By [email protected] U.K. developer Solarcentury sold its residential solar business to the Swedish firm SVEA Solar and continues to look for a buyer for its utility-scale operations. While the residential market accounted for only 10 percent of Solarcentury’s total revenue, it included a high-profile partnership with furniture retailer Ikea. SVEA now adds the franchises in…
By [email protected] Rooftop solar enjoys strong public support across the United States. So why aren’t solar panels blanketing communities across the country? The reason there aren’t millions more homes with rooftop solar isn’t due to a lack of demand; it’s because a lot of American homes aren’t solar-ready, according to Hayes Barnard, CEO of Loanpal,…
By [email protected] Majors account for a 15 percent share of the global oil and gas market. If those majors want to capture the same market share in renewables, it would require them to collectively invest $200 billion, according to a new report from Wood Mackenzie. So far, no investment from majors in clean energy technologies…
By [email protected] A month after announcing its surprise acquisition of SunPower’s microinverter business, Enphase said the boost to its AC module partnerships will buoy its bottom line. After a scary dip in share prices over the past few years and a Nasdaq delisting last summer, the acquisition marks an upward trajectory that will continue, according…
By [email protected] In December 2016, Panasonic and Tesla finalized an agreement to begin manufacturing solar PV cells and modules at the “Gigafactory 2” in Buffalo, New York. Under the arrangement, Panasonic agreed to cover the capital costs associated with the factory and Tesla agreed to purchase Panasonic’s custom-manufactured solar products. “These high-efficiency PV cells and…
By [email protected] SunEdison, a company once poised to become the first renewable energy supermajor, emerged last week from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a much smaller version of its former self. The company’s reorganization plan, approved last July by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, became effective on December 29. SunEdison now…
By [email protected] President Trump and Republicans secured a long-anticipated win on Wednesday as the House passed a revised version of the final tax bill, sending it to the president’s desk for approval. The President called it “a big, beautiful tax cut for Christmas.” After he signs it, changes take effect on New Year’s Day. The…
By [email protected] Last week, California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Picker gave out flyers in front of the Washington, D.C. offices of the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. The flyers pointed to a webpage listing openings at California’s PUC, Air Resources Board and Energy Commission. Picker said, “On climate action, there’s a dark…
By [email protected] Lancaster, California has moved beyond requiring solar panels on the rooftops of new houses. A newly passed city ordinance stipulates that those rooftop arrays meet the energy needs of those homes. The city started requiring solar on new homes back in 2014, pioneering a policy that has since been adopted by Sebastopol, Santa…