The CEO of a digital media firm in Upper Arlington, Ohio, always thought about going solar, but it wasn’t until recently that it made economic sense.

Green solar jobs have arrived in the Hudson River Valley of New York. SpectraWatt, a company that produces silicon photovoltaic cells for solar panels, held a grand opening last week at its factory in Hopewell Junction, N.Y., not far from Poughkeepsie.

New Eni-MIT Energy Center Focuses Solely on the Sun

Last week the Massachusetts Institute of Technology opened a new solar-energy research center. Named the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center, it is funded largely with a grant from Italian energy giant Eni. According to Boston.com, students and faculty will tackle problems such as how to put solar cells on flexible, inexpensive material such as paper; how to use water to store solar energy; and how to make solar panels more efficient.

This week the Garden State launched Funding Cycle 2 of its Renewable Energy Incentive Program. The initiative offers incentives--in the form of rebates--for solar electric/photovoltaic, wind and sustainable biomass systems for residential, non-residential and newly constructed buildings.

Corporations and government agencies seem to be competing to see who can host the largest solar power system in Tennessee. In the latest case of one-upsmanship, Nashville’s Metro Housing and Development Authority put up solar panels with a total capacity just a bit greater than the solar system atop a shopping mall in Hendersonville.

Pokeberries Prove to Be Valuable in Solar Panel Production

Scientists at Wake Forest University have discovered that pokeberry dye can improve the efficiency of some solar cells. When applied to fiber-based solar cells, the berry's dye acts as an absorber, helping the cell's fibers capture more sunlight to convert into power. Fiber-based solar cells can produce twice as much power as current flat-cell technology and are less expensive to produce. Civil War soldiers used juice from the weeds to write letters home, reports UPI.com.

In the coming weeks, Texas electricity distribution and transmission company Oncor is expected to restart its solar incentive program, which has proven so popular the firm had to bring forward program funds slated for 2011 and 2012 in order to meet customer demand.

Putting solar photovoltaic panels on homes and other buildings has proved to be so popular, it’s driving rebate prices down. A record-setting rate of recent solar installations has resulted in rebate stepdowns for the California Solar Initiative.

Solar Power Heats Up in Midwest as Costs Drop, Electricity Rates Rise

The Midwest gets plenty of sunshine—some towns see as much sun as Miami and San Antonio—and the big cost considerations that for years have held back solar power in the region have changed, according to a story in the Kansas City Star. Solar-panel prices have plunged and tax rebates and credits have now cut the payback time for solar power from 25 years to 10 years. As a result, more businesses and homeowners are installing solar photovoltaic panels in Kansas City.

A Vermont clean energy board announced April 21 that the state government has made available $5.5 million to support the installation of solar and small wind projects at homes and businesses in the state.