“The Morning Briefing” is SmartPlanet’s daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we’re reading about the solar power industry.
1.) Arizona’s solar energy plans vex military. The renewable-energy industry sees ambitious projects in Arizona’s future; including a solar tower higher than the Empire State building, hundreds of turbines, and a 500-mile high-voltage power line. However, the U.S. military envisions unusable airspace, equipment failure and plane-crash risks.
2. Solar power growing rapidly in Japan thanks to feed-in tariffs. Solar energy is gaining momentum around the world, especially in Japan, where the solar market is experiencing a period of rapid growth. The Kyocera Solar Corporation, a leading manufacturer of solar panels, has released information concerning the growth of the solar industry. The country is home to one of the most ambitious and powerful hydrogen energy systems, the ENE-FARM, and has been using geothermal energy for decades.
3. Largest rooftop solar power plant in North America formally completed. The solar rooftop project is called Riverside Renewable Energy, LLC. It cost $42 million, includes 27,526 photovoltaic rooftop solar panels, and covers 1.1 million square feet.
4. National solar power reaches key milestone in Florida solar farm projects. National Solar Power Partners has reached a major milestone in its plans to build solar energy facilities totaling 700 megawatts (MW) in Florida by completing an agreement to acquire several million advanced solar panels from SolarWorld, the largest solar-technology manufacturer in the Americas.
5. Proposed satellite would beam solar power to Earth. For decades, researchers have been appraising the use of power-beaming solar-power satellites. But the projected cost, complexity and energy economics of the notion seemingly short-circuited the idea. Now, a unique new approach has entered the scene, dubbed SPS-ALPHA.
Image credit: Dave Dugdale
