Right now, it does look like something that would have come out of a science fiction movie. But there is more to just how it looks. The newest solar race car that the MIT has created has got the goods that will make most owners of alternative energy vehicles drool.

The Solar Electric Vehicle Team of the university is the group behind this newest solar race car. They say that this ride can zoom by at speeds of 90 miles per hour. They had spent $243,000 on this one and they call it Eleanor. Just like the vehicle that Nicolas Cage was so afraid of in Gone in 60 Seconds? I don’t know.

But anyhow, George Hansel, one of the members of the solar team, shares, “It drives beautifully. It’s fun to drive and quite a spectacle.” They are working on the vehicle already and testing it because it is going to be taking part at the World Solar Challenge which is a 2000-mile solar race for seven days through Australia.

Source: Wired

Tags: MIT, Solar, Solar Electric Vehicle Team, solar-car, World Solar Challenge

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After Obama signed the stimulus bill last week, the renewable energy media was buzzing. Every reporter wanted to weigh-in on how the 1200 page bill would affect cleantech industries like solar and wind.

But, what homeowners want to know is how the bill will help them.

Especially for those who have been looking into home solar electricity for awhile, many homeowners were hoping that the new administration would bring increased solar rebates from the federal government. No such luck with this bill.

So what’s in it, anyway?

There are two main provisions for solar electricity:

1. Cash grant

At the end of last year, as part of the “bailout” plan of 2008, Congress extended the federal solar rebate for 8 years. Under this law, both businesses and homeowners can receive a 30% rebate for the cost of the system in the form of a federal tax credit. Previously homeowners’ rebates were capped at $2,000.

With the new economic stimulus bill passed last week, businesses – but not homeowners – can choose to receive this rebate in the form of a cash grant instead of a tax credit. Homeowners must still take the rebate as a tax credit. So, they must owe enough in taxes to be able to make full use of this government money.

2. Municipal solar financing

There are a few cities, like Berkeley, CA, which have developed programs where homeowners can finance solar electric systems through their property taxes.  Previously it was unclear if homeowners who financed solar in this way were eligible to receive the government rebate. The new economic stimulus bill clarifies that homeowners who go solar with this kind of municipal financing can receive the federal solar tax credit.

So what does all this mean for the solar industry?

The municipal solar financing provision isn’t a big change, but rather just a clarification, and will only affect the relatively small number of people who live in cities with municipal solar financing programs.

The cash grant could be helpful to solar developers who are struggling to raise tax equity, which is what solar businesses need to be able to use the federal tax credit. Unfortunately, though, the cash grant program will likely take several months to get up and running, especially because many Treasury Department positions remain empty. Plus, businesses who rely on the cash grant could stumble in 2010 when the program expires. It’s also a better for a business to use the tax credit instead of the cash grant because it also lets them use a financial tool called accelerated depreciation, which is quite valuable.

Although this economic stimulus bill likely won’t be a game-changer for home solar electricity, solar is still one of the safest places homeowners can put their money in this economy. Call us at 877 SUN MOJO and we’ll tell you more!

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clipped from efhutton.blogspot.comI want to issue a major note of caution here. The formation above could be signaling a market capitulation. Think about it like flushing a toilet. You know what goes down the toilet=, but then the bowl fills right back up. My guess is, if flushed it will be a great…

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TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire - Feb. 27, 2009) - Timminco Limited (”Timminco”) (TSX:TIM) announced today it will host a conference call on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at 5:00 pm ET to discuss its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2008. Timminco will report its fourth quarter and year end financial results via news release on Tuesday, March 17, at approximately 4:30 pm ET.

To access the conference call by telephone, dial 416-644-3417 or 1-800-732-9303. Please connect approximately 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the call to ensure participation. The conference call will be archived for replay until Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at midnight. To access the archived conference call, dial 416-640-1917 or 1-877-289-8525 and enter the reservation number 21297430#.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be also available at www.timminco.com. Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to join the webcast. The webcast will be available for replay at www.timminco.com following the live presentation.

ABOUT TIMMINCO

Timminco is a leader in the production of low cost solar grade silicon for the rapidly growing solar photovoltaic energy industry. Using its proprietary, patent pending technology, Timminco purifies silicon metal into solar grade silicon (also known as upgraded metallurgical silicon) for use in the manufacture of solar cells. Timminco also produces silicon metal, magnesium extrusions and other specialty metals for use in a broad range of industrial applications serving the aluminum, chemical, pharmaceutical, electronics and automotive industries.

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CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Wacker Chemie AG, a German chemical company, announced Thursday that it will build a $1 billion plant with 500 jobs in southeastern Tennessee to produce hyperpure polycrystalline silicon, a product used to make solar panels and semiconductors.

Company executives, Gov. Phil Bredesen and economic development officials said the company has purchased a 550-acre site about 30 miles northeast of Chattanooga.

Wacker Chemie President and CEO Rudolph Staudigl declined to give a timetable for the start of production, saying that will be driven partly by demand for the product. He said construction will take at least two or three years. Staudigl declined to discuss wages but said workers will be “well paid” and will need special training.

Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber said his office has been talking to Wacker Chemie executives and competing for the project since 2005.

Staudigl declined to identify any other states that competed for the plant.

Kisber said the state’s incentives package for the company will be worth between $75 million and $100 million and will include tax credits and help with infrastructure and job training… read the rest

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There are tons and tons of gadgets in the market right now and most of us are so addicted to gadgets that we do try to get the very best or the newest. However, did we all realize that the more we purchase these gadgets, the more our carbon footprint is? Yeah, well, let’s just say that each time you need to give juice to your gadget, you plug it right up the grid.

But if you had solar powered rechargeable batteries, then you are now lessening a good amount of your carbon footprint. And these solar rechargeable batteries is the brainchild of Knut Karlsen. He names his created the SunCat. And what he did was create solar rechargeable batteries by sticking in strips of a solar cell right around nickel metal hydride batteries.

Of course that Karlsen has done is still a prototype and he is still working out how to create better ones. He even admits that the first one that he did is not going to work that well. He is currently spending time on a second version.

Source: Crave
Image source: FreeFoto.com

Tags: Knut Karlsen, Solar, solar batteries, solar gadgets, solar rechargeable batteries, solar-power, SunCat

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The Rise & Shine is your daily source for all solar-industry news. Brought to you by Sweet Solar Home and the Experts at SunRun.

CALIFORNIA NEWS

California Solar Startups Might Get Help in Unlikely Places
Smaller developers are having trouble securing capital in the economic downturn and the utilities are now eligible for a federal 30 percent investment tax credit under a law passed by Congress late last year.

SMA America Employs the Sun at Corporate Headquarters
SMA America has installed a carport solar power system at its U.S. headquarters in Rocklin, CA. The new array is designed to serve as a demonstration system for SMA’s popular Solar Academy while off-setting a portion of the facility’s energy usage.

NATIONAL NEWS

Cash for Solar Doesn’t Apply to Residential Projects
Residential installations won’t benefit from the cash-payment provision. But they will still get the 30 percent tax credit.

New Solar Company Invites You to See What is Under Their Roof
In addition to technical support, training classes will focus on the business of solar energy, sales and marketing, and product training. Specialized workshops offered through the Earthsponse 360 program will provide continuing education towards earning the NABCEP certification.

FPL Breaks Ground on 25MW Photovoltaic Project
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has broken ground on FPL’s DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, which will bring commercial-scale solar photovoltaic power to Florida for the very first time.

NM Joining Other States in Promoting Green Jobs
Among those potential jobs are solar- and wind-energy system designers and installers, sales people and contractors skilled in retrofitting homes for energy-efficiency.

Georgia: Strapped for Renewables or a Solar Goldmine?
If approved, the rule now moving through the House would require utilities to get 6 percent of their energy from renewables by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025.

SolarPower Restoration Systems Signs Purchase Agreement with SBM Solar
SolarPower Restoration Systems plans to purchase SBM Solar modules over a two-year period starting this April.

UTILITY INDUSTRY & REGULATORY NEWS

Green Transmission Superhighway Needed for Renewable Energy to Reach Full Potential
The American Wind Energy Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association have released a white paper detailing current inadequacies of the U.S. electric transmission infrastructure and offering policy solutions to address them.

FINANCIAL NEWS & MARKETS

Akeena Solar Announces Fourth Quarter and Year End 2008 Results
Fourth quarter revenue grew to $10.9 million, led by strong residential installation revenue which increased 23% over last year to $8.4 million.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Obama Budget Proposes Shift to Green Energy
The budget calls for ‘’significant increases” in cutting-edge research into renewable energy, including solar, wind and geothermal sources.

Obama 2010 Budget Highlights by Agency
The Energy Department’s spending plan would pay for “significant increases in basic research” into developing clean and renewable energy including solar.

TECHNOLOGY

University of Alberta and NINT Researchers Make Solar Energy Breakthrough
They have engineered an approach that is leading to improved performance of plastic solar cells (hybrid organic solar cells).

Solar Collector Coating Formulated to Absorb and Retain Heat
A selective black silicone-based heat resistant coating that is easy to apply to solar panels and withstands weather and repeated thermal cycling is being introduced by Dampney Company, Inc. of Everett, Massachusetts.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Q&A: Ontario’s Green Energy Plan
Three years after launching North America’s first feed-in tariff, Ontario lawmakers this week presented a souped-up green energy plan that promises 50,000 ?green jobs? within three years.

DuPont Doubles Capacity for Solamet Due to PV Solar Growth
DuPont Microcircuit Materials has announced it recently doubled production capacity and made key quality improvements at its European Electronic Materials Manufacturing Facility in Bristol, U.K.

Enfinity Receives 50 million Euro Investment from Waterland
Renewable energy project developer, Enfinity Management has been granted a significant 50 million Euro capital increase by investment company, Waterland.

Feed-in Tariffs
In November last year the 2008 Energy Act introduced powers which will allow the UK Government to create feed-in tariffs for small scale low carbon electricity.

Oerlikon Solar and Tokyo Electron Partner to Market Thin Film Manufacturing Plants
Tokyo Electron (TEL), a supplier of innovative semiconductor production equipment, has announced a strategic cooperation with Oerlikon Solar, a supplier of thin film silicon photovoltaic production equipment.

China Sunergy Closes 20W Solar Cell Deal
China Sunergy will use the multi-silicon wafers purchased from the firm to produce multi-silicon solar cells.

Are you in California and interested in solar for your home? Call us at 877.SUN.MOJO or visit our website to learn more.

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On Tuesday (February 24) Solar One celebrated its second Party for a Solar Powered New York at Southpaw in Park Slope. The new monthly meetup aims to create a time and place where New Yorkers come to have all their solar power questions answered by professionals, get plugged in to local solar activism, enjoy great music and conversation and make new friends.

Drawing close to 150 guests, the party was a huge success. Nearly half of those attending sat down and wrote letters to their state legislators in support of I Heart PV’s current legislative goal: the creation of an Empire State Solar Initiative to dramatically boost solar adoption in New York over the next ten years.

Popular Science reported on the event for their online magazine. Check it out here!

Some pics of what happened:

The Solar Powered Racer Contest: (t) contestants endeavor to complete their solar powered racers before the 9:45 deadline. (l) It’s a tie! The winners: Team Protype 3 (front) and (r) Etan Marciano and Miguel Baliente. (Photo: Pauline Augustine, Trent Wolbe)

(l) Marciano and Baliente’s winning “Brownstone” design. (c) Test driving the finalists. (r) Huge honorable mention goes to Josh Goldworm’s multi-gear racer. It was the fastest PV racer ever built at a Solar One program . . . and over the years there have been thousands)! If the contest was based on speed, Josh’s design would have won hands down. (Photo: Trent Wolbe)

The I Heart PV Letter Writing Lounge: (l) Over 70 letters written in support of the Empire State Solar Initiative to 27 different state legislators. (Photo: Pauline Augustine)

“Ask a Solar Installer:”(l) Staff from Solar Energy Systems and Rob Ashmore of Aeon Solar answer questions and assess guests’ rooftops with google earth. (r) Designer Elliott Montgomery facilitates a creative brainstorming session to gather ideas for I Heart PV’s upcoming spring project: a mobile, solar powered education unit and radio broadcasting station. . . . yes, we’re serious. (Photo: Pauline Augustine).

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Florida Power & Light Co. broke ground Thursday on its DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, which the company says will bring commercial-scale solar photovoltaic power to the Sunshine State for the first time.

The 25-megawatt plant will be the largest photovoltaic solar facility in the nation when it is complete at the end of this year. The center will use 90,000 photovoltaic panels on 180 acres, and provide enough electricity to power more than 3,000 homes, which is nearly 20 percent of the population in DeSoto County, according to Juno Beach-based FP&L.

“Solar power will help promote a new clean-energy economy in Florida, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and address global climate change through the production of emissions-free energy,” FPL Group President and Chief Operating Officer Jim Robo said.

Photovoltaic panels convert sunlight directly into electricity, which can be fed onto the electrical grid without the need of a turbine generator.

“The facility will provide significant economic benefits to DeSoto County, creating more than 200 jobs during peak construction and providing more than $2 million in annual tax revenues by the end of 2010 to help boost the local economy,” FP&L said in a news release.

This is one of three new solar facilities FP&L is building in Florida. In December, it broke ground on the Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center, which will be the world’s first hybrid solar energy plant and the second-largest solar thermal plant in the nation.

The company will build a third facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, which will add 10 megawatts to the state’s photovoltaic solar capacity.

Shares of parent company FPL Group were down 98 cents to $46.44 in afternoon trading. The 52-week high was $68.98 on May 2. The 52-week low was $33.81 on Oct. 10.

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SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ — The founder and CEO of Act Solar, Andrew Foss, will be presenting at the Pacific Crest’s 2009 Emerging Technology Summit on Friday morning, Feb. 27, 2009. Act Solar, Inc. is a power management company that provides optimization solutions for solar power plants.

Mr. Foss will provide an update on Act Solar’s products, in particular, the company\’s flagship product, PowerString, which improves array performance by 6-11% using its patent-pending Injection Boost(TM) technology. Extensive field tests and historical modeling have shown that PowerString will cumulatively deliver 40-80% more power over 20-40 years of operations. He\’ll also discuss how Act Solar products and services dramatically lower the cost of solar generated electricity over the life of a system by allowing each module in an array to perform at its maximum potential, regardless of asymmetric electrical conditions caused by shading, soiling, ground faults, etc. Its wireless management features further lower costs by eliminating design constraints and providing full system monitoring, analysis and unmatched diagnostic reporting.

Mr. Foss’ presentation will be held on Friday, February 27 at 9:30am at the Pacific Crest Summit Clean Technology Conference, being held at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco.

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