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 and Ebay. At $700,000-$800,000 a piece, the commercial boxes are well beyond the price range for homeowners. But, depending on how quickly the company can ramp up production and drive down costs, the Bloom Box may turn out to be the next big thing in distributed generation. A lot will also depend, explains Jesse Jenkins for Forbes’ “The Energy Source,” on: the price of fuel inputs; the durability of the fuel cells; and the technology’s ability to deliver meaningful, cost-effective emissions reductions. For a layman’s look at how the technology works, check out this overview from CSMonitor.

Pending state approval for tax incentives, Dow Chemical is set to launch a new project to make lithium-ion batteries and solar shingles, reports Detroit Free Press. The projects are expected to create 2,500 new jobs in Michigan, many in Saginaw County.

Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE), a Chinese manufacturer of solar panels, said it wants to build a manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas, according to the Statesman Business Blog. The $20.7 million proposal could create more than 300 jobs. To draw the investment in, the City of Austin is offering Yingli an 80-percent tax break on the plant and equipment.

GT Solar International Inc. announced that it signed more than $200 million in new contracts, reports Mass High Tech Business News. The New Hampshire-based company develops technology and equipment used in the manufacture of solar wafers, cells and modules.

First Solar Chairman Michael Ahearn recently sold about 40 percent of his stake in the company for $142 million, via BusinessWeek. According to a filing on Wednesday, Ahearn sold 1.3 million shares — “a clear signal that he sees headwinds,” said Gordon L. Johnson, head of alternative energy research at Hapoalim Securities USA Inc. in New York. “This should send a very negative signal to those who are long this stock,” he added. Shares of First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) have slumped since last week when Q4 earnings and 2010 guidance were announced.

In other news related to thin-film solar, Global Solar Energy, a Tucson, Ariz.-based manufacturer, today announced that its Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) cells achieved 13.2 percent efficiency, a number confirmed by the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). ”Global Solar Energy is the first company to exceed the 13 percent efficiency target using thin films on a flexible stainless steel substrate, and joins a small number of PV companies who have met this high efficiency milestone for large thin film power modules,” said Dr. Ryne P. Raffaelle, Director of NREL’s National Center for Photovoltaics. “This result is remarkable, given that the module was made using standard production equipment and manufacturing processes at Global Solar Energy.”

Finally, with so many folks talking about the next generation of nuclear power plants here in the U.S. (the Obama Administration last week announced a set of federal loan guarantees for the construction of two new plants in Georgia), the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 on Wednesday to block the license renewal for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, which is operated by Entergy. On this, check out this short blurb from Matthew Yglesias.

That’s all for now — stay plugged in with GetSolar.