Recent developments like solar power-plant developer BrightSource Energy shelving its IPO, or full-service solar provider SolarCity announcing this week its plans to go public, have many industry stakeholders shrugging their shoulders as to what lies ahead for the future of the sector.

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The U.S. solar industry has experienced emotional ups and downs in the last two years that would exhaust even stronger industries. Here are five reasons why the U.S. solar industry shouldn’t feel upset about BrightSource’s canceled IPO:

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Well, the vultures might be circling, but they might have to wait a while to pick the bones of the CleanTech industry, which by many accounts, is still far from dead. Juliet Ellperin wrote in this month’s Wired, that the CleanTech boom has gone bust, comparing it to both the Internet bubble and the housing bubble. But a number of experts are forecasting significant growth for the renewable sector despite several mitigating factors.

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There is a heated debate going on between people who are supposed to be on the same side of the aisle. Yet, when you hear their passionate arguments and the way they describe the damage the other is causing the US, you start wondering if they actually share anything in common. No, I’m not talking about [...]

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On May 19, 1997, John Browne, then the CEO of BP, gave his famous ‘Climate Change: the New Agenda’ speech at Stanford, outlining BP’s new approach to global warming. One part of that new agenda was a foray into new energy technologies, particularly solar. Now it looks like solar is about to join the rest [...]

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As the bankrupt solar panel manufacturer Solyndra scrambled to find bidders for the company’s assets, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s investigates the true cause of Solyndra’s untimely demise.

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Let’s play the word association game. I’ll start with ‘solar energy’ – what’s the first thing you think of? Is it ‘the energy of the future’ or ‘bankruptcy’ or maybe even ‘waste of American taxpayers’ money’? Until not too long ago, the answer would be probably be the former rather than the latter. Yet, in [...]

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Investors, entrepreneurs, policy and non-profit leaders convened on Wednesday to discuss the clean tech funding environment at the 4th Annual Cooley Clean Energy and Technologies Conference in Redwood City, California. Out of the ashes of Solyndra – the highly publicized, government supported solar technology company that closed its doors on September 1, 2011 – panelists [...]

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By Mike Koshmrl and Seth Masia (orginally published at Solar Today) During August, three homegrown photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers failed and two European manufacturers decommissioned their U.S. production lines. All told, the United States lost 20 percent of its panel manufacturing capacity. By far, Solyndra’s fall was the loudest. In September 2009, the Fremont, CA-based [...]

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“As much as I wish to be able to answer the members’ questions, I have been advised by my counsel that it is the better course for me to assert my constitutional right to decline to answer questions under the Fifth Amendment. While I hope to have an opportunity to assist this committee’s inquiry in [...]

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Aside from the expense of transporting fossil fuels to remote bases, the key goal is to reduce the risk to troops and loss of life caused by fuel convoys.

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The White House is worried that the story of Solyndra, the solar power company that filed for bankruptcy protection after receiving $535 million in loan guarantees, will follow Obama through the 2012 election season. I’ve got a feeling it will stay with us even longer than that. Thomas Friedman once wrote that when historians will [...]

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These are tough times for the solar industry. Companies such as Evergreen solar and SpectraWatt have filed for bankruptcy, while most famously, Solyndra, a recipient of tax dollars under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, closed up shop this month. On top of this, an excess supply of photovoltaic (PV) panels, especially from China, is [...]

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Solar power is here to stay, and the announcement last week of a new $600 million solar silicon factory for Mississippi may take some of the sting out of the recent bankruptcy shocker from solar manufacturer Solyndra. The new factory will be built by Calisolar in Lowndes County and will generate about 1,000 jobs at [...]

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The once highly touted clean tech start up, Solyndra, has filed for bankruptcy. Solyndra was hoped to be a key mover and player in the clean tech and solar industry.  The United States Federal Government even backed a loan to Solyndra. Unfortunately, market forces and competition proved unfavorable to the start up and over 1,000 jobs [...]

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