We’re back after a brief hiatus yesterday. Here’s what’s on tap for today’s solar power and energy news: the nation may (finally) get its first offshore wind energy installation, though there’s still a long way to go; a nasty oil slick the size of Jamaica — the result of a tragic accident on the part of BP, the oil company, and Transocean, a rig operator — is making its way ashore; Solar Power Partners, a California solar company, raises some cash; as of last Thursday, a new batch of Vermont solar rebates is available; and FirstSolar (NASDAQ:FSLR) moves to acquire a solar project developer. Keep reading for more details…

Solar Power Partners, one of the country’s biggest independent solar power producers, has raised some funding – as much as $215 million, according the press release. Based in Mill Valley, just north of San Francisco, the California solar company will use the mix of construction debt, long term debt and tax equity, along with corporate funding, to pursue “aggressive, nationwide growth in both commercial and utility markets.”

Good news for Vermonters who want to install solar panels! As of April 22, the Green Mountain State has more Vermont solar rebates available, thanks to $5.2 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund. Homeowners can fetch a solar rebate worth $1.50 per installed watt of solar power for systems up to 10 kilowatts (kW) in size. Stay tuned to GetSolar for more details.

British Petroleum’s blob this way cometh… From the front of this morning’s Wall Street Journal: “The Gulf of Mexico oil slick grew and headed to the coast. Officials considered setting fire to the slick, which had grown to 100 miles by 45 miles, in hopes of preventing it from hitting the shoreline. BP, which contracted to use the rig that caught fire April 20, has so far failed to shut down the gushing crude. As BP defended its handling of the spill, papers show it argued against proposals for stricter safety rules.”

If you’re like me, you probably haven’t heard of Moser Baer India Ltd. (Say what?) Which probably means you don’t know that the company is the world’s second-biggest maker of blank DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. Well, according to BusinessWeek, the disc maker wants to become a solar-panel maker. Why? The company’s CFO, Yogesh Mathur, has a pretty straightforward answer: “Growth in photovoltaics dwarfs our main business.”

In Colorado solar news, a Carbondale-based company wants to put a solar installation on a landfill in Eagle, Colorado, via Vail Daily. Under the plan — which is broadly called a community-based or cooperative approach — individual homeowners would buy into the solar installation and, in return, would be able to take advantage of Colorado solar rebates and the 30-percent federal tax credit.

Did someone say downstream acquisition? FirstSolar (NASDAQ:FSLR), a Tempe, Arizona-based maker of solar thin film, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire NextLight, a developer of utility-scale solar installations in the American Southwest, via MarketWatch.

Finally today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar may OK the country’s first offshore wind energy project,via Bloomberg. The Cape Wind project — a $1 billion, 468-peak-megawatt wind installation about five miles off Cape Cod in Massachusetts — has been nothing short of contentious since the plan was first put forth nearly a decade ago. According to Bloomberg, Massachusetts “homeowners whose ocean views would be affected have spent $20 million over nine years to block the proposed wind farm.”

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading — we’ll see you back here tomorrow.