This year Super Bowl XLVIII is being called a lot of things, the Stoner Bowl, the Pot Bowl, the Marijuana Bowl, the Cheech and Chong Bowl, the Bong Bowl, the Green Bowl, etc. Largely because, you guessed it, the two teams the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks are from the two states that have legalized pot. But perhaps we should call it the Green Bowl for another reason, the teams are playing at the New York Jets’ and Giants’ MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which is home to a 276 kilowatt solar array through a partnership with NRG Energy. Otherwise we could call it the Super Solar Bowl. 

In President Barack Obama’s (D) previous State of the Union (SOTU) addresses he put out ambitious plans for moving the U.S. to more renewable energy like wind and solar power. He pushed for the federal government, including the armed forces to dramatically increase their use of renewable energy both onsite and through the electric grid. While he didn’t offer any significant new programs for solar or wind power in this year’s SOTU he did call for continued support for renewable energy, earning praise from industry supporters. 

When people think about clean energy and wind or solar power, they think of California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and other states in the southwest. Kansas doesn’t come to mind first, but the state’s residents overwhelmingly support more renewable energy in the largely agrarian state, at least according to a new poll from the the Wind Coalition and the Climate and Energy Project.

The U.S. now has 142,698 employees working in the solar sector—up nearly 20 percent from the year before. That’s according to the the Solar Foundation’s (TSF’s) fourth annual National Solar Jobs Census, which was released yesterday (Jan. 27). Overall the growth rate eclipsed that of the national employment growth rate by about 10 times.  

Today, Jan. 24, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) launched the national “Shout Out For Solar Day” and the accompanying America Supports Solar social media campaign. To celebrate the day, SEIA is encouraging solar supporters to take pictures of themselves with a solar supporter sign and post it to social media, like Facebook and Twitter.

Residential solar installer Vivint Solar announced Jan. 23 that it acquired Solmetric Corp., a developer of photovoltaic installation instruments and software products. The strategic acquisition will bring Solmetric’s services in-house for Vivint. Vivint Solar, the second largest residential solar installer behind SolarCity, now joins that company in making strategic acquisitions as the residential solar market starts to consolidate. The companies did not disclose the purchase price. 

In Colorado rooftop solar has become popular. In part because of the state’s net-metering rules, which require utilities like the state’s largest, Xcel Energy, to allow customers to sell extra power generated by their solar array back the utility. The policy has helped make it easier for homeowners to go solar since it allows them to get a quicker return on investment by further reducing their energy bills. 

Japan has now joined the 10 gigawatt photovoltaics gang, installing 4 gigawatts of PV last year alone. By October 31 that brought the country up to 11.3 gigawatts (of installed solar, making it one of the world’s largest solar market. Meanwhile, India is starting to catch up. Last year the country installed more than 1 gigawatt solar. Both developments show a continued diversity in the world solar market as the solar market gets more diversified and is no longer concentrated solely in Europe. 

Earlier this week (Jan. 14) Spanish scientists at the Universitat Jaume I in Castelló’s Group of Photovoltaic and Optoelectronic Devices (DFO) and the University of Oxford published research in the journal Nano Letters showing that they are able to create a graphene and perovskite photovoltaic (PV) device that converts 15.6 percent of the sun’s energy into electricity. While the devices they used are less efficient then traditional silicon photovoltaics, which are already higher than 24 percent efficiency at SunPower, for instance, the graphene and perovskite used in the new devices use less and less expensive materials than in conventional—and even most thin-film PV modules. 

SolarCity, the U.S.’s largest residential solar installer just made it easier for the public to invest in solar power—even if it’s for their neighbor! Yesterday (Jan. 15) the company announced that it will soon launch a web-based investment system that will allow individuals and investors of all sizes to invest in solar power.