Gawker: valleywag, solar

A solar power primer for entrepreneurs

Paul Boutin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:20:00 EDT

Can't face the slog of another social network startup? Go solar! There'll be plenty of spending on solar panels in the coming decade, especially if Barack Obama gets his $150 billion wish for an alternative energy program. Dude, that's NASA-level money, and it could be yours. Here's the first three things you need to know so you don't look dumb:

Your best bet is to move to Nevada. There you'll find affordable, sunny space to prototype, a pre-existing tech culture in the Reno area, and no state income tax.
The disruptive tech in solar power is curently thin film, or copper indium gallium selenide. It's used to make thin, flexible panels unlike the thicker, heavier silicon panels currently found on roofs around the Valley. Thin film cells are currently less efficient than silicon, but the technology is ripe for breakthroughs in design and manufacturing. That's why VentureWire reports at least three companies that landed $200-300 million in funding in the past two months. Lux Research estimates that $671 million of the $2 billion invested in solar thru July went to thin film technologies.
TreeHugger's metaresearch suggests that solar is pricier than wind power to get the same electrical output from an installation. For you, that's good!

Supersize solar farms coming to California

Paul Boutin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:00:00 EDT

What's cooler than a solar energy plant 10 times larger than any ever built? Two of 'em! Two plants to be built in San Luis Obispo County will deliver a planned total of 800 megawatts to PG&E. That's four times the output of San Francisco's Hunters Point plant, or enough to run 800 big Wal-Marts. The bad news: They won't be fully online until 2013. (Photo of Israeli solar farm by Getty Images/Uriel Sinai)

SunPower COO refuses to move to San Jose, quits

Nicholas Carlson — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:00:55 EST

A little sunlight is a powerful thing. For a solar energy startup, SunPower doesn't seem to be a big believer in it. Deep in an SEC filing on employee compensation, San Jose-based SunPower buried the news that its COO PM Pai left the company. Forbes figures the departure has little to do with Pai or the company's performance. One source close to the company told Forbes Pai left simply because he refused leave the Philippines to move to San Jose. We know people who live in San Francisco who feel that way.