Lately, the solar energy news rundowns have been light on the sarcasm and side comments… What do you think? Do you miss the sass? Should we continue to focus on simply relaying solar news stories? Feedback is welcomed.
Without further ado, here it is — your moment of solar power:
Proposition 16, on which Californians voted yesterday, appears likely to fail, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The ballot initiative would have required local governments to gain approval from two-thirds majority of their voters before using public funds to start or join a public power entity. Investor-owned utilities, most notably PG&E, opposed supported the proposed measure.
An international group of energy firms is planning a 100-megawatt solar thermal installation in the United Arab Emirates, via BusinessWeek. Abengoa SA of Spain and France’s Total will join Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, Masdar, to undertake the $600 million solar installation. The project is aptly named Shams 1, which in Arabic means “Sun 1.”
In Arizona solar industry and manufacturing news, thin-film maker First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) is planning to “double the size of its manufacturing plant in Germany in an effort to meet demand in Europe and hedge its bets against the euro,” according to Phoenix Business Journal. In related news, the Tempe, Arizona-based company reported relatively strong sales for the first half of 2010, ahead of anticipated cuts to Germany’s solar subsidies.
Another U.S. solar manufacturer, SunPower, will build a 9.1-megawatt solar power installation in Spain, via San Jose Mercury News.
Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL), a China-based solar manufacturer, will supply Southern California Edison (SCE) with 45 megawatts’ worth of solar panels, via PRNewswire.
Finally, an innovative plan in Minnesota envisions using wind power to make fertilizer.
That’s all for today. Thanks, as always, for reading. We’ll see you back here on Friday.
Don’t know who wrote this but you got it totally backward. Not only did PG&E NOT oppose Proposition 16, they poured 50 million dollars into their ill-fated attempt to snooker California voters into passing it. They were the sole sponsor of an attempt by one coproration to buy its own amendment to the California constitution…..saturated the airwaves, took out full page ads in every newspaper, and sent out millions of deceptive mailers and e-mails… It almost worked, but a grass-roots campaign of environmentalists and consumer protection advocates exposed the PG&E scam, despite being outspent by about 800 to 1 !!