It was a fairly quiet weekend in terms of solar energy news, unless you think a solar-powered Super Bowl is a big deal (which we do).

The U.S. solar energy market will double in size over the coming year, according to MIT Technology Review. All in, 2010 could see a gigawatt of solar power generation capacity installed.

Some Pennsylvania businesses are lining up against House Bill 80, which calls for greater use of wind and solar energy technologies, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. At issue: how to create cleantech jobs and promote the adoption of renewable power, while (1) retaining jobs in other energy sectors, like coal, and (2) keeping electricity rate increases in check.

The Denver Post in an Op-Ed today proposes an escape clause for Colorado’s House Bill 1001. To prevent runaway costs and/or reign in a potential renewable energy bonanza, the editors believe flexibility should be built into the state’s renewable energy standard: “the PUC [Public Utilities Commission] could decide to decrease the requirement that 3 percent of total retail electricity be derived from on-site renewable energy. It could leave the standard alone. Or, if development is humming along, the PUC could recommend the percentage be increased, which would have to be approved by state lawmakers.”

A massive explosion on Sunday rocked a natural-gas-fired power plant in Middletown, Conn., killing five and injuring 12, according to the Hartford Courant.

Petra Solar, a New Jersey-based company specializing in pole-mounted solar energy systems, today announced that Craton Equity Partners will invest $40 million to help fund expansion activities.

Areva, the French energy conglomerate known for its nuclear knowhow, will purchase Ausra, a solar-thermal startup that was launched from Silicon-Valley, reports Greentech Media.

Finally, via BusinessWeek, Arava Power Co., an Israeli solar energy company, said it signed agreements to invest $535 million to build 15 solar fields in Israel. Together the fields will produce 100 megawatts at peak performance.

Over the last few years, the largest sporting event in the United States has shown some awareness of the enormous draw it makes on energy resources wherever it’s hosted. Yesterday’s 44th Super Bowl, accordingly, was the greenest yet: Florida Power & Light Group’s (NYSE: FPL) subsidiary NextEra Energy supplied the NFL with enough renewable energy credits (RECs) to completely offset the energy usage of not only the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl, but of the preparations leading up to the games in Miami, as well.

NextEra’s energy portfolio (PDF) includes 310 gross megawatts of solar energy and over 7,640 gross MW of wind power. The solar energy in NextEra’s portfolio comes from seven California solar installations. The NFL purchased wind and solar RECs, meaning that you watched the Saints win a partially solar-powered game last night.

The NFL’s efforts to green the Super Bowl got a lot less media attention than one lonely little ad, however. The by-now infamous Audi Green Police commercial is hilarious–and controversial. Some feel the commercial plays to fears that greater environmental regulation could lead to “green policing”, while others champion its willingness to take a stand on the fact that personal behaviors will have to change if we truly want to move towards a clean energy future. Haven’t seen the ad? Take a look:

Limoneira Company’s 5.5 acre, 6,400 solar panel, 1 megawatt capacity “solar orchard”–complete with observation deck–was designed to meet the rigorous standards necessary to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold-level certification. LEED is the country’s foremost standard in green building. This solar farm is the first private sector LEED Gold certification awarded in Ventura County.

The news appeared in the California Farmer, as Limoneira (founded in 1893) is one of the state’s foremost agribusiness companies, growing citrus, avocados, pistachios and cherries. Striving for LEED certification is in keeping with Limoneira’s corporate commitment to sustainability. From their website:

Sustainability with respect to farming operations include reduced water usage, erosion mitigation efforts, reduced herbicide and pesticide usage. The Company strives to operate at non-peak energy to reduce energy consumption where possible. The Company’s partnership with Agromin, a leader in green waste recycling, helps to transform green waste into safe and cost-effective compost and mulches for use in agricultural production and community projects.

c/o California Farmer

To date, Limoneira’s solar panel installation has saved the equivalent of more than 1,350 metric tons of greenhouse gases. One issue with ground-mounted solar panels in lush terrain can be vegetation growth–that is, grass. If it grows too tall, the grass can shade portions of the solar panels and drastically reduce the system’s overall productivity. (When solar installers harp on and on about shading issues, it’s not just because they love to hear themselves talk. It’s a serious concern.)

As a fun, innovative way to literally cut down on this problem, Limoneira has partnered with Future Farmers of America to introduce and care for seven miniature English sheep. The sheep can roam in, around, and presumably under the solar panel arrays to nibble on the vegetation–and keep the solar energy flowing.

A new technical report from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) shows some encouraging news: within the next ten years, the Bay State can expect to see greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions fall more than 18 percent below 1990 levels. Governor Deval Patrick’s focus on growing the state’s clean energy economy is partly to thank, a focus in which solar power plays an enormous role, as are renewable energy and energy efficiency programs.

Technically, this 18 percent reduction should meet the goals set forth in the Global Warming Solutions Act, which mandates a 10 to 25 percent GHG emissions reduction (from 1990 levels) by 2020–but we hope Massachusetts solar and clean energy development won’t slow down.

Where does the data come from, you ask? According to the press release:

For the 2020 “Business as Usual” projection, MassDEP extrapolated out to 2020 based on 1990-to-2005 historical emission trends.  This projection showed total emissions as relatively flat during that period, prompting the agency to project 2020 “Business As Usual” (BAU) emissions at 94 million metric tons.  Today’s draft report shows the Commonwealth on track to reduce emissions significantly below the BAU level – to 77 million metric tons, an 18.6 percent reduction – based on laws and policies now in place.

…”This is the promise of a clean energy economy – the same measures that help us meet our climate obligations also help us create jobs and economic prosperity,” said Nick d’Arbeloff, president of the New England Clean Energy Council.

If you’re interested in more details of the report itself, check out the full report here (PDF).

The Bay State is wasting no time with the distribution of stimulus funds for renewable energy growth within the state, putting serious effort behind the solicitation of bids for projects on public property. Continuing to push forward, Governor Deval Patrick and Secretary of Energy Ian Bowles went out to North Andover today to solar integrator Nexamp’s logistics center. Jointly, they announced that the solar installer has been awarded a $20 million contract to build 4.1 MW of ground-mounted solar panel arrays at twelve drinking and waste water treatment facilities throughout the state.

The Journal of New England Technology reported that Nexamp expects to see 100 new jobs created over the next 18 months by this project. Massachusetts has struggled to maintain its reputation for a strong green job market since solar panel manufacturer Evergreen Solar announced it was shifting panel assembly to China (mere months after being lured to set up shop not far from Boston by a sweet suite of incentives put together by Governor Patrick). Whenever possible, Nexamp will try to use Massachusetts-based products like Evergreen solar panels in order to qualify for higher levels of rebate funding.

This $20 million solar project is part of an approximately $37 million commitment of stimulus funds to energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements on state water treatment facilities.

Here’s your solar energy digest for Friday, February 5:

Sharp has expanded its manufacturing facility in Memphis, resulting in a “hiring blitz,” according to the Memphis Business Journal. Responding to growth in demand for solar panels, the company added nearly 200 jobs last year and boosted the Memphis plant’s production capacity by over 130 percent, from 60 megawatts to 140 megawatts. Sharp has benefited from Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit funding, which it received in January through the federal recovery act.

Bernie Sanders — an Independent Senator from Vermont and America’s only openly socialist Senator — isn’t exactly what you’d call “in the political mainstream.” But if he wants to make 10 million solar roofs across the U.S. then, well, we support his ambition. Apparently, so do the nine other senators who are co-sponsoring Sanders’ bill, which is entitled “10 Million Solar Roofs & 10 Million Gallons of Solar Hot Water Act” (Presumably, the bill’s title is a play on California’s Million Solar Roofs Initiative.) For more details on the senator’s plan, and some great quotes, check out this interview with Grist’s David Roberts.

Clearly established states’ rights is one of the things that makes America great. It’s also often a source of frustration for an industry when individual states make opposing decisions. Case in point: Just as the Arizona legislature will be reviewing a bill that could weaken that state’s renewable energy standard, comes news via Solar Industry that Colorado Governor Bill Ritter wants to strengthen his state’s standard.

Then again, if Congress fails to pass a cap-and-trade climate policy bill, they may instead opt to pass a national renewable energy standard (RES), rendering moot much of the foregoing. On this topic, Environmental Leader reviews a new report from Navigant Consulting suggesting an RES would benefit southeastern and manufacturing states.

Banks are once again being “lured by sexy solar, wind energy projects,” according to BusinessWeek. After a sluggish year in renewable energy project finance in 2009, cash may be available at levels not seen since 2008.

Finally, WSJ.com’s Stuart Weinberg reports that Ontario needs to clarify its feed-in tariff (FIT) rules. At issue is a rule requiring that at least 50 percent of the goods and services used in large solar installations originate in Ontario. Strict requirements on local procurement, it turns out, can spook investors and hinder projects.

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend. Stay tuned.

The trouble with reading any analyses, reports or simple statements from industry experts is how difficult it can be to sift through the mass of material. Differentiating sound judgment from pure noise, or attempts at manipulation from a desire to present balanced viewpoints—these are the challenges that face anyone with an interest in a burgeoning field, especially one as (relatively) new as solar.

But Roger Efird, Suntech Power Holdings’ managing director for business development in the United States, may be onto something when he predicted yesterday that planned cuts to Germany’s solar incentives may incite solar manufacturers to ship their excess products to the U.S., thus forcing stateside prices for solar equipment downward. As the world’s top market for photovoltaic solar systems—it represents about 50% of the global market—Germany has long served as a bellwether and beacon of hope for the solar industry. And so, with the German government ready to implement a 15% cut on prices paid for roof-mounted solar power systems starting April 1, some panels bound for Germany will surely end up across the Atlantic.

From Reuters:

Solar companies have struggled in the past year as a glut of supplies pressured module prices by about 40 percent, squeezing profit margins in the nascent industry, and the additional supplies that had been destined for Germany will push U.S. prices even lower.

Efird foresees anywhere from a 10% to a 15% decline in price, not only from the excess of solar product but also increased numbers of manufacturers, who might have sold in Germany before but who are setting their eyes on a market with more potential. It’s an issue with overall supply.

“Anything that happens in Germany has a ripple effect,” [Efird] told the RETECH energy conference.

Such an outlook, of course, is excellent news for U.S. consumers and anathema to manufacturers everywhere, although it is possible that increased sales of solar systems—triggered by their lower prices—may insulate somewhat against the potential losses of the drop in price. (Like Wal-Mart, but on a much smaller scale: dirt-cheap prices, huge quantities of sold product, large revenues.) Thoughts on whether or not this will come to pass?

You may have heard that solar stocks were up this week. You may also have heard that they were way down. You might also have heard that analysts are predicting great things for this year…or that they’re not. What gives? I am no kind of market analyst; in fact, that’s why I needed to delve into this week’s strange stock happenings, because I couldn’t make heads or tails of what was coming over the wires. Here are the key pieces of what’s happened this week:

• New Hampshire-based GT Solar(NASDAQ: SOLR), an industry leader in photovoltaics manufacturing processes, saw its shares spike sharply yesterday, and did huge volume, trading almost eight times more shares than usual. But all was not sunshine and roses: The Street reported that while the spike was a result of GT’s market guidance announcements that revenue and earnings per share would be overall higher than expected for 2010, investors weren’t being careful enough in assessing new versus already reported or cancelled orders from the manufacturer.
• Solar wafer manufacturer MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (WFR) was upbeat about its 2010 outlook. Last year’s solar panel oversupply seemed to be slowing and PV Tech reported that in a conference call, MEMC execs said “the company was now shipping wafers to 10 of the top 25 PV manufacturers, compared to having made shipments to only 2 solar customers at the beginning of 2009″. Which you’d think would drive stocks up, right? Um….right, stock market? No.
• For analysts, MEMC’s sunny predictions are countered by the company’s acquisition of solar developer SunEdison, which had a $10 million operating loss last quarter, according to The Street. Plus, there’s a lot of skepticism over SunEdison’s past revenues, and no one’s sure if a solar wafer manufacturer and a solar developer are such good bedmates. They operate on two very different ends of the solar spectrum.
• MEMC’s lack of confidence vote from analysts pulled other solar stocks down with it, like GT Solar (SOLR; remember them from a couple paragraphs ago?), LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), and JA Solar Holdings (NASDAQ: JASO).
• And then, as if this whole thing weren’t already way out of hand, Chinese solar panel manufacturer Suntech (NYSE: STP) announced that the proposed cuts to Germany’s solar feed in tariff rates would likely push excess solar panel supply State-side, driving prices down just when we thought–again, remember from a paragraph ago?–that the oversupply bust was stabilizing.

Armchair analysts, weigh in here. What are we going to see over the next year, as solar panel prices continue to drop, simultaneously encouraging a boom in the industry while slamming profit margins across all pieces of the supply chain?

So many megawatts, so little time… Here’s today’s rundown of solar energy news:

SunEdison, a solar installation project developer, announced today the activation of the first phase of a 16-megawatt (mW) solar farm in North Carolina. Located in Davidson County, N.C., the project, when complete, will generate 115 million kilowatt-hours of electricity over the course of 20 years — enough to power 10,000 homes for a year. It will also offset 225 million pounds of carbon dioxide.

The parent company of SunEdison, MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE: WFR), this morning provided financial guidance for 2010. Evidently investors did not like what they saw: WFR was down 13 percent in mid-day trading.

Todd Woody at the Green Inc. Blog talks about renewed interest in smaller-scale distributed solar installations. Great overview, but I’m surprised he didn’t mention PSE&G’s move to install solar panels on utility poles across New Jersey, which is arguably the most “distributed” you can get.

Germany’s solar energy industry predicts a 44 percent cut in the price paid for electricity generated from solar electric systems, reports Bloomberg. Both Germany and France have in recent weeks moved to reduce the going rate for solar power.

The mayor of Pittsburgh, Luke Ravenstahl, wants to turn a site ruined by coal mining into a solar energy farm, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. As a Solar America City, Pittsburgh has a long-term goal to meet 0.5% of all electricity needs in the city with solar.

Austin, Texas (another Solar America City), is considering a new approach to promoting adoption of solar power, reports The Statesman. Instead of offering an upfront rebate to solar buyers, the Austin City Council’s plan would have Austin Energy, the local utility, buy the electricity generated by rooftop systems owned by city businesses. To test the idea, Austin Energy wants to begin offering 10-year electricity purchase contracts to a limited number of businesses.

Finally, we’ve all heard of “peak oil” theory — the notion that global supply of the stuff will peak and then steadily decline. A recent report, brought to our attention via Kate Mackenzie at FT Energy Source, talks not of peak oil supply, however, but of peak oil demand. The short (seven-page) report argues that demand for oil will weaken because of three main variables: price volatility, concerns about the security of supply, and climate change. I’m no oil and gas expert, but aside from climate change, aren’t we already intimately familiar with the first two?

Construction of a 240 kw solar installation at the Boston Water and Sewer Commission’s (BWSC) headquarters will begin this month, according to Rivermoor Energy, the solar energy development and investment firm that won the project just last week. The Newton, MA-based firm is taking advantage of the state’s new solar renewable energy credit (SREC) program to leverage funding for the $1.075 million project. Another local company–Zapotec, Inc., based out of Cambridge–designed the solar installation, which will provide the BWSC with about 7 percent of its annual power consumption (268,000 kWh/y).

When complete, the BWSC’s rooftop solar panel installation will be the largest of its kind in the city. It will be connected to the investor-owned utility NSTAR’s electrical grid. Chairman, President & CEO Tom May of NSTAR enthused:

It has been such a pleasure working with all of the collaborative partners on this project and we are so excited to see another clean, renewable energy project plugging into the NSTAR system…We applaud Mayor Menino’s work to make Boston a truly green city. The BWSC solar installation is the perfect example of how renewable energy projects can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and benefit the local economy at the same time.