The Tobacco Road and Research Triangle areas of North Carolina have a decent number of solar homes that sell power back into the grid—about 60--but down in the city of Charlotte there are only one-fourth that number: A mere 15 homes so far. That could change as North Carolina power companies rush to boost the amount of electricity they generate from solar energy by the end of the year, per state law.

Solar Racers Defy Overcast Skies on Grand Prix Race Day

Hundreds of middle school and high school students raced solar cars in a Solar Grand Prix in Long Beach, Calif., April 10. The cars were model-sized; most finished the race despite overcast skies. In January, participants were given a small solar panel and a motor; they had to incorporate those pieces into their car design.

Solar Energy Plane Passes First Test

The Solar Impulse aircraft, a pioneering Swiss bid to fly around the world on solar energy, successfully completed its first test flight in western Switzerland on Wednesday. It flew for 87 minutes propelled by four, 10-horsepower electric motors, which get their energy from 12,000 solar cells. Pioneering around-the-world balloonist Bertrand Piccard founded the project. The team plans to undertake the world tour in five stages by 2013.

Green Mountain Power, a utility company serving 25 percent of Vermonters, said the number of customers using small-scale renewable energy sources to generate their own electricity has more than doubled since 2008. The largest growth came from customers who generate electricity with solar panels, the company said in an April 6 press release.

Arizona Cuts Solar Incentive Amount Because Program Is So Popular

Despite the down economy, demand for solar-power installations has been so large it threatened to drain Arizona’s solar rebate fund by June. So the Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) moved to reduce the amount of each rebate, in order to make the fund last longer and to provide solar incentives to more people. More APS home and business customers put solar panels on their roofs last year than in the previous eight years combined, and about 113 residential customers a week have applied for solar rebates from the utility this year, according to the Arizona Republic. The APS has proposed cutting its solar rebate from $3,000 per kilowatt to $2,150 a kilowatt.

The New York Public Service Commission set aside $279 million in incentives over the next five years for small-scale renewable energy projects. About $170 million of the total has been tagged for solar-technology projects. The Commission’s approval came on March 25.

Colorado’s Advanced Energy Buys PV Powered

In a deal worth up to $90 million in cash and stock, Advanced Energy Industries bought Oregon-based PV Powered, a company that makes inverters, an essential part of solar power systems. According to OregonLive.com, Advanced Energy also sells inverters, which convert the direct current (DC) electricity generated by solar panels into the alternating current (AC) power usable by households and other customers on the electrical grid. Advanced Energy sells to large commercial and industrial users, while PV Powered targets residential and small commercial solar customers.

This week 32 solar powered cars from 17 countries have converged on Australia's outback to compete for the title of World Solar Car Champion. The race, the "World Solar Challenge" takes place every two years - giving teams ample time to raise money, design, build and test their dream vehicles. It's a unique event and there are 5 reasons to love every part of it.

If there ever was an event for our time, it is the Solar Decathlon (original post w/video) on the National Mall in Washington DC, the fourth one of which just concluded. Begun in 2002, with support from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE), The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and BP Solar, the Solar Decathlon brings together 20 universities from the U.S., and some from overseas, to erect innovative, full sized, green, solar powered, energy efficient homes in a "solar town" on the expanse of grass in front of the Nation's Capitol.