The Department of Defense is required to comply with the Buy American Act and purchase American-made goods, including solar panels. In practice, however, the Buy American requirements often do not apply to solar projects at military facilities because third-party producers procure, install and maintain solar panels, financed by innovative long-term energy contracts with the department. Since the Department of Defense buys the power, and not necessarily the solar panels, a loophole in Buy American requirements has emerged where the military can purchase power from producers who do not use Buy American compliant panels.

The Buy American Solar Amendment will close this loophole and create a level playing field for U.S. solar manufacturers.

“The Department of Defense is a leader on utilizing solar power-not only for environmental reasons, but for national security reasons by making its facilities less dependent on outside power sources,” said Udall. “We are closing this loophole so that the Department of Defense always buys American when it funds solar projects for its energy security. China does not use U.S. solar panels at its military bases, so why should we use theirs at ours?”

“When it comes to charging up the American manufacturing sector and slashing our dependence on sources of foreign power, U.S. defense facilities should be using American-made solar panels in their clean energy initiatives without exception,” said Schumer. “The ‘Buy American’ requirement could not have been clearer, and I’m thrilled that the Senate has closed the loophole that allows foreign solar panel manufacturers to unfairly compete their way into our defense facilities.”

The amendment is supported by the U.S. Army and solar manufacturers with significant U.S. operations, including Sharp Electronics, Schott North America, Sanyo North America, Solar World Industries America, Suniva, Konarka Technologies, Kyocera Solar, and United Solar Ovonic. Schott Solar North America operates a significant manufacturing facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Despite the tough economic climate, more than 20 new U.S. solar manufacturing facilities have begun operations across America in 2010 and 2011. The U.S. solar industry employs more than 100,000 Americans, and is one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy.

“New Mexico companies, like Schott Solar, will greatly benefit from this amendment. It is also an important investment in our country’s homegrown solar businesses,” Bingaman said.

It is also supported by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Blue-Green Alliance. It maintains all existing provisions of the Buy American Act, which is consistent with international obligations of the U.S. Other nations that provide equal access to their government procurement markets qualify under Buy American, but large solar producers such as China and Malaysia do not qualify.

The Fiscal Year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act attempted to close this loophole, but Department of Defense procurement actions over the last year showed that the provision (Sec. 846 of P.L. 111-383) failed to meets its objective, since it still required the department to become the ultimate owner of the solar device and use it “exclusively” for the “full economic life” of the device. The Buy American Solar Amendment eliminates those loopholes to ensure that the Department of Defense solar project meets “buy American” requirements.

The House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 1540, also includes a provision to finally close the loophole.”

Read more: Press Release

In addition to 30 megawatts (MW) of distributed solar projects in operation or under construction, NRG also will secure development rights to Solar Power Partners’ extensive pipeline of development projects in California, Hawaii, Arizona, Connecticut, New Mexico, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ontario and Puerto Rico. SPP sites include grocery stores, hospitals, universities, office buildings, municipal buildings, schools and airports.

“With California’s goal to install 12,000 megawatts of distributed generation by 2020, and the increase in smart energy choices American businesses are demanding, this acquisition will place NRG at the head of the pack as the solar industry moves toward smaller solar projects that connect directly to the grid,” said Tom Doyle, President, NRG Solar. “Solar Power Partners has been highly successful forging partnerships to develop distributed solar projects, and I believe the company will make NRG the leading provider for the increasing number of businesses seeking solar solutions to manage their energy costs.”

Solar Power Partners will become an integral part of NRG Solar, an NRG subsidiary. The company has completed almost 50 commercial solar facilities and brings a team with deep experience developing, financing and operating projects. Solar Power Partners also specializes in creating long-term partnerships with customers to tailor each solar system to meet specific needs.

“We are excited to be joining forces with NRG Solar and believe that our combined platform will allow us to accelerate our growth and to bring more clean solar power to the market,” said Bob Powell, Solar Power Partners President and CEO, who will continue with the company as a senior executive in NRG Solar.”

Read more: Press Release

It will be powered by renewable energy sources.

Reasons for Luleå:

• Cold climate (reduce energy costs)
• Great political climate – Sweden
• High tech country

First Solar CEO Rob Gillette and Mesa, Ariz., Vice Mayor Scott Somers unveil a ceremonial marker commemorating construction progress for the company’s new factory, while Barry Broome, President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, looks on. (Photo: Business Wire)

Representatives from the city of Mesa and First Solar officials hosted a reception at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Mesa to celebrate construction progress. Vice Mayor Scott Somers, Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) President and CEO Barry Broome, and Tom Alston, Solar Outreach and Policy Coordinator for U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, also took part in the celebration.

“First Solar coming to Mesa is an important step to establish Arizona as a major player in the solar and clean energy industry. This cutting-edge facility brings hundreds of new high-tech jobs to the East Valley and adds to the ongoing development of the Gateway area,” Mayor Scott Smith said. “Projects like this don’t happen without the cooperation between the private and public sectors, region and state. I’d like to thank those partners, especially First Solar and DMB, for working together to bring this facility to the Mesa Proving Grounds.”

“Our Mesa factory has progressed from an idea to advanced construction in just a few short months, which would not have been possible without the support and hard work of countless state and local officials. Today we dedicate this site to the many people and agencies that helped make it happen, both public and private,” said Rob Gillette, CEO of First Solar. “The U.S. is our fastest-growing market, and the additional production capacity from this factory will help us meet growing demand for clean, locally produced solar electricity.”

First Solar’s Mesa factory is expected to begin producing modules by the third quarter of 2012 and will employ approximately 600 full-time associates. First Solar is investing just over $300 million in the four-line factory, which will produce approximately 250 megawatts (MW) of thin-film modules per year.

Output from the new factory is expected to be used in the construction of First Solar’s 2,600MW North American project pipeline, which includes the 290MW Agua Caliente project, located in Yuma County, Ariz. When fully operational in 2014, Agua Caliente will generate enough clean solar energy to serve the needs of about 100,000 average homes per year, displacing approximately 220,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide—the equivalent of taking about 40,000 cars off the road. Output from the Mesa factory is also expected to be used in First Solar’s California projects, including the 550MW Topaz project, 230MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One and the 550MW Desert Sunlight project.

Todd Spangler joined First Solar in February 2007 as the company’s Director of Manufacturing. In December 2008, he was promoted to Plant Manager of the Perrysburg, Ohio, campus. Prior to joining First Solar, he managed multiple plants and distribution centers for Lutron Electronics, the world’s leader in lighting controls.

Mike Koralewski has been with First Solar since August of 2006, leading the company’s global quality and product reliability initiatives. Prior to First Solar, he was employed by Dana Corporation for 10 years in a variety of quality functions throughout different business units.”

Read more: Press Release

“Leyden Energy combines all of the elements we look for in a portfolio company—tangible intellectual property that can be commercialized in a cost-effective manner to address a large market problem,” said Ron Bernal, venture partner at NEA. “What the company has introduced is really an energy storage platform that can be applied to a number of different product markets in order to increase the value that those applications bring to end customers. We are excited to be working with Leyden Energy to usher in its next stage of growth.”

“The involvement of a top-tier investor and growth partner like NEA further validates the recent progress Leyden Energy has made in bringing its product suite to market,” said Aakar Patel, president and CEO of Leyden Energy. “Market demand for high-performance, long-lasting batteries in consumer electronics is growing, and we are perfectly positioned to answer that demand and improve the customer experience for product manufacturers worldwide.”

Leyden Energy anticipates using the $20 million to expand sales globally, as well as to add manufacturing capacity for its next-generation Li-ion batteries in response to rising customer demand in the highly lucrative mobile and thin consumer electronics sectors. Leyden Energy’s battery products are perfectly suited for consumer electronics applications due to their high energy density, high level of safety and excellent thermal properties. These same attributes, combined with production-proven power supplies and high durability make Leyden Energy’s batteries well suited for use in EVs and the harsh conditions associated with grid and backup storage applications.

The company also announced that NEA’s Ron Bernal will join the Leyden Energy board of directors.”

Read more: Press Release

CUE is headquartered in Chicago and plans to use this new capital to embark on a road show fueling strategic development in four new major U.S. cities, including: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston. CUE’s software as a service (SaaS) platform is an automated, scalable, energy-optimization system that exploits the thermal mass of commercial office buildings to make buildings more energy efficient. By aggregating and optimizing the thermal storage properties of multiple buildings, CUE unlocks valuable transmission and distribution capacity for utilities and grid operators in the most constrained environment: the urban city.

“Smart building technologies are quickly becoming a significant new category of investment in cleantech, where energy efficiency meets mainstream IT,” said Jason Matlof, Battery Ventures Partner. “CUE’s a perfect example of this trend. Their solution uniquely combines proven building physics, a robust hosted software analytics platform, and a SaaS business model to deliver dramatic energy spending savings to commercial office buildings. Rich Earley is a proven entrepreneur and leader and we’re excited to partner with him to help grow CUE into a category leading, sustainable business.”

CUE essentially turns a “building into a battery”™ capable of energy storage on a multi-MW scale. CUE technology helps large commercial office buildings reduce building HVAC energy use and expenses by 15 – 30 percent, improve electric generation efficiency and environmental performance, and at a macro level introduces demand elasticity into electric grid markets.

“This funding is an important and critical milestone for our business, and will enable us to accelerate product engineering and customer acquisition during this next phase of rapid growth,” said Rich Earley, CUE CEO. “The market knowledge and relationships that our new investors bring to the table will help us rapidly penetrate the property management and owner community to become a leading technology provider in the market.”

With this round, Jason Matlof from Battery Ventures and Joshua Ruch from Rho Ventures will assume seats on CUE’s board of directors.

“CUE represents a major milestone in the convergence of the cleantech and IT industries,” said Joshua Ruch, Rho Ventures managing partner. “With a compelling SaaS-based solution, CUE is delivering a new standard of electricity savings that uses a building’s thermal mass and delivers significant megawatt storage capacity to grid operators. We believe CUE is well positioned to take advantage of a significant market opportunity in building energy efficiency.””

Read more: Press Release

Semprius builds its modules using novel processes that combine extremely tiny solar cells with low-cost, efficient optics that concentrate the incoming sunlight more than 1,000 times. Despite the high level of concentration, Semprius modules remain cool for improved long-term reliability and performance.

In addition to its highly efficient cell technology (greater than 40 percent NREL-certified), Semprius utilizes an automated manufacturing process, leveraging standard manufacturing equipment and commodity materials, to dramatically reduce capital and labor costs.

“Semprius modules have been under on-sun testing for several years now with excellent field performance,” said Carr. “From our proprietary micro-cell technology to the enclosure and everything in between, we’ve designed our modules to be efficient, low-cost and reliable.””

Read more: Semprius Press Release

Today, we’re announcing that we’ve investing $280 million to create a fund that will help SolarCity finance more solar installations across the country. This is our largest clean energy project investment to date and brings our total invested in the clean energy sector to more than $680 million. We’ve also launched a partnership to offer SolarCity services to Googlers at a discount.”

Read more: Google