Solar

Renewables are the New Oil in at Least One Middle Eastern Oil Nation

Last year the government of Abu Dhabi made a splash in energy investment circles by anchoring a cleantech fund:

As described on News.com just two months ago:

"One of the more ambitious related projects in the Mideast is Masdar, a $250 million clean-tech investment fund unfurled last year. The government of Abu Dhabi (through Abu Dhabi Future Energy) has put $100 million into Masdar, while Credit Suisse and the Consensus Business Group have put in $100 million and $50 million, respectively. Masdar, which means "source" in Arabic, also plans to set up a think tank with … Read more

The power of 625 suns comes to Tracy, California

GreenVolts, which builds utility solar power plants that feature high-performance concentrators, has signed a deal with Pacific Gas & Electric to build a 2-megawatt solar power plant near Tracy, Calif., in 2008.

When built, it will be the largest concentrator solar plant for utilities in the world.

In Germany, utility solar power plants--which essentially are large numbers of solar panels sitting in a field or on top of a roof--are a big deal. That's because the government subsidizes them. Sellers get 45 cents a kilowatt hour for electricity they send to the grid, far higher than the normal price. … Read more

A day in the life of a factory worker in China

Factory workers put in long shifts at Suntech Power Holdings, but they do get time off.

The solar cell manufacturer, which has emerged as one of the fastest growing in the world, has its plant employees put in two twelve hour shifts on consecutive days and then get two days off.

The 2,500 factory workers make around $200 a month each on average. That's $2,400 a year. 70 percent of the factory employees are young women.

"Robots will double your production costs," said Steve Chan, vice president of business development.

While such wages would be … Read more