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Solar Banking, Part 1: Smart Financial Engineering Funds the Big Solar Projects
Money is available for utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) projects, bank officers from CITI and Deutsche Bank said, but it is vital to know how to leverage every kind and source of financing. It’s called financial engineering and it is the only way to fund big solar projects, CITI Managing Director and Alternative Energy Finance Head Marshal Salant insisted at the Smithers APEX solar event in San Diego last week. The key differences between PV and CSP, Salant said, is that “PV can be done on a much...
read moreLeaf-Mimicking Design Boosts Output of Solar Panels
By adding microscopic folds onto the surface of photovoltaic materials, a design variation borrowed from a natural leaf, researchers say they have been able to boost the solar output of flexible plastic solar cellsby 47 percent. According to the scientists, who published their findings in the journal Nature Photonics, the folds acted as a sort of “wave guide,” channeling light waves and increasing the material’s exposure to light. “I expected that it would increase the photocurrent because the folded surface is quite similar to the...
read moreCommentary: Let sun shine on all companies, not just major utilities
Two weeks ago, the Florida Public Service Commission approved a $300 million dollar “down payment” on new nuclear expansion and upkeep, bringing the ratepayer money spent on nuclear to just over $1 billion in the past two years. Eight hundred miles away in Dallas, an event called Solar Power International 2011 (SPI) attracted more than 20,000 attendees from the U.S. and the world. This annual event is described as the “epicenter” of the solar industry and brought millions of dollars in local economic impact to...
read moreSolar companies offering rebates to customers
Florida Power & Light is reopening the application period for its 2011 solar rebate program. With $5 million remaining in its funding, FPL is allowing applicants to apply for solar rebates until funding runs out. “These incentives can help make investments in distributed renewable energy generation more affordable, and we are pleased that more of our customers will now be able to take advantage of the program this year,” said Marlene Santos, FPL’s vice president of customer service. In an effort to reduce energy...
read moreU.S. becoming a major player in the solar energy industry
A recent report by the Solar Energy Industries Association shows that the United States is central to the global solar supply chain. In 2010, U.S. solar firms netted global exports worth $1.9 billion. “The U.S. solar energy market continues to be a bright spot in an otherwise bleak economy,” said Rhone Resche, president and CEO of SEIA. “Solar energy is an industry invented in the U.S. that is helping our country reclaim our manufacturing leadership and creating tens of thousands of jobs.” More findings from the report...
read moreNextEra secures $935 million for solar power project
California will see a new solar power project built by the largest wind-energy producer in the United States, as NextEra Energy Resources LLC have secured $935 million in project bonds. The Genesis project, run by NextEra’s Genesis Solar LLC and located in Riverside County, California, will have a 250 megawatt capacity, the company said. It will enter into operation in 2014 and will supply power to California Utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The U.S. Department of Energy laid out a loan guarantee of 80 percent of the principal...
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