Report shows PV cost cuts slower than planned rebate reductions in California
As California prepares to enter its newly gaveled long-term funding program – the California Solar Initiative (see article, p. 44) – a fresh report from Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) examines the effect of the state's two previously existing PV programs on cost. 

The heart and soul of photovoltaics shine in Chasing the Sun  
Three cheers for Neville Williams. In his fascinating book, Chasing the Sun – Solar Adventures Around the World, this solar home system (SHS) guru reveals himself as the essence of why anyone reading this review has chosen to be involved in the solar revolution.

Annual overview puts Japan's PV prowess in the spotlight 
In September, RTS Corp., a Japanese consultancy best known for its monthly newsletter PV Activities in Japan, published its annual overview of the Japanese market. 

Scientist suggests large-scale CPV program in US 
An advanced solar cell researcher with over 25 years at Boeing, Chevron Research, and Hughes Research Labs, and now with small company JX Crystals, Lewis Fraas is among a class of scientists who have gone from developing high power cells for space applications to bringing them down to earth.

Study suggests solar thermal plants to provide majority of power in Mediterranean region 
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) on April 16 released a new study commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety that envisions a strong future role for solar thermal power in the Mediterranean region.

US PV Roadmap would spread economic benefits across 50 states 
Conventional thinking has it that a strong commitment to renewable energy in the US would create inter-regional winners and losers. The report titled Solar PV Development: Location of Economic Activity released in Jan. 2005 challenges that notion, finding that a large-scale effort to accelerate PV development would spread economic benefits across the country.

UNEP online database lists lenders and investors in renewables 
Applying the world of project finance from large fossil-fuel power plants to smaller renewable energy facilities, including PV projects, has proven to be no easy task. To address this, the United Nations Energy Programme's (UNEP) Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative launched a new web-based directory in February designed to help project developers and entrepreneurs find sources of capital for PV, energy efficiency, and other clean energy projects.

The case for including PV on new housing in California 
It is no coincidence that Environment California, an influential active research and policy center in the state, in December came out with an analysis called The Economics of Solar Homes. The timing of the report, focused mostly on new housing, put it just ahead of the reintroduction of a solar plan intended to garner 10 years of security for the state's PV industry – Senate Bill 1 (see article, p. 20). This is basically the same bill that stalled in the last legislative session, a measure that needs all the support it can muster if it is to finally pass.

Huge potential for renewables in Germany 
German Ministry of the Environment publishes study on expansion of renewable energies

An overview of European PV research 
The European Commission (EC) has published an excellent overview of European PV research on the Internet.

Study: Japan can satisfy its entire energy demand with renewable energy
Industrialized nations like Japan could say sayonara to coal, oil, and nuclear power with today's renewable technologies – at least, that's the main conclusion of a study published at the start of the year by the Institute for Sustainable Solutions and Innovations. For the most part, the study foresees PV as a solution primarily for covering midday energy peaks.

Most comprehensive handbook about photovoltaics
»Everything you always wanted to know about PV« would be a good subtitle for the Handbook of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering, issued by Antonio Luque, professor at the Institute of Solar Energy at the Polytechnical University of Madrid in Spain, and Steven Hegedus from the US Institute of Energy Conversion at the University of Delaware.

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