Solar Power

The German ECOLAR solar home has taken the top prize in Engineering and Construction in this year’s Solar Decathlon Europe, followed by Hugary’s Odooproject.

The Canopea home by the team from Rhône-Alpes, France, has taken first prize in the Architecture Contest of the Solar Decathlon Europe, with Germany in second.

How dominant is Europe in solar power? It has 51 gigawatts out of 70 GW of global installed capacity, according to a new EU report.

The Indian state of Gujarat unveiled a 1-megawatt solar power system covering a stretch of irrigation canal – and now a second state is planning to do even more.

Is it any time to be opening a solar manufacturing plant? It is for Semprius, which boasts CPV modules with 33.9 percent efficiency.

No, when California went over 1 gigawatt in utility solar production, the peak didn’t come between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., when demand was at its highest.

The DOE-sponsored “Race for the Rooftops” competition is looking for teams to install solar at $1/watt for non-hardware costs – and fast.

Utility-scale projects drove second quarter U.S. solar installations to new heights, but the residential sector was flat and commercial installations plunged.

Passing 1 GW in utility-scale solar both shows how far California has come and how far it has to go in meeting its renewable energy goals.

Europe joins the U.S. in turning up the heat on Chinese solar makers, launching a probe that could lead to duties on imports to the huge EU market.

Community solar legislation dies in the California State Legislature, and proponents blame utilities and their “high paid lobbyists.”

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official wants new power tower solar plant approvals delayed until monitoring data on their avian impacts comes in.