Rooftop solar is taking off across the U.S., and it’s starting to scare the utilities. Over the past few years, utility companies have increased efforts to rescind or dismantle state-level policies, like net-metering, which have helped homeowners go solar. Now, rooftop solar companies including SunRun, SolarCity, Sungevity and Verengo recently forged The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC) in response to attacks on net-metering policies across the U.S. 

Last year the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese silicon photovoltaic imports. In reaction, China threatened to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on U.S. polysilicon exports to the country. Now, as the European Union (EU) is on the eve of establishing its own tariffs on Chinese imports, China, the EU and the U.S. are working together in attempt to avoid further trade wars over the cheap Chinese photovoltaic (PV) modules. 

It’s a Goooooooooaaaaaaaaal! And it’s happening. As soccer-loving Brazil preps for hosting FIFA’s World Cup in 2014, at least seven of its stadiums are incorporating solar arrays to provide on-site power generation for one of the world’s largest sporting events. At least two of the installations were recently completed, one in the capitol city Brasilia—one of the first few LEED Platinum stadiums in the world—and another in Rio De Janeiro. More installations are on the way. 

On May 20, Green Mountain Power (GMP) and NRG Residential Solar Solutions held a media event where they unveiled a new partnership to develop two community solar projects in Rutland, Vermont. GMP is a local utility that’s working to make Rutland the “solar capital of New England”. NRG Residential Solar Solutions is part of the NRG Energy family of companies, which is the largest owner of solar projects in the U.S. Recently expanding into the residential solar leasing market, NRG is now stepping into an even newer field; community solar. 

A recent report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) looks at how the permitting process can impact the costs and time it takes to install solar. The report, “The Impact of City-level Permitting Processes on Residential Photovoltaic Installation Prices and Development Times: An Empirical Analysis of Solar Systems in California Cities,” determines that city-level permitting processes can have a big impact on the cost of solar and project completion time. 

For the past four years the Department of Energy was run by Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Dr. Steven Chu. But like many appointed senior government officials do, he decided to resign after President Barack Obama’s first term. On May 16, after months of waiting, the U.S. Senate confirmed his replacement, Professor Ernest Moniz, a former Energy Department undersecretary Ernest Moniz, who has led MIT’s Energy Initiative. The unanimous confirmation vote by the Senate shows he has bi-partisan support to hopefully carry on the work that Chu started. His confirmation drew praise from the renewable energy industries as well as the energy industry.

Financial institutions and other companies, such as Google, began developing tax-equity funds years ago to support third-party ownership companies like SolarCity. They’ve created significant funds reaching up into hundreds of millions of dollars to support rooftop solar across the country. But with the announcement on May 16 of a $500 million fund, SolarCity and Goldman Sachs have upped the game, with a new record for rooftop solar. This is also making it easier for more homeowners to install solar by allowing anyone with a credit rating of 680 or more to go solar. The news also follows shortly after SolarCity reported its results for its first full quarter as a publicly traded company.  

The name SunCredit sounds like it should be a solar-friendly policy. But sun-loving denizens of San Antonio, Texas, apparently weren’t happy with it and, led by Solar San Antonio, forced the local utility CPS Energy to shelve the controversial program, which would have reduced the incentives it paid to solar energy producers. 

Rockland Capital has raised $120 million in financing to support solar installations in nine towns along Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. The financing will allow Broadway Electrical to install more than 37 megawatts of photovoltaic (PV) projects throughout the region, including projects on landfills and rooftops. The projects have been in the works for a while and the 37 megawatts falls short of the nearly 50 megawatts of projects originally planned, the projects will supply power for the Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative’s customers throughout the region. 

There’s no shortage of solar chargers for hikers or adventurers these days, but a new crowdfunding campaign is supporting a new tablet designed specifically for outdoors adventurers, with solar baked in. This is Earl, whose developers are calling it a backcountry survival tablet.