at this figure in an initial estimate in late 2016. If the projections are correct, more than 191 bi [...]

It seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? If utilities are in the business of selling kilowatt-hours, then why would it make sense for them to help customers produce enough of their own kilowatt-hours that they don’t need to buy them from the utility anymore? Burlington, VT-based Green Mountain Power is testing a new program that it hopes will result in dollar and carbon-emission savings for both customers and itself. It’s Off-Grid package includes an energy efficiency audit in partnership wi [...]