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Wrong Roof? No Roof? Customers Can Buy Blocks of Solar

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) customers who want to buy solar power can soon do so regardless of where they live and without committing thousands of dollars to own their own solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Customers will soon be able to buy blocks of the power produced from large-scale solar installations. The innovative SMUD pilot program called SolarShares, will make solar available to all customers, including renters and occupants of multi-unit buildings. The program is the first of its kind in California and provides all SMUD customers affordable options to purchase solar power. For less than $5 per month and up to about $30 per month, most customers can ensure that at least 10 percent and up to 50 percent of their energy comes from SMUD’s new solar farm. Actual price and percentage of consumption will depend on the customer’s annual energy use and the size of the “virtual” PV system they select. Customers will subscribe at a fixed, SMUD-subsidized price in increments that match or complement their lifestyle, energy use, and support for solar energy. Customers could even take their solar power with them if they move within SMUD service territory. The program benefits the community as well, as […]

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Solar-Thermal Company Ausra Raises $40M

The solar-thermal industry took another step forward last week when Ausra Inc. announced it has secured more than $40 million in funding to build and operate utility-scale power plants. The announcement is the latest example that solar-thermal is gaining traction as a major solar technology. Currently, nine solar-thermal (or concentrating) power plants in California’s Mojave dessert supply 350 megawatts of electricity annually. But that amount stands to increase more than four fold when planned projects come on line, including Southern California Edison’s 500-MW Stirling solar dish contract, Pacific Gas & Electric’s 553-MW deal with Solel and a 400-MW facility in the planning stages by BrightSource Energy. Ausra, located in Palo Alto, California, is backed by Silicon Valley venture capital firms Khosla Ventures and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers (KPCB). The company claims its thermal energy storage systems have an edge because they can provide on-demand power generation during both day and night. Moreover, it claims it can do so at just 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, which would be on par with the price of electricity from burning natural gas in California, if the state’s Public Utilities Commission chooses to impose a cost for CO2 emissions. At this price, Ausra claims […]

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SOLON AG to Build 44Mw Solar Plant

SOLON AG has received a contract to develop and construct a 44 MW solar power project in Spain by Scan Energy A/S of Denmark. The turnkey project will be constructed in Ayora in the Spanish province of Valencia. The start of construction is planned for the second half of 2008. The new facility will have a production capacity of 60 million kWh. The commissioning will be carried out by SOLON Solar Investments GmbH, a subsidiary of SOLON AG located in Freiburg, Germany that specializes in planning large-scale solar power plant projects for financial investors. Website: http://www.solonag.de     

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