The CEO of bankrupt solar company Solyndra, which received a $528 million government loan, has resigned.
The company notified the bankruptcy court yesterday that Brian Harrison left the company "as scheduled" last Friday, according to reports. In the filing, it said his departure was considered before the company declared bankruptcy last month, according to an AP report.
Harrison and Chief Financial Officer Bill Stover became the center of attention last month when the two were asked to testify at a Congressional hearing, but both exercised their rights to not incriminate themselves and provided no substantive answers to questions. … Read more
Much like a hybrid car, Silevo's solar cells use a few engineering tricks to boost overall performance beyond the oft-touted cell efficiency.
The 4-year-old company today detailed its technology, claiming it will be able to outperform incumbent Asian solar panel manufacturers on efficiency and industry cost leader First Solar.
The company has a research facility in Fremont, Calif., and has plans to build a demonstration-scale manufacturing plant in Hangzhou, China, to validate its technology next year, said Chris Beitel, the company's vice president of marketing and business development. The factory will be able to produce 32 megawatts worth … Read more
An Obama administration appointee at the Energy Department pressed White House analysts to sign off on a $535 million loan to Solyndra even though his wife worked for the failed solar panel maker's law firm, according to internal e-mails made public on Friday.
The revelation adds new drama to a political battle over the administration's backing for Solyndra, which has filed for bankruptcy and has been raided by the FBI. The newly disclosed e-mails reveal "a disturbingly close relationship" between the White House, campaign donors, and wealthy investors relating to Solyndra, congressional Republicans said.
The e-mails show frequent inquiries from Steven Spinner, who was an adviser to the Energy Department on its use of economic stimulus funding to spur clean-energy technology, on the Solyndra loan, according to a report in The New York Times.
On September 29, the Energy Department had posted a "fact check" on Spinner's involvement in the Solyndra case on its Web site, explaining that he started his job after the company received conditional approval for its loan application.
The department said Spinner "was recused from engaging in any discussions on decisions affecting specific loan applications in which his spouse's law firm was involved out of concern for the appearance of a conflict of interest." … Read more
MAKUHARI, Japan--Following the March 11 quake and tsunamis in Japan that caused widespread power shortages, the Ceatec 2011 electronics trade show outside Tokyo is taking up electricity savings as a major theme.
Nissan's NSH-2012 Smart House of the Future concept is part of a Smart Community Zero zone showcasing technologies that operate off the power grid.
The house stands on stilts to maximize space, with a parking area underneath it. Aside from solar and fuel cells that help make the home independent of the power grid, the polyhedral structure can draw electricity from the battery of an electric car such as the Nissan Leaf. … Read more
It's not often that a solar installation gets the royal treatment, but in the case of Torresol's molten salt solar plant that's exactly what happened yesterday.
King Juan Carlos of Spain and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, along with Masdar CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Sener President Jorge Sendagorta, and several other royals from the United Arab Emirates, oversaw opening ceremonies at a 19.9-megawatt solar plant in Fuentes, Andalucía, Spain.
The plant, which uses molten salt thermal storage to generate electricity, is the result of Torresol Energy, a … Read more
President Obama said today he does not regret the loan-guarantee Solyndra received, while recently revealed e-mails show early doubts within the White House about the now-famous solar company.
In an interview with ABC News and Yahoo News, Obama said the policy of providing loan guarantees to clean-energy technology companies is sound despite the failure of Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy at the end of August. The company received a $535 million loan guarantee and about $1 billion in private capital.
Obama said loan guarantee program is important to developing clean-energy technologies and demonstrating that that U.S. can be an … Read more
The University of Maryland won this year's Solar Decathlon competition by engineering a net zero-energy house and making water conservation central to its form and function.
The Department of Energy announced Saturday that Maryland won the DOE-sponsored university competition to build the most compelling solar-powered house. Each of the 20 team participants is judged on 10 different factors, including architecture, affordability, and market appeal. (See Solar Decathlon coverage from 2009 and 2007.)
In a speech on Saturday, Energy Secretary Steven Chu congratulated student participants, telling them they are aiding the U.S. in a global competition to develop clean-energy … Read more
The U.S. Department of Energy today finalized financing for four utility-scale solar projects, capping a week of intense activity amid heightened political scrutiny on the loan guarantee program.
The solar projects are: Project Amp, for the installation of 752 megawatts' worth of solar power on about 750 commercial rooftops; a partial loan guarantee for the 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight project in California; the 230-megawatt Antelope Valley Solar Ranch 1 Project in California; and the 250-megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch project.
Among the four projects, the Department of Energy will guarantee financing worth more than $4.7 billion. Earlier this week, … Read more
Solar company Stirling Energy Systems has filed for bankruptcy, another casualty of a brutal global price war that is favoring commodity photovoltaic panels.
The Scottsdale, Arizona-based company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy late last week. The utility-scale solar company's largest investor is renewable energy developer NTR of Dublin, Ireland.
Founded in 1996, Stirling Energy Systems makes a large, 38-foot-high reflective dish which concentrates sunlight onto a Stirling engine to generate electricity. The 25-kilowatt SunCatcher dishes are designed to be used as building blocks for utility-scale solar farms in desert areas with sufficient sunlight.
The U.S. Energy Department finalized loan guarantees for two major solar projects today, as the deadline loomed for the government's renewable-energy incentive program.
The government wrapped up deals that would back $737 million in financing for a solar thermal plant sponsored by privately held SolarReserve and $337 million in financing for a Sempra Energy photovoltaic solar project.
With funding for the government's loan program set to expire at the end of the week, investors have been watching to see what deals will be completed before time runs out.
The loan program has faced intense scrutiny after the high-profile collapse of Solyndra, a solar-panel maker that was the first company to receive funding under the program.
Republican lawmakers investigating the Solyndra loan guarantee have raised concerns that the Obama administration may rush to complete loans to meet the program's deadline.
SolarReserve Chief Executive Kevin Smith, however, said the government had conducted an extensive review of its application. … Read more
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