Solar

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

Sunny Italy expects to more than double its installed photovoltaic capacity used to turn sunlight into power to 900 megawatt (MW) by the end of 2009 on the back of government incentives, state-run agency GSE said on Friday.

China Solar Photovoltaic SA plans another share offering this year to fund expansion, and the U.S. mainboard is a possibility, its chief operating officer said on Tuesday.

Japan's Toshiba Corp and Sharp Corp said on Friday they are considering working together in the solar power business amid growing demand for cleaner energy, sending their shares higher.

Thin-film solar maker First Solar Inc will build a 30-megawatt photovoltaic power plant with power cooperative Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association in Northeastern New Mexico, the companies said on Tuesday.

The global market for photovoltaic solar power grew 110 percent last year due to explosive growth in Spain, a report said on Monday.

Three of the world's top solar power companies on Tuesday offered a dour view of the industry as it struggles with a dearth of funding options for new projects that has driven up supplies and sent prices on solar panels falling.

NRG Energy Inc. announced on Monday a deal with eSolar to develop solar power plants with the capacity to power 400,000 homes at sites in California and the Southwest United States.

BrightSource Energy, a solar energy provider signed a deal with Sourthern California Edison to supply the utility company with 1,300 Megawatts of solar energy, enough to serve nearly 845,000 homes.

A utility company in New Jersey with more than 2 million customers is asking approval for a $773 million project to implement a solar energy program to provide electricity to the communities and costumers it serves.

Big business is officially going solar.

Italy may soon become Europe's next frontier for solar energy as new incentives prompt investors to bet on higher returns than in Germany, which has less sun but is currently the hub of a growing global market.

Florida has plenty of sunshine to power rooftop solar panels but utilities say they won't be cost effective.

Dusty Dezhou was relegated to the footnotes of Chinese history for centuries, known mainly as the place where a Filipino king died.