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"This is a new installation of almost three-quarters of a million (749,088 to be exact) solar panels, which was completed just last week in San Luis Obispo County at the California Valley Solar Ranch. The massive solar panel project is a 250 megawatt facility, which is the equivalent of around 50,000 home solar systems."

"Australian scientists have found a way to print large but extremely lightweight and flexible solar panels like money. World-leading scientists at the CSIRO said the A3-sized panels, which are created by laying a liquid photovoltaic ink onto thin, flexible plastic could soon mean everyone has the ability to print their own solar panels at home."

"Australia is on the cusp of a solar energy revolution. First, a recent study suggests that the country could power its entire national domestic infrastructure using only solar (while slashing the price of home electricity by 70 percent). Now, the University of Melbourne has introduced a new organic PV cell printer that rolls out a functional binder page-sized sheet of solar panel every two seconds, making the production of all those cells cheaper and a whole lot faster."

"Solar panels make energy, but they take energy to make, too. And, until about 2010 or so, the solar panel industry used more electricity than it produced, according to a new analysis. Now, the industry is set to "pay back" the energy it used by 2020."

"The largest coal company in the world, Coal India, is aiming to cut its own utility bills by installing solar photovoltaic panels at its facilities across the country. The coal giant is seeking proposals from solar energy companies to build a modular 2 megawatt solar plant on 9 acres of its own land. This plant could be scaled to export power to the grid."

"The biggest solar power project in the entire state of Minnesota is going to be at an airport. On Thursday, Gov. Mark Dayton joined officials from the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport to announce the construction of a $25 million solar project there, which will be built on top of two parking ramps at the airport's main terminal. The solar panels are expected to produce 3 megawatts (MW) of power, and generate close to 20 percent of the airport's total electricity. Beyond the airport, the project means that Minnesota itself will have 20 percent more solar capacity than it did before."

"Here's a bright idea: what if, instead of paying for solar panels to keep your electricity bills down, you asked a solar company to put them on your roof for free, then paid them back with excess energy that you didn't need? Well, it's already happening. Solar panel installation with no upfront payments, paid off over several years from the money saved out of your power bills, began in Australia almost two years ago. In a few years, it is likely that companies will be competing with each other to pay you for the privilege of using your roof to generate electricity for your home."

"Protect the rights of millions of Australians with solar to cut bills, create clean power and take energy generation back into our own hands."

Solar Citizens is a new community project to bring together existing and future solar owners to ensure the rights of solar owners are protected and to help see Australia put a panel on every rooftop.

"Traditionally known for their low cost furniture and sustainable ethos, Swedish furniture giant IKEA has introduced thin-film solar panels to their UK stores in partnership with Hanergy Holding Group Limited."

"A team of researchers at Michigan State University has developed a new type of solar concentrator that when placed over a window creates solar energy while allowing people to actually see through the window. It is called a transparent luminescent solar concentrator and can be used on buildings, cell phones and any other device that has a clear surface. And, according to Richard Lunt of MSU's College of Engineering, the key word is "transparent.""

"If you think solar power is a good investment, you're hardly alone. Solar panels will generate close to 10 per cent of the nation's daytime electricity this summer. In South Australia, it will reach 30 per cent. In all, 1.15 million Australian homes and businesses have installed solar electricity systems and demand is growing."

""Solar-powered households face higher fees to use grid" read this weeks headline in The Australian. "Australia's one million households with rooftop solar photovoltaic panels face the prospect of higher charges to use the poles and wires that distribute electricity" it went on. The AEMC will be making recommendations to our Federal and State Governments. But we know what can move these governments - the voice of the people. Together, we can tell our governments to get behind solar - not penalise it. Show that you won't stand for a tax on the sun by signing our petition below."

THE myth that solar power is unreliable because clouds sometimes cover the sun has been dispelled by a world-first report produced by the CSIRO. While clouds or rainy weather drastically reduce the amount of electricity produced by solar panels, intelligent management of the power grid means panels and mirrors should still supply 40 per cent of the nation's energy in the future, the report said.

"There have been quite a few headlines lately about the record amounts of solar power getting built in China. In 2013, the country added at least 12 gigawatts of solar capacity - 50 percent more than any country has ever built in a single year. Impressive. But let's also put this in context. China is a massive country and is building lots of everything. And last year it added far more fossil-fuel output capability than it did solar, wind, hydro and nuclear power combined."

"Earlier this year, the 1 millionth Australian household - about one in nine across the country - installed solar photovoltaic panels. There are half a million with solar hot water services too. The process doesn't always go as expected, for reasons both practical and political: rebates and feed-in tariffs have been in flux in every state. But now there are so many systems on roofs, solar homeowners are gaining a stronger public voice."

Australian scientists have found a way of hugely increasing the efficiency of solar panels while substantially reducing their cost. The University of NSW researchers have come up with improvements in photovoltaic panel design that had not been expected for another decade.

"A    DANDENONG South steel manufacturer's rooftop is attracting international attention. Hilton Manufacturing ­recently switched on the largest array of sun-tracking solar panels on a factory roof in the southern hemisphere. This month the site will host delegations from Taiwan and India, keen to learn more about the technology. Project manager Jacques Esper said the business would draw about 25 per cent of its power from the 340 solar panels arranged on top of the 15,000sq m factory, which had become a showpiece."

"ACT Environment and Sustainable Development Minister Simon Corbell has used his call-in powers to approve Australia's largest solar farm. Spanish-based company Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) will build the facility on 50 hectares near Royalla just off the Monaro Highway in Tuggeranong. The 20 megawatt facility will be made up of 83,000 photovoltaic panels and produce enough renewable electricity to power 4,400 Canberra homes."

"The Surf Coast council is planning to install solar panels on all its buildings to save power. The council has adopted a climate change policy for the next four years."

"..... an Australian Bureau of Statistics survey of Victorian households' energy and water use skewers the myth that solar panels are mostly going up on the roofs of the well-off. The survey found income had little effect on solar take-up."