I wrote this story for Reuters, where it first appeared on November 30, 2010. A subsidiary of NRG Energy on Tuesday said it will invest up to $450 million in a 250-megawatt photovoltaic power plant to be built by Silicon Valley’s SunPower on the central California coast. The New Jersey-based power provider, which operates a [...]
Archive for the ‘SunPower’ Category
NRG to acquire SunPower solar farm for $450 million
Posted in environment, NRG Energy, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power plants, SunPower, Uncategorized, tagged NRG Energy on January 20, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Silicon Valley’s solar strategy to compete with China
Posted in alternative energy, energy, environment, green policy, green tech, renewable energy, solar energy, Solyndra, SunPower on October 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
photo: Todd Woody In The New York Times Green blog on Wednesday, I follow up on my print story about the impact of low-cost Chinese solar manufacturers on high-tech Silicon Valley startups: In an article in Wednesday’s paper, I write about how high-tech Silicon Valley solar companies are retooling their strategies to compete with low-cost [...]
SolarCity, Tesla to test storing solar energy in EV batteries
Posted in electric cars, energy, environment, green cars, green policy, SolarCity, SunPower, Tesla Motors, tagged California Public Utilities Commission, energy storage, SolarCity, SunPower, Tesla Motors on September 17, 2010 | 1 Comment »
In Wednesday’s New York Times, I wrote about two experimental projects in California to store solar energy produced by photovoltaic rooftop arrays: In the garage of Peter Rive’s San Francisco home is a battery pack. It is not connected to Mr. Rive’s electric Tesla Roadster sports car, but to the power grid. The California Public [...]
Recycling farmland, toxic waste sites for solar energy
Posted in alternative energy, energy, environment, First Solar, global warming, green policy, green tech, PG&E, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power plants, SunPower, the green economy, tagged First Solar, Natural Resources Defense Council, PG&E, Sierra Club, solar energy, solar power plants, SunPower, water, Westlands Solar Park, Westlands Water District, Westside Holdings on August 10, 2010 | 1 Comment »
photo: Todd Woody In Wednesday’s New York Times, I write about a growing movement to repurpose farmland and toxic waste sites for big renewable energy projects: LEMOORE, Calif. — Thousands of acres of farmland here in the San Joaquin Valley have been removed from agricultural production, largely because the once fertile land is contaminated by [...]
Another day, another big solar deal
Posted in alternative energy, Ausra, energy, enviro startups, environment, solar energy, solar power plants, SunPower, tagged Areva, Ausra, solar energy, SunPower, SunRay on February 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
photo: Ausra The week kicked off with French nuclear energy giant Areva’s acquisition of Silicon Valley solar company Ausra. As I wrote Monday in the Los Angeles Times: French nuclear energy giant Areva has jumped into the U.S. renewable energy market with the acquisition of Ausra, a Silicon Valley solar power plant startup backed by [...]
California moves to auction off solar energy contracts
Posted in alternative energy, energy, environment, green policy, PG&E, Recurrent Energy, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power plants, Southern California Edison, SunPower, tagged California Public Utilities Commission, CPUC, photovoltaics, Recurrent Energy, reverse auction market, solar energy, SunPower, Suntech on August 28, 2009 | 3 Comments »
photo: Southern California Edison It hasn’t received much media attention, but the California Public Utilities Commission has just proposed instituting a first-of-its-kind reverse auction market to spur renewable energy development — mainly solar photovoltaic. As I write today in The New York Times: California regulators are taking an eBay approach to ramping-up renewable energy in [...]
Solar manufacturing ramps up in the U.S.
Posted in Abengoa Solar, First Solar, green collar jobs, Schott, solar energy, solar power plants, SolarWorld, SunPower, Suntech, tagged First Solar, New Mexico, Schott Solar, solar factory, SunPower, Suntech on May 11, 2009 | 23 Comments »
photos: Schott German solar company Schott on Monday cut the ribbon on a $100 million factory in Albuquerque, N.M., that will produce solar panels as well as receivers for solar trough power plants. Meanwhile, Chinese solar giant Suntech said Monday that it will build a solar cell manufacturing plant in the United States. The move [...]
Big Solar generates big green jobs: report
Posted in alternative energy, Ausra, BrightSource Energy, energy, eSolar, First Solar, green policy, green startups, green tech, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power plants, Stirling Energy Systems, SunPower, tagged Ausra, BrightSource Energy, First Solar, Large-Scale Solar Association, Nevada, solar tax incentives, Stirling Energy Systems, SunPower, Vote Solar on April 9, 2009 | 2 Comments »
photo: BrightSource Energy As the Nevada legislature debates extending tax breaks for large-scale solar power plants, a new report finds that ramping up solar development in the Silver State could produce thousands of good-paying green jobs while generating nearly $11 billion in economic benefits. The study from San Francisco-based non-profit Vote Solar concludes that 2,000 [...]
Google to map green energy zones
Posted in alternative energy, Ausra, BrightSource Energy, endangered species, energy, enviro startups, environment, First Solar, Google, green startups, green tech, PG&E, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power plants, Southern California Edison, SunPower, wind power, tagged Google, Google Earth, green energy zones, Map Green Energy, renewable energy projects on April 1, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Can Google help defuse a simmering green civil war between renewable energy advocates and wildlife conservationists in the American West? That’s the idea behind a new Google Earth mapping project launched Wednesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Audubon Society. Path to Green Energy will identify areas in 13 western states potentially [...]
Spanish firm acquires big U.S. solar financier
Posted in alternative energy, climate change, energy, environment, global warming, green financing, MMA Renewable Ventures, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power plants, SunPower, Suntech, tagged consolidation, Fotowatio, Gemini, MMA Renewable Ventures, solar energy, solar financing, SunPower, Suntech on March 2, 2009 | 1 Comment »
photo: WorldWater & Solar Technologies The consolidation of the solar industry got underway Monday with the acquisition of San Francisco-based green energy financier MMA Renewable Ventures by Spanish solar developer Fotowatio. The Madrid-based company will purchase most of MMA Renewable’s solar assets – including the world largest photovoltaic power plant and its pipeline of projects [...]
