Editors’ Blog

Silicon Valley's Palo Alto, home to the semi-conductor industry, practises what it preaches by being a big solar user. Felicity Carus looks at the drivers for PV adoption in the city.

Arnold Schwarzenegger may have retired to Hollywood, but the actor-turned-governor still pushes his image as a climate hero and clean energy champion, says Felicity Carus.

As with many big sporting occasions, all sorts of claims are being made about the environmental credentials of next year's football World Cup in Brazil. But with solar installations set to play a central role in many of the event venues, Andy Colthorpe asks if it could put solar squarely on the map for this PV giant-in-waiting.

Last month US president Barack Obama launched a multi-billion initiative to bring power to the African people. But with little of this money so far directed towards developing solar capacity in a continent ideally suited to it, Felicity Carus asks whether the money is being wisely spent.

Despite a long list of thin-film company failures and retrenchments over the last few years, several start-ups continue to tout their technology offerings ahead of actual commercialisation.

First of all, congratulations to ReneSola for being included in Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s (BNEF) tiering system for PV module makers – joining the often used “Tier 1” category.

California governor Jerry Brown got Intersolar North America off to a rousing start in San Francisco yesterday. Reporting from the event, Felicity Carus says recent hard times for solar in the US are not overshadowing a new mood of optimism for the industry.

Massachusetts' solar programme has been massively oversubscribed. Felicity Carus reports on how emergency measures to extend the programme have benefited the state.

Crowdfunding is becoming an increasingly popular tool in the US for raising capital for solar installations. Felicity Carus asks what all the hype is about.