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.
In a 24 hour whirlwind trip to Switzerland, I visited the headquarters of technology start-up firm SwissINSO, where I was able to see first hand the development of a new technology that is set to bring more colour to the PV market, specifically the BIPV and solar thermal sector.
Third party leasing has become the dominant model for financing residential solar in the US. But as new sources of capital emerge and consumer confidence grows, Felicity Carus asks for how much longer this will remain the case.
With the tectonic plates shifting in the global solar market, Felicity Carus tracks some of the trends that will emerge as the industry comes out of its period of consolidation.
Futurist and Google collaborator Ray Kurzweil has predicted a world entirely powered by solar. Having heard him speak earlier this month, Felicity Carus wonders whether he could be right.
The California Solar Initiative has been a runaway success, driving over 1.5GW of installations, but its days are now numbered. In the search for ways to keep the momentum going, community solar is emerging as a hot contender says Felicity Carus.
