Solar News

Thursday, February 2, 2012

MIT makes solar panels from plants
MIT researchers said they have come up with a way to make photovoltaic panels from plant material as an inexpensive and easy alternative to traditional solar cells.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Solectria Renewables doubling workforce, expanding to Asia
Solectria Renewables LLC, a photovoltaic inverter maker based in Lawrence, said it plans to double its workforce to around 200 this year after having grown it 65 percent to 130 people in 2011 as state and federal energy incentives boosted the company's business.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Satcon to cut costs, another 140 workers worldwide
Satcon Technology Corp. of Boston said it will cut 140 employees globally, close its Canadian plant, and reduce other costs in an effort to improve its financial performance.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Mears Tech taps backers for $1.4M more
Newton semiconductor technology company Mears Technologies Inc. has bumped up its August fundraise from $5.6 million to $7 million, federal documents state.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Magnolia Solar wins $750K for efficient space power tech
Magnolia Solar Corp., a solar cell technology developer in Woburn and Albany, N.Y., landed a $750,000 Phase 2 award from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to make light, flexible, high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells for space power use.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Opel fueled by $5M SVB credit
Opel Technologies Inc., a developer of high-concentration photovoltaic solar panels and solar tracker systems, has taken in a $5 million credit line from Silicon Valley Bank, the company noted in a press release.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

GT Advanced Tech plans $100M share buyback
New Hampshire polysilicon equipment maker GT Advanced Technologies Inc. reports that it plans to buy back up to $100 million of the company’s common stock, and will retire the majority of the purchased shares in the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2011.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Negotiations clear way for Evergreen Solar assets auction
Most of the assets of bankrupt solar panels company Evergreen Solar Inc. are once again ready for the auction block, but with some key intellectual property being withheld, according to published reports.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Saudi company places $47.7M order with GT Advanced Tech
Solar energy manufacturing equipment company GT Advanced Technologies Inc. today announced that it has received a $47.7 million order for polysilicon production equipment from a company that is working to build out solar energy in Saudi Arabia.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Solar Decathlon: Learning about energy from the ground up
UMass Lowell PhD student Julianne Rhoads: For nearly two years, Team Massachusetts worked on the 4D Home, our entry into the 2011 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. We recently completed the competition, building a full-scale, solar-powered home in Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

SiOnyx claims performance gains with Black Silicon solar tech
Beverly's SiOnyx Inc. today released test results showing that its laser texturing technology known as Black Silicon has achieved efficiency gains in comparison with standard solar cells.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Evergreen Solar assets head to auction
The star manufacturing facility for troubled Evergreen Solar Inc. — the $425 million plant at Devens — is hitting the auction block, along with the company’s inventory of solar panels and another plant in Midland, Mich.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Light sparks new ideas for graphene
Researchers at MIT have found that graphene shows off an unusual reaction to light, raising the possibility that it could be useful for night-vision systems, photodetectors and generating electricity from sunlight.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Evergreen Solar heads toward Nasdaq delisting
Solar energy panels maker Evergreen Solar Inc. is one step closer to final delisting from the Nasdaq Stock Market after Nasdaq filed a delisting form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

GT Advanced Technologies suits wind down
A pair of class-action stockholder suits against solar manufacturing equipment maker GT Advanced Technologies are drawing to a close with a federal judge delivering final approval of a settlement that will pay major stockholders and their attorneys $10.5 million.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

STR Holdings to close Fla. manufacturing plant
STR Holdings Inc., a solar module parts maker in Enfield, Conn., is closing its manufacturing facility in St. Augustine, Fla., in an effort to consolidate its U.S. operations.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

AllEarth Renewables expands solar tracking reach
Just two months after it struck a deal to sell its solar tracking technology throughout Vermont, AllEarth Renewables has announced a new agreement to add New Hampshire and Maine channels.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Connecticut offers $4.5M in solar aid
Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) today launched a competitive solar photovoltaic solicitation with $4.5 million available to help cover the costs of solar projects.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Konarka, ThyssenKrupp to build solar roof
Solar energy firm Konarka Technologies Inc. of Lowell, has partnered with German steel maker ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe to develop steel roof components that utilize Konarka’s photovoltaic material.

Friday, September 2, 2011

MIT and Mass. companies get solar boosts
In a week when the solar energy sector has been under fire, MIT and three Massachusetts companies are among the beneficiaries of a U.S. Department of Energy solar technologies program that has awarded $145 million to 69 organizations in 24 states.