Happy Monday, everyone. Here is today’s recap of solar energy news:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today announced a $2.25 billion investment campaign to add 3,000 megawatts of solar power by 2012, via LiveMint.com. The Manila, Philippines-based lender hopes that its initial outlay will attract an additional $6.75 billion in private investment, bringing the total amount available to $9 billion. According to the article, “[t]he bank did not specify target regions, but said Central Asia’s growing electricity demand, as well as its abundant desert and commitments to offset high carbon emissions, made the area a strong candidate for investment.”

SunPower Corp. (SPRWA, SPWRB) today announced the release of its super-efficient E19 Series solar panel. The new panels — which deliver a “record efficiency of 19 percent or greater” — will be available to residential and commercial customers starting in the third quarter of 2010.

CBS Denver has a brief profile on how non-profit organizations are structuring solar panel installations in Colorado. Since non-profits don’t have tax liability, they don’t qualify for the 30-percent federal investment tax credit (ITC). The solution? Bring in a third-party partner that can take advantage of the solar tax credit. Ba da bing.

In California solar news: Last week, we reported that First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) was set to buy NextLight Renewable Power LLC, a solar energy project developer. With that purchase comes spoils, including a 230-megawatt solar installation project in Lancaster, California (north of Los Angeles), via San Fernando Valley Business Journal. All told, First Solar will acquire 1.1 gigawatts 0f solar energy projects in NextLight’s development pipeline.

What do you get when you shut a bunch of brainy high school students in a laboratory and ask them to study solar power in California? A solar army, apparently.

That’s all for today — thanks for reading. We’ll see you back here tomorrow.