Reviewing last week's solar energy news

last week's solar energy news in reviewLast week was a tumultuous news week throughout the world, with the horribly devastating disasters in Japan and Libyan unrest devolving into civil war. But the world of solar was much sunnier as the northern hemisphere heads into spring.

The news from Japan may be a real game changer for the solar industry as governments and people reevaluate their positions on nuclear energy. Already solar stocks have surged as people consider more solar as a viable alternative to nuclear. Since some solar devices are manufactured in Japan, the disaster is also having a very short-term impact on some of the equipment manufactured there. But solar manufacturers in Japan say they’ll be operational again soon.

Two solar companies, Energy Conversion Devices and Evergreen Solar reported negative items last week. Evergreen Solar reported a net loss of $411 million for the fourth quarter of 2010. While Energy Conversion Devices said it reduced its production goals for the first quarter of 2011, based on uncertainty in the European market.

But other solar manufacturers like Germany’s Mage Solar are moving forward with plans to expand operations. Last week the company announced a new module manufacturing plant in Dublin, Georgia, which will employ 300 people and expand its U.S. production capacity to 50 megawatts per year.

Another German company, SolarWorld, also ramped up U.S. production capacity to 500 megawatts annually. The company also started producing polycrystalline photovoltaics, which are less energy intensive to produce. The company started to work on the production expansion in September.

It was a particularly busy week for solar in Colorado. Xcel Energy and SunPower announced the completion of the state’s largest photovoltaic installation, the 19 megawatt Greater Sandhill Solar Power Plant in the San Luis Valley. Xcel Energy and the solar industry finally concluded what could have been an ominous end to its Solar Rewards program. The company had sought to reduce its incentive package to as low as 25 cents per watt. A level which the solar industry said would cause them to lose business and lay off workers.

The cutting of Xcel’s subsidies has already put some projects, like the Golden Community Solar Garden, at risk. The compromise level of $1.79 per watt was reached and will be in place until funds for the program dry up. The company will reevaluate the program in 2012.

Colorado’s other major utility, Black Hills Energy, stopped offering incentives for solar last fall, which forced installers to look for work elsewhere in Colorado. That company is looking to relaunch its incentive program as well.

In Nevada, NV Energy announced that it met its goal of sourcing 12 percent of its power generation from renewables in 2010. The company also that it is on track to get 15 percent from renewables like solar and geothermal by the end of 2011 and 25 percent by 2025, as required by the state’s renewable portfolio standard.

Massachusetts used American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money to support more than 300 solar and energy-efficiency projects. The commonwealth reported that it spent a total of $46.3 million of the funds on the projects.

Ford launched a new solar pilot for charging electric vehicles at its Michigan manufacturing plant. The 500-kilowatt PV array will include 750 kWs of storage and has 10 car-charging stations. The project is funded through grants from the Michigan Public Service Commission and DTE Energy’s SolarCurrents program.