Transphorm, the Goleta-based energy efficiency firm backed by $63 million from Google and other investors, has received a $3.6 million federal grant to improve solar panels. Transphorm’s technology uses a semiconducting material called gallium nitride to drastically reduce heat waste in electronic systems. The grant from the U.S. Department of Energy went to Transphorm in Read More →
By Stephen Nellis / Friday, September 30th, 2011 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Topaz Solar Farm stalls on financing
Construction has started on one of the massive solar energy farms on San Luis Obispo County’s Carrizo Plain, but the other is stalled until a new buyer is found after a $1.9 billion loan backstop from the U.S. Department of Energy fell through. Dirt is moving on the California Valley Solar Ranch, a 250-megwattt installation Read More →
By Stephen Nellis and Marlize van Romburgh on September 9, 2011 Nearly 1,000 jobs are either at risk or being cut in the Tri-Counties in manufacturing, medical device research and finance. On Sept. 1, Bank of America said it planned to sell or shutter its correspondent lending arm, imperiling as many as 700 jobs in Read More →
Two tri-county employers on Sept. 2 confirmed job cuts that could eliminate 260 positions. SolarWorld Industries America, the U.S. subsidiary of a major German maker of solar energy systems, said it is shuttering production at its Camarillo plant and cutting 186 jobs. Mentor Worldwide, a Santa Barbara-based breast implant maker that was acquired by Johnson Read More →
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A new financial backer is pursuing federal loan backing for the smaller of the two utility-scale solar farms slated for the Carrizo Plain in San Luis Obispo County.
By Stephen Nellis / Monday, November 8th, 2010 / Features, Green Coast, Technology / Comments Off on Bright, but not as big: Solar projects could be downsized to protect wildlife
The two massive solar projects winding toward approval on San Luis Obispo County’s Carrizo Plain could end up generating 30 percent less energy than the 800 megawatts their corporate backers would prefer. That is according to draft environmental impact reports circulating for the California Valley Solar Ranch, backed by San Jose-based SunPower Corp., and the Read More →