Natcore Technologies will use tax credits to add 27 new positions in upstate New York.

The solar company initially made news three years ago because President and CEO Chuck Provini said he expected he would have to move the business out of the country.

A lot of solar news came out of two very different ‘mids’ last week, the mideast and the midwest. The first is seeing some developments after being talked about for years, while the latter is seeing interest in solar and other renewables grow. Two of the world’s largest entities, the Department of Defense and Walmart continue to see more value in solar and are continuing to install it as they try to green their energy supply. Meanwhile another town in California will ensure that all new homes include solar.

When the Turanor PlanetSolar boat docked on May 18 in Marigot, St. Martin, it broke the speed record for a transatlantic crossing in a solar-powered boat.

Of course, PlanetSolar had only its own record to beat.

Students at Green Mountain College don’t just study solar projects, they design and build them.

This year students in the Renewable Energy and Ecological Design Program designed a solar-powered garage. The project not only taught students practical real-world experience in designing and building, it also will serve the college’s fossil fuel-free farm and could make electric car charging more viable in Vermont, where long cold winters and hilly terrain make plug-in cars less efficient.