Many of the problems that forced solar company Solyndra to shutter operations threaten other businesses in the sun-power industry, with more upheaval likely in the coming months, analysts say. The bankruptcy last month of Fremont, Calif.-based Solyndra comes as solar manufacturing undergoes a major transition. Prices of solar panels have plummeted, causing a supply glut […]

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Hawaii regulators are starting a process that may lead to the creation of a system where residents could finance expensive up-front costs of solar power installations through their electric bills. The Public Utilities Commission opened a docket for the program, called on-bill financing, this week. Blue Planet Foundation Executive Director Jeff Mikulina says on-bill financing […]

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WAILUKU – Maui County awarded contracts this month to install at least 1,000 solar panels on the rooftops of county facilities on Maui and Lanai. The winning contractors are Haleakala Solar of Kahului (installer), Gen-X Energy Development of Haiku and NexGen Energy Partners of Boulder, Colo., (developers) and Bosch Solar Energy Corp. of San Mateo, […]

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MAUI—Maui County officials announced this week that it is ready to install the largest solar panel project in the county’s history. The Maui County Solar Rooftop project will install solar photovoltaic panels on five fire stations, four water supply facilities, four wastewater facilities, two police stations, two senior centers, at four park facilities and at […]

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There’s a paradox in the global solar industry: When manufacturers are suffering, things are looking up for consumers. Lux Research last week released its latest industry analysis which projects fast growth in the amount of solar power installed, at 15.5 percent per year, but flat revenue until 2016. Reflecting the same dynamic of falling product […]

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A former industrial disposal site in Kapolei, Oahu, is to be brought back into useful service with a plan to build a 1-megawatt solar power plant on it. Property developer Forest City Hawaii and power company Hawaiian Electric Company have reached a power purchase agreement to set up the project at the Kapolei Sustainable Energy […]

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US PV installations will spike 166% in 2011 to 2.4GW, doubling the 80% growth seen in 2010, with California leading the way, according to new reports from IHS iSuppli. The number of PV installations will climb 25% this year to 49,000, according to the firm. Ground-mount installs make up a little more than half of […]

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Via Honolulu Star-Advertiser The West Hawaii Civic Center in Kailua-Kona on Tuesday turned on a 250-kilowatt solar power system that is projected to save the facility $500,000 in electricity costs during the next 20 years. REC Solar and SunRun partnered to design and install the $1.8 million photovoltaic system that will generate an estimated 400,000 […]

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By Doug Peeples Smart Grid News Editor As Hawaii’s solar installations approach mandated limits in several areas, more and more home and business owners are backing away from plans for solar projects because they could be required to pay for an expensive study to determine if the increased solar load would affect grid stability. The […]

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SolarCity’s $280m partnership with Google, along with its innovative Solar Lease financing program, have already made great strides in taking solar into the mainstream. Now the company is partnering up with another influential player—the US Air Force—to install solar to power 2000 homes in Hawaii. While some hardcore greenies may be surprised that the US […]

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