Addis Fortune reports that the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation has scrapped the planned purchase of 301 solar electricity generators with capacities of 200 watts to 1,100 watts. The reason for the cancellation was not given.
The ETC had planned to use the solar generators to power both wireless mobile and landline telephone services in areas currently without electrical power.
RenewableEnergyAccess.com reports
that the Exhibition Place’s Horse Palace in Toronto, Ontario, will be the feasibility test site of a 100-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system. The system will be made up of four sub-systems, each using a different combination of solar, inverter and mounting technologies. Webcams mounted on the rooftop will allow viewers to track the solar arrays’ output over the Internet.
The project’s goal is to show the effectiveness of solar energy systems in urban environments and to provide 120,000 kilowatts of electricity per year.
Sharp Electronics Corporation announced
they will supply solar panels as a standard feature for up to 300 homes being built by BLU S.K.Y Homes in Bakersfield, California. The solar energy systems offered will produce between 1.7 and 3.5 kilowatts, depending on the square footage of the home.
A survey conducted by Sharp noted that a majority of Americans believe home developers should offer solar power as an alternative on newly built homes, and that most Americans are even willing to pay a premium for this environmentally-friendly feature.
Sharp is the U.S. subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, Osaka, Japan.
RenewableEnergyAccess.com reports that Akeena Solar, Inc., a Los Gatos, Calif., designer and installer of solar power systems, announced the company’s shares are now available on the NASD’s Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board.
Revenue for the first half of 2006 reached $5.3 million, with $2.5 million in gross proceeds attained during the past month, an Akeena official said.
USA Today reports
that Xinjiang Province residents and area nomads waiting for a transmission line were given government subsidies of 500 yuan to buy photovoltaic solar units to provide energy to power heaters, radios, televisions or light bulbs. The units were offered to help reduce the hazardous emissions from the use of coal for power.
In the past year, 40,000 panels have been sold to some of China’s poorest families, offering them access to information, education and safety.
RenewableEnergyAccess.com reports
that California, following the passage of the Million Solar Roofs bill, has formally adopted the California Solar Initiative. The initiative aims to increase the amount of installed solar capacity in California by 3,000 megawatts by 2017 through offering performance-based incentives to solar energy projects.
The plan adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission is a 10-year, $2.9 billion program.
The New Mexico Business Weekly reports the Conservation Voters New Mexico has released its annual ranking of state legislators on how they voted on conservation-related issues. According to the organization, the Solar Market Development Income Tax Credit, which rewards homeowners and businesses that install renewable energy systems, helped boost the legislators’ rankings.
Red Herring reports that Nanosolar of Palo Alto, California, has signed an agreement with Conergy to develop large-scale solar power systems using thin-film technology, which uses little to no silicon, therefore reducing the cost of solar panels.
The companies plan to create new solar-electric system and panel designs that will produce the cheapest source of solar power yet envisioned.
The North Jersey Herald News reports the current cost of producing solar energy means the Meadowlands Commission’s plan to create one of the nation’s largest solar energy systems could cost between $35 million and $250 million.
Jeffrey Wootan, executive director of Massachusetts-based Solar Design Associates, estimated that, since it would require $35 million to produce 5 megawatts of electricity and $200 million to $250 million to produce up to 35 megawatts, only companies with “deep pockets” are likely to respond to the commission’s request for proposals.
The Lowell Sun reports that Spire Corp., a Massachusetts producer of solar-energy equipment has completed a solar photovoltaic electricity-generating system for North Coast Seafoods in Boston. The system, funded in part by a $500,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Renewable Energy Trust can generate more than 144,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.
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