A solar powered boat docked in Abu Dhabi just before the 2012 World Future Energy Summit has made a 48,000 kilometer voyage entirely on electrical power to get there. The boat wanted to prove that there were ways for the shipping industry to reduce the amount of green house gases that boats emit into the [...]

Investing in photovoltaics, or solar energy, can be a little tough for some people due to the high initial price of solar panels and similar technology. However, the environmental and financial benefits of this investment far outweigh the cost. If you are looking to invest in solar power, then check out these tips to make [...]

This past Thursday, the FBI and inspectors from the Department of Energy reportedly raided the offices of now bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra. An FBI spokesperson confirmed the raid without offering further details. The DOE inspector general’s office typically investigates allegations of fraud or wrongdoing at the agency and within entities the agency does business [...]

US solar panel manufacturer’s, Solyndra, has announced that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, after failing to successfully compete against lower-cost solar panel manufacturers in China. This was the beginning of a bad week for the environment in the United States, being capped off at the end on Friday with an announcement by [...]

With production up to 10 megawatts, the new Greenough River Solar Farm will be the biggest operating solar plant in Australia. What will all that energy be used for? A seawater desalination plant in Western Australia that is currently being expanded. This summer, it was announced that, due to near-drought conditions, the desalination plant capacity [...]

Google is investing $168-million in an alternative power project that hopes to make enough solar energy to power 140,000 homes. The company announced their plan this week as part of the financing that BrightSource Energy needs to build solar power plant in California’s Mojave Desert. BrightSource also has lined up $1.6-billion in loans guaranteed by [...]

General Electric made a big announcement today that reflects a new outlook on renewables. They are planning to build the largest solar panel factory in the United States, with an annual capacity of 400 megawatts of production of thin-film solar. The company plans to spend over $600 million on the solar project. “Over the last [...]

The U.S. solar market grew 67 percent from a $3.6 billion market in 2009 to $6 billion in 2010, according to “U.S. Solar Market Insight: 2010 Year in Review,” a report released this month by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and GTM Research. California installed the most photovoltaics last year, with 258.9 megawatts of [...]

A report from the European Photovoltaic Industry Association states solar panel generated electricity could make up 12% of Europe’s power demand by the end of this decade and up to 9% of the world’s needs by 2030. PV capacity in Europe is expected to jump from 28 GW last year to close to 100 GW [...]

On December 17, President Obama signed legislation that extends the Department of Treasury Section 1603 program for another year. The program provides commercial solar installations with a cash grant in lieu of the 30% solar investment tax credit (ITC). The ITC was signed into law by President George W Bush in 2008, but few firms [...]