Rick Scarlet and Gloria Johnson paid their electric bill last month, just like most people. It was $3.35. That took care of heating the couple's energy-efficient Springfield home and charging their electric car using solar power. The key is solar panels that went up behind their home in 2009. The system is tied into the power grid. When their system generates surplus power -- more than they use -- Scarlet and Johnson receive credit on their electric bill. When they use more than they generate,... Continuar leyendo

It looks like the inevitable is marching closer for shareholders of Evergreen Solar (Nasdaq: ESLR ) . In its quarterly filing after the bell on Thursday, the company not only missed consensus estimates by a mile, but warned that it may need to seek bankruptcy protection in the not-so-distant future if it doesn't receive a much-needed cash infusion. Evergreen employs string-ribbon silicon technology, which greatly reduces the amount of silicon needed in a solar panel, but has found selling its... Continuar leyendo

On April 14th, 2011, the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF, Brussels, Belgium) and the European Heating Oil Association (Eurofuel, Brussels, Belgium) released a statement advocating thermal/conventional hybrid solar boiler systems. The organizations also questioned new eco-design and energy labeling measures, and called for greater recognition of hybrid systems in labeling. "The EU’s new Energy Efficiency Plan stressed once again the massive potential for primary... Continuar leyendo

New Jersey, home to more industrial waste clean-up sites than any other state, is poised to become an exemplar of U.S. solar power usage -- though not everyone is happy about it. Yet the combination of a strict state mandate and a generous carbon offset program has made New Jersey -- where only three in eight days are sunny -- the second-largest U.S. producer of solar power, after California, where more than half the days are sunny. Legislation passed during former Governor Jon Corzine's... Continuar leyendo