Solar thermal magazine August 2013 | Page 2 of 15

August, 2013. Earlier this month, technology billionaire Elon Musk revealed his ideas for solar powered hyperloop, a speculative new mode of high-speed transportation. The system would propel car-sized compartments through low-pressure tubes (like pneumatic tubes once used to move mail through office buildings) at 1,000 km/h. Musk says that connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles…

Turnkey Solar Energy Solutions Company Real Goods Solar to discuss financial progress at the 2013 Gateway Conference on September 10. LOUISVILLE, Colorado.August 2013 — Real Goods Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSOL), a nationwide leader of turnkey solar energy solutions for residential, commercial, and utility customers, has been invited to present at the 2013 Gateway Conference being held…

Solar Industry Management Changes. First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) has named Joe Kishkill as Chief Commercial Officer. Kishkill will have comprehensive leadership responsibility for Global Business Development, Sales and International Public Affairs, with a primary focus on sustainable growth in emerging markets. Reporting to Kishkill will be regional business development and global public affairs teams.…

Solar Company Financial News for Mergers and Acquisitions. SolarCity Corp. (Nasdaq: SCTY) and Paramount GR Holding, LLC, dba Paramount Equity, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for SolarCity to acquire the assets of Paramount Energy Solutions, LLC dba Paramount Solar, a subsidiary of Paramount Equity, in a transaction valued at approximately…

Solar PV Calculator. PVWattsTM Grid Data calculator allows users to select a photovoltaic (PV) system location in the United States from an interactive map. The Grid Data calculator uses hourly typical meteorological year weather data and a PV performance model to estimate annual energy production and cost savings for a crystalline silicon PV system. It allows users to…

Student athletes and homeowners to benefit from solar power cost savings. Real Goods Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSOL), a nationwide leader of turnkey solar energy solutions for residential, commercial, and utility customers, today announced a partnership with the Fresno Pacific University Sunbirds and Fresno Pacific Athletics. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds. As part of the alliance, homeowners in…

Market for Solar Power in Saudi Arabia to expand. First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) has announced that it has expanded its regional business development capabilities, with the appointment of Dr. Raed Bkayrat as Vice President (VP) of Business Development for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Additionally, Ahmed S. Nada, VP of Business Development for the…

Solar Powered Home Unveiled. SolarCity (Nasdaq: SCTY), a leading provider of clean energy, unveiled a solar powered model home with Elite Development Northwest that will be on public display at the annual Street of Dreams home show in West Linn, Oregon. SolarCity designed and installed a 9.6 kilowatt (kW) system to power Elite’s rustic style…

Solar cell efficiency. A Spectrolab solar cell recently set a world record by converting more energy from the sun into electricity than any other ground-based solar cell without solar concentration. The Boeing [NYSE: BA] subsidiary’s achievement in ground-based solar cell efficiency was verified by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden,…

Lowering Fuel Cell Costs. In support of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above strategy to develop clean, domestic energy sources, the Energy Department recently announced a 3.37$ million investment in two projects—led by Minnesota-based 3M and the Colorado School of Mines—to lower the cost, improve the durability, and increase the efficiency of next-generation fuel cell systems. This…