Southern California Green Real Estate Blog

EASY WAYS TO GREEN YOUR PROPERTY

Edited by Jodi Summers

Thanks to the Green Building Update for these easy tips for greening your property and saving money on your utility bills.

1. Use light paint colors for the property’s exterior. Lighter colors reflect heat better than darker colors.

2. Insulate the attic, basement and crawl spaces of your property. Around 20% of energy costs come from heat loss in those areas.

3. Reuse old materials such as brick, stone, glass, slate and wood when building or renovating.

4. Keep doors airtight by weather stripping, caulking, and painting them regularly.

5. Have an energy audit done by your utility company or visit Energy Saver (http://hes.lbl.gov).

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http://ecodeonline.com/

http://www.allenmatkins.com/emails/nltr-green/newsletter.asp?is_id=87&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=http%3a%2f%2fwww.allenmatkins.com%2femails%2fnltr-green%2fnewsletter.asp%3fis_id%3d87&utm_content=jodi%40jodisummers.com&utm_campaign=Green+Building+Update+-+May+21%2c+2010

REAL ESTATE RETROFITTING STATISTICS

Edited by Jodi Summers

* Residential and commercial buildings consume 40 percent of the energy and represent 40 percent of the carbon emissions in the United States. Building efficiency represents one of the easiest, most immediate and most cost effective ways to reduce carbon emissions and save money on energy bills while creating new jobs.

* Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce energy use by up to 40 percent per home and lower total associated greenhouse gas emissions by up to 160 million metric tons annually.

* Residential and commercial retrofits also have the potential to cut energy bills by $40 billion annually.

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http://www.energy.gov/news/8870.htm

http://www.matternetwork.com/images/Matter/house_insulation_installation_3251.jpg

http://apolloalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/evergreen_solarmed2.jpg

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/04/white-house-awards-452-million-to-retrofit-homes-businesses/1

THIN FILM SOLAR COMPANIES YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

THIN FILM SOLAR COMPANIES YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

by Jodi Summers

The economy has slowed new development in the green sector. Capital has dried up, as has demand. In the solar panel market this combination of circumstances has lead to excess stock and a subsequent drop in price. With the help of the Green Economy Post we look at up-and-coming thin film Solar PV startups based in the US.

Using thin film Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide (CIGS) technology and the following companies have collectively raised substantial amounts of VC capital (by some measures over $1 Billion). Those in the know say CIGS thin film technology holds the promise of high efficiencies – above 10% and up to 14 or 15% conversion rates. Certainly, the materials, Indium, Gallium, Selenium are expensive they are not inherently rare.

Nanosolar

http://www.nanosolar.com/

Nanosolar has concentrated seven years and several hundred million dollars on one goal of an all-out engineering effort: to completely reinvent the design and manufacturing of photovoltaics. Founded in 2002, headquartered in San Jose, Nanosolar has developed a unique roll to roll thin film production process based on a nano-scale CIGS ink that is wet printed onto a conductive aluminum foil substrate. Large capital savings and cost efficiencies are realized by using this CIGS-on-Aluminum stack.

Mirroring their U.S. success, Nanosolar’s European panel-assembly factory, located in Luckenwalde, near Berlin is aiming for a production rate of one panel every ten seconds, which equates to an annual production capacity of 640MW.

Solar foil efficiencies for Nanosolar cells as high as 16.4% have been independently verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and their first-generation

production is capable of delivering 11% panels. Their panels have attained IEC 61646 & 61730 product certification. And they seem to have worked out the roll to roll mass production process and are scaling up to mass production.

MiaSolé

http://www.miasole.com

The combination of CIGS thin films and the proprietary manufacturing processes enable Miasolé to produce solar products in volumes and at cost points that enable solar electricity to replace fossil fuels, including coal and natural gas. The result is a clean, locally generated source of electricity.

Headquarters in Santa Clara, MiaSolé, is a pioneer in the development of Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) thin film photovoltaic products. MiaSolé is the first CIGS thin film producer to have its modules to be certified by Underwriters Laboratory (UL) to the three most critical certification standards (UL 1703 and IEC 61646 and 61730). The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has confirmed that their panels convert sunlight into electricity with an efficiency of 10.2 percent.

The company now has a factory with an annual production capacity of 60 MW and is in the process of expanding this up to 140 MW of capacity.

Solyndra

http://www.solyndra.com/

Solyndra, based in Fremont, CA, designs and manufactures solar photovoltaic systems for the commercial rooftop market. Founded in 2005 Solyndra operates a state-of-the-art 300,000 square foot fully-automated manufacturing complex. The company is planning on going public and that it hopes to raise $300 million in capital to finance the final build-out of its second factory complex designed to produce 500 megawatts per year.

Using proprietary cylindrical modules and thin-film technology, Solyndra systems are designed to provide the lowest cost of electricity on commercial rooftops by delivering the lowest total systems costs per watt and the highest kilowatt hour production per rooftop for typical installations.

The company currently boasts more than $2 billion in back orders, as well as a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy for building its new production facility.

In addition to a 25-year power warranty, Solyndra’s products have received UL 1703 certification for use in North America and IEC 61730, IEC 61646 for international use.

Heliovolt

http://www.heliovolt.com/

HelioVolt modules enable the rapid growth of distributed solar energy. The glass laminate modules are compatible with existing industry installation tools and practices.

Based in Austin, Texas, Heliovolt has raised $101 million for its Series B round in 2007 and has recently opened a 20MW capacity panel production facility. The company employs an innovative two- staged thin film manufacturing process, based on its

research into the fundamental physics of the CIGS semiconductor material that reduces capital costs, lowers energy used in manufacturing and promises a higher throughput.

The company’s FASST manufacturing process produces high-quality large-grain CIGS crystals using a unique combination of low-cost ink-based or Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) based nanoengineered precursor thin films and a reactive transfer printing method. Reactive transfer is a two-stage process relying on chemical reaction between two separate precursor films to form CIGS, one deposited on the substrate and the other on a printing plate in the first stage. In the second stage, these precursors are brought into intimate contact and rapidly reacted under pressure in the presence of an electrostatic field while heat is applied.

The use of two independent thin films provides the benefits of independent composition and flexible deposition technique optimization, and eliminates pre-reaction prior to the synthesis of CIGS. High quality CIGS with large grains on the order of several microns, and of preferred crystallographic orientation, are formed in just several minutes based on compositional and structural analysis by XRF, SIMS, SEM and XRD. Cell efficiencies of 14% and module efficiencies of 12% have been achieved using this method.

SoloPower

http://www.solopower.com/

SoloPower, based in San Jose, is seeking to differentiate itself from other CIGS thin film startups, by its proprietary and innovative electrochemical process for laying the thin film onto a thin, flexible foil substrate in a high throughput, roll-to-roll process.

The company claims that by using an electroplating process to bond the CIGS thin film (and presumably also the bottom and top conductor layers as well) onto the substrate that this allows it to utilize nearly 100% of the chemicals, a higher material utilization rate than for other competing CIGS thin film solar processes like evaporation, sputtering or printing.

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http://greeneconomypost.com/promising-thin-film-solar-startups-7588.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheGreenEconomyPost+%28The+Green+Economy+Post%29

LIGHTING – AN EASY STEP TO GREEN YOUR BUILDINGS

By Jodi Summers

Today’s favorite factoid: in the typical commercial building, lighting costs about $1 per square foot. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, lighting consumes as much as 30 percent of all electric expenses in commercial buildings nationwide, costing businesses some $37 billion.

Experts note that with recent advancements in lighting technology, it’s possible to half your lighting expenses. Your typical 200,000 square foot building may offer $100,000

annual savings through re-lighting.

Many buildings are currently using HID lighting. With High Intensity Discharge bulbs, light is produced by creating and sustaining an electrical discharge between two electrodes which excites a mixture of xenon gas and mercury for a bright white light.

By converting to fluorescent systems that use motion sensors.

The initial cost of Fluorescent lighting systems has barrier to wider use, but if you do the spread sheets you’ll realize this is short-sighted thinking for a big-picture building. Fluorescent lamps are considerably cheaper to operate and the lamps last far longer, reducing the long term cost-of-operation.

Another upside, if you don’t want that cold classroom look, recent technological improvements has produced “warmer” lamp colors, smaller fluorescent lighting systems. These innovations, plus the cost-efficiency have produced a renewed interest in using fluorescent lighting in residential and commercial locations.

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http://greenerbuildings.com/blog/2010/01/28/lighting-path-greener-bottom-line

http://www.grote.com/tech/dictionary/#H

http://nemesis.lonestar.org/reference/electricity/fluorescent/index.html

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THE EPA WANTS TO IMPROVE YOUR BUILDING

By Jodi Summers

Southern California Edison is one of a handful of state utilities selected to partake in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new pilot program – the Building Performance with Energy Star program. The goal of the program is similar to some of SoCal’s green building initiatives - to further improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings.

According to the EPA, energy use in commercial buildings accounts for 17 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of over $100 billion per year. Energy Star Leaders prevented the emissions of more than 220,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and saved more than $48 million across their commercial building portfolios in 2009.

The goal of the Building Performance with Energy Star program is to help utilities and state energy-efficiency programs become Energy Star Leaders and achieve greater energy savings and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by targeting whole building energy improvements with their business customers.

In addition to Southern California Edison, pilot program partners are Com Ed, MidAmerican, National Grid, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric and Wisconsin Focus on Energy.

Key elements of the pilot, which follows the EPA’s Home Performance with Energy Star program, include:

* Incorporating use of the EPA’s Portfolio Manager, the agency’s online energy measurement and tracking tool, to score building performance;

* Approaching energy efficiency opportunities in the context of findings from whole building assessments; and

* Creating a robust delivery network for whole building efficiency services.

The program will allow operators of commercial properties to realize greater savings by strategically planning and implementing whole-building energy efficiency improvements. SoCal Edison and the other selected partners are expected to help business customers plan and implement energy-efficiency improvements over time, starting with low-payback measures that can create revenue to fund capital upgrades in the future.

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http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/05/06/epa-help-states-utilities-reap-greater-energy-savings/

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/05/06/epa-powers-building-performance-new-energy-star-program

http://www.cbpca.org/

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/e51aa292bac25b0b85257359003d925f/23d4c522b2e723da8525771a0057a925!OpenDocument

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TWO SOCAL BUILDINGS ARE EPA EFFICIENCY CONTEST FINALISTS

By Jodi Summers

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has picked 14 commercial buildings for their first national energy efficiency contest – and two of the finalists are in Southern California. Kudos to the Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown - San Diego, CA and JCPenney Store # 1778 - Orange, CA will be competing with 12 other commercial structures around the country to best streamline their energy usage and be heralded the winner.

Two hundred buildings entered the competition, which will run through October 26, 2010. Fourteen finalists were chosen for undisclosed reasons. (Meet the contenders @ http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=buildingcontest..contestants)

Each entrant was tagged with an energy use intensity (EUI) number portraying the building’s energy use. A building’s EUI is calculated by taking the total energy consumed in one year (measured in kBtu) and dividing it by the total floorspace of the building. The winner is the one who lowers their EUI by the greatest percentage. Obviously a candidate such as the Van Holten Primary School - Bridgewater, NJ (EUI 150) will use relatively little energy (particularly when school’s out) compared to the Solon Family Health Center in Cleveland, OH (EUI 318) or an office building 522 5th Avenue - New York, NY (EUI 242) . Each building will be judged on the percentage of reduction they achieve in their EUI.

The nominees will measure and track their building’s monthly energy consumption using Portfolio Manager, the EPA’s online energy tracking tool. The building that demonstrates the greatest percentage-based reduction through October 26^th will be recognized as the winner.

Now, a little about our local contestants -

The team name for the Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown is “Money in the Bank” – appropriately named because the hotel is located in the historic San Diego Trust & Savings Bank building in the city’s Gaslamp district. Ten years ago, the building went through a spectacular adaptive reuse, transitioning from a bank and office building to the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown San Diego hotel with 245 guest rooms. The 1920s bank building has guest rooms and common areas retrofitted with efficient sensors and technology. The hotel lists four reasons why it is important for it to save energy, money, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions: 1) Its guests expect it, 2) Its owners require it, 3) Its employees know it is the right thing to do, and 4) It owes it to their community. MSD’s starting EUI is 162.

JCPenney Store # 1778 - Orange, CA is calling their crew the Orange Power Rangers. That JCPenney Store opened in 1977. The store covers 100,853 gross square feet with a net sales floor space of 69,723 square feet. The Orange store is part of a group of 63 JCPenney stores that participate in the company’s Advanced Energy Management (AEM) Program, which focuses on energy awareness on both the facility maintenance and store associate level. With the help of an Interval Data Recorder (IDR) meter, the energy usage of this store is monitored on a next-day basis, and daily store energy use reports for all associates to see. JC Penny Orange is already using 35% less energy than it was last year. 1778. Their starting EUI: 165

Good luck to all of the finalists, may you make the world a better place. Btw, does anyone else know what the winner gets, other than a trophy and/or plaque to proudly display?

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http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=buildingcontest.contestants

http://www.bustler.net/index.php/article/14_finalists_picked_in_epas_national_building_competition/

http://www.energyboom.com/emerging/epa-and-energy-stars-new-national-building-competition?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20energyboom%20%28EnergyBoom%20Daily%20Briefing%29

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http://oldstockshop.com/willstock/eBay/jcpennyru11705.jpg

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THE GOVERNMENT HAS $42 BILLION FOR GREEN REAL ESTATE

By Jodi Summers

Experts have calculated that the Obama administration has put together more than 30 programs worth $72 billion that can be used to increase energy efficiency in commercial buildings and multifamily housing.

“The Obama Administration has tremendous, untapped opportunities to use legal tools already at its disposal to enhance the energy efficiency and sustainability of the nation’s multifamily and commercial buildings — all without seeking new funds or authority from Congress,” observes a report prepared by Van Ness Feldman. “All told, the programs identified in this report have the potential to directly provide or facilitate over $72 billion in funding or loan guarantees, and can leverage hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment through instruments such as mortgage insurance and regulation of the real estate lending market.”

Titled “Using Executive Authority to Achieve Greener Buildings: A Guide for Policymakers to Enhance Sustainability and Efficiency in Multifamily Housing and Commercial Buildings,” the legal analysis, suggests several ways the Obama administration can use existing programs to enhance building efficiency:

* Reforming appraisal and underwriting practices at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Greening federal banking regulations

* Promoting flexible FHA insurance products

* Integrating energy efficiency and sustainability criteria into competitive grants and funding formulas

* Strengthening minimum property standards for federal housing and economic development programs to reflect energy efficiency and sustainability standards

* Improving performance standards applicable to federal buildings and leases

* Refining guidance applicable to the energy efficient commercial buildings tax deduction and the national historic preservation tax credit

* Using SBA funding mechanisms to support small business energy efficiency investments

* Streamlining Title 17 loan guarantees to make them suitable for buildings

“As an early adopter of green buildings and the LEED green building certification system, the federal government has been a leader in bringing green buildings to cities and towns across America,” said Roger Platt, the USGBC’s senior vice president of Global Policy & Law declared. “This new report unveils an even larger opportunity for the Obama Administration to increase our nation’s energy efficiency, while creating thousands of jobs and saving taxpayers money.”

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http://www.usgbc.org/government

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/04/30/obama-already-has-72b-tap-green-buildings-study-says

http://www.boulderindependentbusiness.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/namaste_obama_0093.jpg

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LOS ANGELES IS AWARDED $30 MILLION FOR RETROFITTING REAL ESTATE

By Jodi Summers

All the banter that Los Angeles mayor, Antonio Villiarigosa has been causing in Washington with his green / energy saving ideas for Los Angeles are paying off. Recently, Vice President Biden announced that Los Angeles County was awarded $30 million to “ramp-up” energy efficiency building retrofits.

Los Angeles was one of 25 communities selected to receive a slice of $452 million in Recovery Act funding under the Department of Energy’s Retrofit Ramp-Up Initiative. The initiative promotes the concept that communities, governments, private sector companies and non-profit organizations will work together on pioneering and innovative programs for concentrated and broad-based retrofit projects.

A simple example of how the Retrofit Ramp-Up Initiative would work would be to have the same construction crew upgrade all the homes on the same block at the same time. The White House notes that this way of doing business, “…Saves contractors time and money. They can pass the savings on to their customers. And it’s just a much more efficient way to operate.”

Biden said the program, part of $80 billion in the Recovery Act for a clean energy economy, will help consumers save money on their energy bills, lower greenhouse gas emissions and create green jobs.

The models created through this program are expected to save households and businesses about a $100 million annually in utility bills, while leveraging private sector resources, to create what funding recipients estimate at about 30,000 jobs across the country during the next three years.

“Investing in retrofits is a triple win,” Vice President Biden observed, adding the program will result in retrofits for hundreds of thousands of U.S. homes and businesses over the next three years.

“This initiative will help overcome the barriers to making energy efficiency easy and accessible to all – inconvenience, lack of information, and lack of financing,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “Block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, we will make our communities more energy efficient and help families save money. At the same time, we’ll create thousands of jobs and strengthen our economy.”

In addition to the $452 million Recovery Act investment, the 25 projects will leverage an estimated $2.8 billion from other sources over the next 3 years to retrofit hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the country. The government noted gleefully, that the program funding was eight times oversubscribed, with more than $3.5 billion in applications received for the just over $450 million in Recovery Act funds available, (kind of like applying for UCLA). That puts it in course for additional investment in energy-saving and job-creating projects like these nationwide.

Retrofit Ramp-Up Awards

The following governments and non-profit organizations have been selected for Retrofit Ramp-Up awards. These projects are planned to begin in fall 2010. Final award amounts are subject to negotiation:

Austin, Texas - $10 million

Boulder County, Colorado - $25 million

Camden, New Jersey - $5 million

Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning - $25 million

Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, Ohio - $17 million

Greensboro, North Carolina - $5 million

Indianapolis, Indiana - $10 million

Kansas City, Missouri - $20 million

Los Angeles County, California - $30 million

Lowell, Massachusetts - $5 million

State of Maine - $30 million

State of Maryland - $20 million

State of Michigan - $30 million

State of Missouri - $5 million

Omaha, Nebraska - $10 million

State of New Hampshire - $10 million

New York State Research and Development Authority - $40 million

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - $25 million

Phoenix, Arizona - $25 million

Portland, Oregon - $20 million

San Antonio, Texas - $10 million

Seattle, Washington - $20 million

Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance - $20 million

Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, Ohio - $15 million

Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation - $20 million

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http://www.energy.gov/news/8870.htm

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/vice-president-biden-kicks-five-days-earth-day-activities-with-announcement-major-n

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/04/white-house-awards-452-million-to-retrofit-homes-businesses/1

http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Smart-Grid-Obama.jpg

CALIFORNIA HAS THE GREENEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD

Edited by Jodi Summers

An engineering school has published a list of what they consider to be the 50 greenest buildings in the world – and the Alamaden Tower in San Jose wins! A SoCal property came in fourth - the Robert Redford Building, home of the Natural Resources Defense Council 1314 2nd Street in Santa Monica comes in fourth. The school – Top Online Engineering Degree, does not that “Greenest is, of course, always a highly subjective and nebulous term.”

As there is no international green building code, http://toponlineengineeringdegree.com, they ask that you not consider this a definitive compilation of the latest and greatest in environmentally-friendly architecture, but rather a brief overview of some highlights instead.

1. Alamaden Tower

Location: San Jose, California, USA

Achieved platinum rating on Dec. 1, 2006

Adobe Systems is the first organization to have three platinum-rated buildings–including the Almaden Tower, pictured here–and it’s the only major corporation to have any buildings on the list. Since it started converting the buildings in 2001, Adobe has seen a 115% savings on its water and utility bills.

2. India Tower

Location: Mumbai, India

Once the construction team puts the final touches on India Tower and officially opens its doors in 2010, it will be considered amongst the tallest, greenest building in the country.

3. William J. Clinton Presidential Library

Location: Little Rock, Arkansas

Although initially built up to LEED’s silver level certification standards, the combined forces and finances of Powers of Arkansas, the Rocky Mountain Institute, and The Leonardo Academy renovated it up to platinum.

4. Robert Redford Building

Location: Santa Monica, California

Home of the Natural Resources Defense Council

CNN states that at the Robert Redford Building toilets flush themselves with rainwater — except for the urinals, which use no water at all — the floors are made of bamboo and the carpets from hemp.

5. RIT’s University Services Center

Location: Rochester, New York, USA

Sustainability highlights from the University Services Center’s operation include:

•48.6 percent energy cost reduction over industry standards for heating and cooling efficiency

•43 percent reduction in water usage over national requirements for fixture performance

•35 percent of the building’s electricity is supplied from renewable sources, including on-site solar photovoltaic panels

•33 percent recycled content of materials used in facility’s operation

6. Philip Merrill Environmental Center

Location: Annapolis, Maryland, USA

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation makes its headquarters here and includes some interesting green features such as composting toilets, bioretention, and natural lighting – among others…

7. United States Green Building Council

Location: Washington, D.C., USA

Surely, you’d expect those who administer the certifications themselves strive for the highest possible level of achievement as a way of setting an example.

8. Tahoe Center

Location: Incline Village, Nevada, USA

Tahoe Center serves as one of only five platinum-certified science laboratories in the world, playing host to the University of California Davis Environmental Research department.

9. Cundall Sydney Office Fitout

Location: St. Leonard’s, New South Wales, Australia

Engineering firm Cundall obtained the first LEED-certified platinum honor for their office fitout as the first in the Southern hemisphere.

10. East and West Towers

Location: San Jose, California, USA

Another Adobe Systems venture, Forbes states that this building sports state of the art irrigation in perfect tune with nearby weather stations.

And there are 40 more to learn about…Get the whole list @ http://toponlineengineeringdegree.com/?page_id=122

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http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/11/17/redford.building.reut/

http://toponlineengineeringdegree.com/?page_id=122

http://www.shoreassociates.com/images/projects/adobealmaden.JPG

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http://www.rit.edu/showcase/index.php?id=31/

http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/08/leadership-energy-environment-lead-citizen-cx_hc_0208green_slide_3.html?thisSpeed=undefined

THE SUN IN SHINING BRIGHTLY ON CALIFORNIA SOLAR

By Jodi Summers

Prices on solar panels have dropped considerably in the past 18 months – and this has caused the California solar installation market to boom. According to research by Mark Bachman of Auriga USA, in the first quarter of 2010 there have been applications for the installation of almost as many megawatts of residential, commercial, and government solar power as the entire year in 2009.

2010 applications for the state’s solar subsidy program, the California Solar Initiative, totaled 252 megawatts in the first quarter. At this point last year, only 68 megawatts had been applied for, and the by the year’s end the number sat at 267 megawatts.

A big boom in manufacturing capacity in Asia, the economic slowdown, cheaper raw materials and less generous subsidy programs in Europe have combined to cause the drop in prices. Companies such as Suntech Power (NYSE:STP), Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE), Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL), and Kyocera Solar (NYSE:KYO) are dominating the market.

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http://www.energyboom.com/solar/driven-asian-manufacturers-solar-fire-california?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+energyboom+%28EnergyBoom+Daily+Briefing%29

http://blogs.forbes.com/energysource/2010/05/06/solar-on-fire-in-california/

http://www.rechargenews.com/multimedia/archive/00027/Suntech_solar_panels_27731b.jpg

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