VentureBeat SF Green event adds three new companies; audio post
The clean-technology event VentureBeat is co-hosting with SF Green is coming up on Monday (it starts at 5pm for networking at 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco; program content starts at 6pm).
We’ve added three companies onto the roster of exhibitors, which already included Tesla Motors and Kleiner Perkins managing partner Ray Lane. Ticket sales for the event are still open here, while our previous post includes full details on the event’s background. The purpose is… Continue Reading
Sungevity brings web 2.0 grit to the solar installation market
Set to be officially unveiled on Tuesday to coincide with Earth Day, Sungevity, a Berkeley, Calif., based solar installer, aims to make the experience of configuring and ordering solar panels as easy as the click of a mouse — quite literally. Enter your home address on its website, and Sungevity’s satellite-imaging software (from Microsoft’s Visual Earth) takes you to a zoomed-in map of your house. It then helps you calculate your roof’s dimensions (its pitch,… Continue Reading
Solar outlook stays bright even as economy dims
While the market for silicon solar panels appears to be growing at a healthy clip, several factors could either retard or speed its development. A worldwide silicon shortage, government investment credits, energy prices and the existing financing and installation models for solar panels are all in flux. But recent developments in all of those sectors suggest a positive outlook for the sector.
First up, Trina Solar’s recent decision to cancel its $1b silicon plant is widely… Continue Reading
Solar moving south? Rebate plan falters in San Francisco as southern California gains massive project
Updated
An ambitious plan to double the rebate amount for residential solar panel installation in San Francisco, to $6,000 from $3,000, looks a little less certain to pass today with a surprise resolution introduced by San Francisco supervisor Jake McGoldrick to freeze the $3 million necessary for the program.
The idea behind the subsidy, called the Solar Incentive Rebate Program, is to increase solar in San Francisco from five to 55 megawatts in about 10 years time,… Continue Reading