One of the biggest issues facing the increase in solar power took center stage in a number of ways last week—financing. It’s still a bumpy road for the solar industry, whether its financing for increasing production or for large-scale projects. Companies are increasingly looking to solar to offset their use of grid-supplied electric and power-purchase agreements continue to offer better deals on power prices in most markets. Meanwhile, first quarter results at two companies, Evergreen Solar and Energy Conversion Devices show that both companies are at risk, but look for more on that this week.

The call from investors and solar companies to create comprehensive national U.S. solar policy is not new. But last week it reverberated a bit louder than usual. At the Renewable Gala in Denver local financial experts called for such reform.

The call for reform came as one of the most important tools, the 1705 Loan Guarantee Program, that has encouraged billions of dollars of investments in solar began to sunset. The 1705 program, which is set to expire Sept. 31, 2011, will continue to offer loan guarantees, like the $90.6 million conditional loan guarantee recently offered to Cogentrix to develop a 30 megawatt concentrating photovoltaic plant in Colorado.

The 1705 program has helped large-scale concentrating solar energy projects like BrightSource Energy’s Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. But a recent CSP Today report contested the whether such large-scale projects are really producing cost-efficient electricity. The report contends that some of the economic efficiencies of large-scale projects may not lead to the cost reductions expected.

While big banks and financial firms like Goldman Sachs are making savvy investments in solar, it’s still hard for the average Joe or Jane to invest in solar with their 401(k) options. The Renewable Energy Initiative is trying to change that by helping to create investment opportunities that invest in solar, wind and other clean energy.

As Xcel Energy of Colorado announced the it was filing its renewable energy compliance plan with the state, it also said it was on target to meet the state’s renewable portfolio requirement, requiring that it source 30 percent of its generation from renewable sources by 2020.

Xcel’s efforts to go solar and wind shows promise, but it’s blown out of the water by the Masdar City project in the United Arab Emirates. The city is the first net-zero energy city in the world, thanks to its efforts to create energy-efficient buildings and its 10 megawatt solar plant.

EnviroMission’s solar chimney—or solar updraft tower, got support for its first utility-scale project last week when the Southern California Public Power Authority took an option to buy the 200 megawatt solar chimney. It also took an option to purchase the power from a second tower to be built in La Paz, Calif. The structures will heat air, creating wind, which will be harvested as electricity by a series of turbines in the tower itself.

Elsewhere in the solar world, more big companies like IKEA and General Motors added more solar to their mix. Toys“R”Us said it will install a 5.4 megawatt array at its Flanders, N.J., distribution center. IKEA now has roughly 2.9 megawatts of solar power at its facilities in the U.S., with more on the way. Most recently it completed a 1.8 megawatt array at its distribution warehouse in Tejon, Calif. General Motors added more solar to its Chevy Volt manufacturing plant with a 516 kilowatt array. The company already had a solar carport onsite to charge up to 12 Chevy Volts.

First Solar, Inc. inked a strategic deal with China Power International New Energy Holding Ltd. to work on First Solar projects in China and to identify potential projects for CPINE in the U.S. First Solar’s has a 2,000 megawatt project in China has been stymied as the company looks for local partners.