SolarWorld is struggling to stay afloat, and is in danger of becoming the latest American-made solar panel manufacturer to bite the dust, despite a recent cash infusion of $6 million.  

This is just the most recent in a string of stories where U.S. solar manufacturers are unable to compete with their Chinese counterparts. Suniva, the bankrupt module maker and now defining chapter of the ongoing crisis, got a small victory last week when the ITC decided to move forward under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 to investigate whether they deserve protection from their Chinese competitors.

Great news for the U.S. solar market, right?

Well, many at Intersolar North America seem to think not. The pending decision is causing a lot of developers to hold off on new solar projects, causing a ripple effect of delays and indecision.

“The uncertainty we’re seeing in the U.S. market is not good,” said Jefferson Gerwig, purchasing manager for Indiana-based developer Inovateus Solar. “It’s putting a real damper on a lot of development, and the market will continue to worry until the case is finally decided – and even then, with no certain outcome, the effects could linger.”

Developers are trying to snatch up as many modules as possible because of abject fear at what could happen if Suniva is granted relief under its petition, Gerwig said. Adding to the shortage is the fact that the Chinese and Indian markets are still growing fast. So manufacturers are selling any excess inventory into those markets – markets where they can have a reasonable expectation of continued growth moving forward.

Frank Andorka from pv magazine has the whole story here.

There's a mafia that controls an entire bus industry, and it's threatening violence if environmental regulatory measures are enforced. But this group doesn't hang out at the Bada Bing in North Jersey...this is in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
 
Official attempts to modernize the busy, highly polluted metropolis of Nepal have been blocked by a local faction of "entrepreneurs" called the National Federation of Transport Entrepreneurs (NFTE). Political donations help the group maintain their influence, which keeps about 2,500 of their technically non-street-legal buses on the road. This contributes to air quality more than 6 times the particulate threshold as recommended by the World Health Organization.
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When approached by an undercover reporter about starting an operation of new buses along their route, Dharma Rimal, the Bagmati Zone Chief of the NFTE, warned “Careful, there might be problems for you if your new buses operate without our consent...it is we who decide who is allowed and who is not on this route. You will regret it if you defy us.” #SolarNews (sources: Digital Journal, Nepali Times)

You may have noticed a trend in our recent releases: we're getting faster.

In this most recent v2.4 rollout, we've completely re-structured our utility rate lookup service to make rates load over 30 times faster than before!

First of all, let’s get one thing clear: I was not a Trump supporter before the general election.

Consider this blog an olive branch offering to clean energy supporters on the Right, and a splash of cold water on the face of Democrats: stop with the doom & gloom predictions. Your echo chamber of outrage over the impending apocalypse is doing nothing to bridge the already enormous canyon between us and fellow American Trump-supporters. 

Like most leftists, I was angry at the misinformation spread by The Donald on his campaign trail regarding solar. His claim that he was informed that a proposed solar investment would pay for itself in 28 years, if true at all, was extremely outdated.

But the President-elect has flip-flopped on many issues in the past, proving time and time again that his walk is going to be different from his talk. Having never held public office and therefore having no voting record, we’re forced to read between the lines to figure out where he stands on many issues.

And on solar, the lines are clear: Trump will be good for the solar industry.