SOLAR

Leonora Walet, Asia Green Investment Correspondent

Sanyo Electric Co Ltd plans to ramp up investment in its battery and solar business as the world's largest maker of rechargeable batteries moves closer to being acquired by Japan's Panasonic Corp, a senior executive said in an interview on Thursday.

A solar car made by students from Japan's Tokai University was on Wednesday named the winner of a 3,000 km (1,864 miles) race across the Australian outback which aimed to show that green cars can also be mean.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co, a unit of PG&E Corp, said it will buy 500 megawatts (MW) of solar power from units of NextEra Energy Resources and Abengoa Solar.

Utility company Duke Energy Corp said it agreed to develop commercial solar power projects in the United States with ENN Group, a private Chinese energy company.

European solar equipment makers are slowly emerging from the crisis that has hit the sector, quarterly results will show, but the outlook beyond 2009 will be uncertain due to tight credit and oversupply.

Ascent Solar Technologies Inc said it achieved a new efficiency milestone on some of its solar modules, sending its shares up as much as 6 percent.

JA Solar's founder has resigned as vice chairman of the board and will leave the company, the solar power player said on Monday, saying he will pursue other business interests.

The U.S. military is tackling a new mission in the field of alternative energy, moving to power up a 500-megawatt solar facility at Fort Irwin's sprawling desert complex in California.

German industrial conglomerate Siemens agreed to buy Israel's Solel Solar Systems Ltd for about $418 million to expand its business with solar thermal power plants.

Watching his sons kick around a makeshift ball made from tightly bound plastic bags, Ugandan handyman Jackson Mawa marvels at the way business has improved since he bought a solar-powered mobile phone.

Watching his sons kick around a makeshift ball made from tightly bound plastic bags, Ugandan handyman Jackson Mawa marvels at the way business has improved since he bought a solar-powered mobile phone.

California is heating up its push for clean energy, as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approved a new subsidy for solar power on Monday and joined forces with the federal government to fast-track renewable energy projects.

Solar thermal power company eSolar Inc said on Friday it granted South African company Clean Energy Solutions exclusive rights to represent and distribute eSolar's concentrating solar power technology across seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The long-awaited smart grid for U.S. power could play a major role in rolling out renewable energy like wind and solar, the top U.S. power regulator said on Wednesday.

First Solar Inc is on the verge of being included in the flagship S&P 500 index, a sign that alternative energy companies are now a mainstream investment.

First Solar Inc's shares surged nearly 5 percent on Friday, buoyed by news the U.S. solar power company will join the flagship S&P 500 stock index and after it landed a buyer for a 20-megawatt solar power project in Canada.

Arizona Public Service said late Wednesday Starwood Energy Group Global LLC terminated a long-term power purchase agreement on Starwood's proposed 290-megawatt concentrating solar power plant in Arizona.

MILAN - Italian renewable energy company TerniEnergia is set to exceed its 2009 target for new solar installations and may review 2010 and 2011 goals aiming to expand in the rapidly growing market, its chairman told Reuters.

Scientists who discovered the secrets of how cells age, who made efficient solar cells possible and who figured out how to watch the brain work in real time are all leading contenders for Nobel prizes, Thomson Reuters predicted on Thursday.

Evergreen Solar Inc has hired a new general manager for its Asia operations, Henry Ng, as the U.S. solar company prepares to expand in China, Evergreen said on Wednesday.