RENEWABLE ENERGY

SunPower , an U.S. manufacturer of solar panels, reported an unexpected net loss for the first quarter, hit by the credit crisis and the difficult economic conditions, the company said Thursday.

Exelon Corp. and solar panel maker SunPower Corp. plan to build a solar power plant in an urban area in Chicago with the capacity to produce the electricity required by up to 1,500 homes in one year.

The U.S. government’s Environmental Protection Agency is marking the celebration of Earth Day 2009 on Wednesday by promoting the use of clean energy sources.

House Energy and Commerce Committee representatives agreed on Tuesday that the U.S. must lead the world in climate change action but uncovered gaps in a proposed climate bill during the opening session of a weeklong series of hearings.

Britain should only support energy production from burning wood and other biomass where proven carbon cuts result, said a report by the Environment Agency, a public body which advises government. Investors and energy companies plan to invest billions in developing British power plants running on wood chips, straw and other biomass, in response to UK climate change policies which add a premium for generation of low-carbon electricity.

Asian governments are warming to the idea of offering incentives for green investment and could help attract billions of dollars in funding for solar and wind power industries struggling under tight credit conditions.

President Barack Obama has proposed to his counterparts a new Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas to promote renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The push to add more renewable wind and solar megawatts to the U.S. electric mix will force changes in the way the power grid operates to keep electricity flowing reliably, said an industry watchdog on Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexico's President Felipe Calderon will collaborate in the US-Mexico Bilateral Framework on Clean Energy and Climate Change, a new association to promote renewable energy and lower carbon output, the White House announced Thursday night.

Utility firm PG&E, California's largest, is approaching renewable energy in a much different way by completing a deal to be provided with solar energy from space starting in 2016.

Australia's energy supply network will need almost A$100 billion ($72 billion) in refinancing and new spending over the next five years as it grapples with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to an industry survey released on Tuesday.

Abound Solar, a U.S. solar startup whose top rival is low-cost industry leader First Solar Inc, starts production at its first factory on Tuesday, promising that it will lead the way to making solar competitive with power from dirtier sources.

President Barack Obama's energy czarina Carol Browner urged on Monday during an energy conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for Congress to pass an energy bill stating that the U.S. needs to become the world's leader in clean energy production and delay the rate of climate change.

General Electric Co. was a leader provider of wind turbines to such energy market in 2008 in the United States with a big margin, followed by Vestas Wind Systems, Siemens and Suzlon and Gamesa far behind, the American Wind Energy Association reported.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday, to clarify their agency's jurisdictional responsibilities for leasing and licensing renewable energy projects on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

An advanced solar car that can cruise in a range from 50 to 60 miles per hour and weighs less than 500 pounds is being developed by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A Florida utility and a real estate developer are aiming to bring the country's first solar-powered city to the Sunshine State.

Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc., a U.S. based corn ethanol producer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District of Delaware on Wednesday due to shrinking profit margins.

Mobile phone equipment makers are taking steps to clean up their act and tackle a goal of powering nearly 120,000 base stations in developing countries by cleaner energy sources by 2012, players in the industry say.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar highlighted the potential of offshore wind power in the Atlantic Ocean at a public hearing in Atlantic City, signaling it could replace the amount of energy generated by 3,000 coal-fired plants.

At first glance, a new day seems to be dawning for the overshadowed solar sector in Australia, the world's sunniest continent.