As a distributed power resource, solar energy is not just changing the way Americans see their relationship to electric utilities. It’s also making our armed forces more mobile and less dependent on traditional sources of energy, which means less hauling gas around in convoys, which means making our troops safer in battle zones.
Powering modern warfare [...]

Here’s your daily dose of solar energy news and related info to wrap up the week…
New York is on the verge of revising its net-metering laws%

A bill that could have seriously damaged Arizona’s solar industry has been pulled from the legislature, says House Spokesman Paul Boyer. Rep. Debbie Lesko (R) is going to withdraw the bill that would have hit solar with a double whammy: first, by removing the Corporation Commission’s ability to set renewable portfolio standards for state electric [...]

A new bill in the Golden State could soon give home- and business-owners access to a statewide loan program that would help them finance solar installations and other renewable energy projects. The bill, SBX8 26, would create a program to standardize Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs across California and authorize a $50 million PACE [...]

At a shipyard in Germany today, PlanetSolar unveiled the world’s largest solar powered boat: a 30-meter long catamaran that will be powered exclusively by about 38,000 SunPower monocrystalline solar cells. Two sailors will circle the globe in a trip beginning early in 2011–this will be the first circumnavigation to be completed in an entirely solar-powered [...]

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company Bloom Energy on Wednesday revealed its much-hyped fuel-cell technology, reports the Los Angeles Times. Dubbed the “Bloom Box,” the new device combines oxygen from the air with a fuel — either conventional or renewable — to generate electricity. The company already has a number of prominent customers, including FedEx, Staples, Walmart [...]

At the Renewable Energy Expo and World Conference in Austin, Texas yesterday, solar energy received accolades from the editors and readers of the Renewable Energy World network of publications. The Excellence in Renewable Energy Awards are intended to recognize projects, people, and companies for “advancing the market for renewable energy in North America”.
Of the seven [...]

Alright, kids, here’s your daily dose of solar- and renewable-energy news…
Chinese solar-panel maker Suntech (NYSE: STP) said that it might reconsider its recent decision to open a manufacturing facility in Goodyear, Arizona, reports the Phoenix Business Journal. In a story we’ve been following, the state legislature is currently considering HB 2701, a bill that would [...]

Coney Island, New York’s erstwhile amusement park mecca, is en route to receiving an infusion of modernity via its iconic Wonder Wheel, which is slated to install 32 solar panels atop its 16 swinging cars this summer. The man behind the idea, Deno Vourderis, hopes to bring back the bright lights that once characterized the 150-foot-tall [...]

Here it is, folks, your daily dose of today’s solar energy news and info…
The big story this morning: BrightSource Energy on Monday got a preliminary OK for a monster federal loan guarantee, worth $1.4 billion, via the Los Angeles Times. As GetSolar’s Margaret Collins reported last week, the company has revised its plans in an attempt to [...]