Austin City Council to Form Solar Committee
Under pressure from solar-power advocates who fear Austin may short-circuit a budding local industry, the Austin City Council is rethinking the city's strategy for expanding solar power.The council is scheduled to vote Thursday to create a "Local Solar Advisory Committee" charged with studying how best to grow the industry. One of the committee's major tasks will be resolving a disagreement between the solar industry and Austin Energy about where to build solar, and when.
New Report Finds U.S. Solar Energy Installations Soared by 109% in 2011 to 1,855 Megawatts
The U.S. solar energy industry installed a record 1,855 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) capacity in 2011, more than doubling the previous annual record of 887 MW set in 2010, according to the latest U.S. Solar Market Insight report. The record amount of solar installations is enough to power more than 370,000 homes, and represents a 109 percent growth rate in 2011.
SEIA Statement on President Obama's State of the Union Address
Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association released the following statement today in response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address to Congress.
Poll Reports 94% of Americans Say It's Important for the U.S. to Develop and Use Solar Energy
A vast majority of Americans, across all political parties, overwhelmingly support development and funding of solar energy. Ninety-one percent of Republicans, 97 percent of Democrats and 98 percent of Independents agree that developing solar power is vital to the United States.