Residential customers may receive a rebate of $1,000 for installing new solar water heating systems, and up to $20,000 for installing a photovoltaic (PV) system and interconnecting to FPL’s grid.

Business customers may receive rebates up to $50,000 per site for installing a new solar water heating system and up to $50,000 per site for installing a PV system and interconnecting to FPL’s grid.

For more information on residential programs, please go to the FPL site with the following link: http://www.fpl.com/landing/solar_rebate/residential.shtml.

Business customers may get more information from the following link: http://www.fpl.com/landing/solar_rebate/business.shtml.

Semprius, headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, develops high concentrating photovoltaic (HCPV) modules. The latest prototypes achieved a major milestone with 33.9 percent solar module efficiency. In a joint collaboration with the Spanish Institute of Concentration Photovoltaic Systems (ISFOC) and the University of Madrid, this testing was performed by the IES institute of the university. For the first time a photovoltaic module converted more than one-third of the energy of the solar irradiation on the module area into usable electricity. Depending on the specific location and irradiation, the HCPV modules can deliver an energy output per square meter that is two times higher than common polycrystalline modules. Leading module manufacturers of conventional PV technologies achieve a maximum module efficiency of approximately 20 percent with monocrystalline PV modules and about 16 percent with polycrystalline technology.

In June 2011, Siemens acquired a 16-percent stake in Semprius to scale up the innovative HCPV technology to market maturity. The Semprius HCPV systems bundle the sunlight on the modules with the aid of integrated lenses on small photovoltaic cells.

HCPV is a prime alternative to conventional photovoltaics especially suitable for sunbelt regions with high direct irradiation.

Semprius as a leader in HCPV modules shows us that we have bet on the right technology,” said Martin Pfund, CEO of the Siemens Energy Photovoltaic Business Unit. “The world record is a breakthrough in module efficiency. Combined with our expertise in turnkey solutions business it has the potential to become a game changer for the solar markets in regions with high irradiation. With Semprius as a partner we will further broaden our portfolio in the photovoltaics market. We’re very pleased to be working together with Semprius to commercialize this technology globally.”

All four power plant projects in the state of Rajasthan are being constructed as part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), the Indian government’s ongoing program for promoting solar power. The program envisages installing up to 20 gigawatts of solar power capacity in India by the year 2022. The parabolic trough power plants Godawari owned by Godawari Green Energy Ltd. and Abhijeet owned by Corporate Ispat Alloys Ltd. are each rated 50 MW. Siemens has been awarded contracts for an SST-700 steam turbine generator unit and auxiliary systems for each of these units. The third customer, Lanco Solar Energy, has ordered a steam turbine and generator rated at 100 MW, complete with auxiliary systems for each of the two units of the Diwakar & KVK parabolic trough power plant.

“As a leading provider of steam turbines for solar thermal power plants with an excellent track record in Spain and the USA, we are now in the front running on the rapidly developing market in India, too,“ says Markus Tacke, CEO of the Industrial Power business unit at Siemens Energy.

Siemens offers type SST-700 steam turbines for solar thermal power plants with a rated output of up to 175 MW. This type of turbine is particularly suitable for use in solar thermal power plants, because it can be run up and down quickly to respond very rapidly to the fluctuating service conditions typical of these plants. In addition, superheating the steam improves the efficiency of the turbines and thus of the power plant as a whole.
Steam turbines for solar thermal power plants are part of Siemens’ Environmental Portfolio. In fiscal 2011, revenue from the Portfolio totaled about €30 billion, making Siemens one of the world’s largest suppliers of ecofriendly technologies. In the same period, our products and solutions enabled customers to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by nearly 320 million tons, an amount equal to the total annual CO2 emissions of Berlin, Delhi, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, New York, Singapore and Tokyo.

For the first time, energy storage received the most venture capital funding ($514 million), displacing solar ($350 million). Solar also lost the No. 1 spot in deal volume. Energy efficiency was the most popular area, with 34 funding rounds.

Energy storage (e.g. batteries) — considered something of a silver bullet — still presents sizable technological hurdles, while efficiency is now clearly the low-cost, plain vanilla version of clean tech.

This rotation of sorts is commonplace in maturing industries.

By no coincidence energy efficiency and storage, specifically electric cars, along with the booming recycling business, are our three winners.

At the same time, the U.S. solar industry is clearly one of our three losers.

Nothing as fatal as those events struck the ethanol industry, our third loser, which is more a victim of conventional market forces and uncertainty over government incentives, a key element in the alternative  energy sector.

All three losers, however, have one thing in common — momentum has temporarily shifted against them and that’s rarely good for keeping and attracting investors.

Source cnbc.com.

Have you put your New Year’s resolutions to train in renewable energy technologies in place? If not, start here today! This winter, enroll in Solar Energy International’s solar and renewable energy trainings, online and in-person, and start a new career or take your career to the next level. If you are registering for an in-person workshop of five days or more, that starts 30 days out or longer from today, please call (970) 963-8855 to register and receive $50 off the tuition of the course or workshop. Be sure to mention you are calling in for the Early Bird Incentive!

These upcoming courses are offered in January, February and March:

Asian solar stocks on Thursday echoed a rally by their U.S. peers, with some surging as much as 20 percent on signs that prices for solar energy components are stabilizing.

Most solar stocks retreated by more than 60 percent last year as prices for panels that convert sunlight into electricity fell sharply, erasing profit margins for manufacturers.

The global rally came as investors cheered figures showing a dramatic rise in new solar installations in Germany in the fourth quarter and higher prices for polysilicon, a key raw material.

For more information please visit CNBC’s website at http://www.cnbc.com/id/45967909 to read the article and see stock quotes on specific solar energy companies.

SOURCE: Green Energy Solution Industries, Inc.; SATMax Corp.

January 10, 2012 09:42 ET

VANCOUVER, BC–(Marketwire – Jan 10, 2012) – Green Energy Solution Industries, Inc., a project developer for renewable energy projects in Canada, currently trading as (PINKSHEETS: SATM), has recently entered into contracts and agreements with resource providers, land owners, waste sources, technology providers, and government entities for the placement of renewable energy projects. A GESI representative was the featured guest in an exclusive live interview January 9, 2012 at 8pm EST on StockTradersTalk Radio.

The interview was held on January 09, 2012 at 8:00 pm EST, and can be heard at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stocktraderstalk. Our interactive question and answer session can be accessed from the main chat room at http://stocktraderstalk.com. An archived recorded version can be found on the homepage of Stock Traders Talk at www.stocktraderstalk.com, following the live interview.

In addition to the exciting interview a recent article was published on EarthTechling.com which features GESI’s waste-to-energy technology and the new plant location as a key element to improve Canada’s energy policies and increase the country’s environmental efficiency. On Beacon News, a second article details the amount of waste rail ties available for burning, the facility, and the funding for GESI’s future endeavors.

Article 1: http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/01/rail-ties-keep-alberta-biomass-plant-on-track/

Article 2: http://beaconnews.ca/calgary/2012/01/company-gives-green-light-to-edmonton-railway-ties-to-electricity-plant/

About StockTradersTalk:

StockTradersTalk is a web resource portal for stock investors. We provide an open source chat room that allows traders to converse freely in an open forum. Members can create and maintain their own tickers and companies to provide up to date information for potential shareholders. Message boards are provided for each ticker that has real time updates and allow live conversations about the company. This is a unique feature that only we provide. Our goal is to provide an open forum for investors to freely express opinions, ideas, and investment opportunities with other members of stocktraderstalk.com.

About GESI

Green Energy Solution Industries, Inc. is a project developer for renewable energy projects in Canada. Utilizing in-depth due diligence, GESI has developed business plans, contracts and agreements with resource providers, land owners, waste sources, technology providers, and government entities for the placement of renewable energy projects. GESI is now a public company with offices in Houston, Texas and Alberta, Canada. For More Information on GESI see the web site at www.gestechnologies.com