Southern California Edison and other California utilities companies argued that a requirement from the state to purchase solar-powered electricity ultimately costs consumers that don't use solar technology an additional $1.3 billion, Bloomberg reports.
The Treasury Department's inspector general has subpoenaed financial records from SolarCity, SunRun and Sungevity to explain $500 million in public money the firms brought in. The probe looks to see if the companies accurately reported their costs when applying for the federal money, The Washington Post reports.
China, the world's largest producer of solar units, named more than 100 developers who are set to receive a total of at least $2.5 billion by the end of June 2013, Bloomberg reports.
A group including Royal Dutch Shell has invested $26 million in GlassPoint Solar, which will build the first solar plant in the Middle East designed to draw heavy crude oil from old oil fields, Bloomberg reports.
The City of Los Angeles has reached deals with SempraEnergy and KRoad Power LLC to purchase 560 megawatts of solar energy generated from the companies' energy projects, Bloomberg reports.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Covering nearly 300 football fields in a remote patch of desert, the Shams 1 solar project carries of plenty of symbolic significance for the United Arab Emirates.
Blue Energy, a U.K.-based renewable energy company, is developing the Nzema solar project in Ghana, set to be the largest-ever solar energy plant in Africa, BBC reports.
Some solar companies have started to use a sales method once utilized by Tupperware, using enthusiastic customers to market solar panels at neighborhood solar "parties", The New York Times reports.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A former Penn State University professor has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for more than $3 million in federal research grant fraud.
A report from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shows the average cost of switching to solar energy decreased significantly in 2011 and the first half of 2012, according to a Solar Energy Industries Association press release.
The planned Cape Wind offshore project in Massachusetts won a $200 million commitment from Denmark's public pension fund, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., pledged to push a vote to complete the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility in Nevada if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., moves to limit filibusters, Roll Call reports.
The Army Corps of Engineers said it would not conduct a cumulative environmental review of three coal export terminals or consider overseas climate change impact in its reviews, E&E reports.
Legal experts say U.S. natural gas companies could file lawsuits against the Energy Department to speed decisions on liquefied natural gas exports, Reuters reports.
House Appropriations Committee Democrats criticized Republicans for cutting Energy Department spending on renewable energy by 50 percent, The Hill reports.
A communique released at the close of the G8 summit expresses leaders' concerns over climate change and pledges support for a new international climate change treaty in 2015, Business Green reports.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced a bill to open parts of Alaska's Tongass National Forest to timber development, KTOO reports.
