Voters support increasing the use of wind power in the U.S. and adopting a strong Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), according to a national poll released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Poll highlights include: An overwhelming, bipartisan majority (89%) of American voters (including 84% of Republicans, 88% of Independents and 93% of Democrats) believe increasing the amount of energy the nation gets from wind is a good idea; 56% of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing on renewable energy and 67% believe Congress is not doing enough to increase renewable energy sources such as wind; 77% of Americans support a national Renewable Electricity Standard.

PG&E said it plans to begin implementing a major new solar photovoltaic (PV) program, which the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved. The program, once complete, will generate up to 500 megawatts (MW) of clean energy, enough to meet the needs of about 150,000 homes in PG&E's Northern and Central California service area. The five-year initiative will consist of up to 250 MW of utility-owned PV generation and another 250 MW provided by independent developers through a streamlined regulatory process.

In this edition of Room for Debate, the New York Times poses the question: What can be learned from California’s experience, since it is the acknowledged leader in the American solar movement? This debate brings the opinions of Chip Jacobs, co-author of “Smogtown;” David Hochschild, Solaria Corporation; Severin Borenstein, University of California Energy Institute; Terry Tamminen, former California Environmental Protection secretary; and Paul Gipe, renewable-energy industry analyst.

A Silicon Valley venture capital firm is leading a $129.4 million investment in a long-promising solar technology that is starting to gain traction in the U.S. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and other investors are making a big bet on Amonix, a company in Southern California that has spent 20 years developing concentrating photovoltaic power systems that resemble gigantic solar panels. Plastic lenses focus the sun on tiny but highly efficient solar cells to generate more electricity than conventional photovoltaic panels. Multijunction cells, which were first developed to power satellites, use fewer expensive semiconducting materials. Demand for the technology has started to grow in the U.S. as the solar market has expanded and utilities have sought to meet renewable energy targets.

UK-based Aquamarine Power believes it has conquered the cruel environment of the world’s oceans to bring almost limitless clean energy ashore. The Oyster, its new wave-powered generating technology, is currently generating energy off the Orkney Islands in northern Scotland by taking the approach of leaving the electricity-producing components of its power plant on land. The Oyster’s core is a buoyant, hinged flap that sways in the waves near shore. This motion drives two hydraulic pistons which push high pressure water onshore to drive a conventional hydroelectric turbine. That keeps the production end of the equipment -- the generator, converters, transformers and circuit breakers -- high and dry onshore for easy maintenance and operation. One analyst says the industry is only now getting started to build a new generation of technologies.

The U.S. House of Representatives is debating whether to require utilities to give real-time energy consumption data to consumers and companies like Google, Intel, Microsoft and Tendril Networks that want to build services around this data. In California, the issue is already decided: utilities must hand it over. The California Public Utilities Commission has adopted a policy that utilities must give access to energy consumption data to individual consumers and their appointed third-party providers by the end of 2010 and then provide the data in a somewhat real-time manner by the end of 2011. The ruling will likely pave the way for a wide variety of commercial and residential energy services in California.

Manufacturing might rise again in the U.S. if the green economy were wholly homemade. But rather than “made in America,” much of the green manufacturing to date is “assembled in America” from parts made overseas. The Obama administration is trying to change that, offering generous tax credits to generate domestic production. But the impact has been modest, because assembly plants qualify for the credits. In all, fewer than 200 factories in the U.S. are devoted to green production. While the numbers are rising, many of the plants are foreign-owned, and several Democratic senators want the incentives stopped until Congress can change the law, restricting the subsidies to American-owned companies. In the rise of green manufacturing, Asia, particularly China and Japan, dominates in solar, and Europe, particularly Germany and also Spain, in wind and high-speed rail, the latter a potentially giant industry that does not yet exist in the U.S.

San Diego County has more than 3,600 solar power systems currently in service -- more than any other county in the state. The director of programs at the California Center for Sustainable Energy has helped the state spend more than $143 million to install most of those solar power systems. Last year was a banner one for local installations funded through the California Solar Initiative, officials said, and that progress has continued this year. A megawatt is enough, roughly, for 650 homes. Usage is highest in the heat of summer, and while San Diego uses around 2,500 megawatts, the peak usage has topped 4,500.

SunPower said it will locate its first domestic solar manufacturing facility in Milpitas. The new factory is expected to create 100 jobs by the end of the year. SunPower designs and manufactures solar cells and solar panels for residential, commercial and utility clients. The San Jose company has more than 5,100 employees worldwide, including about 4,300 in the Philippines, where SunPower has two factories near Manila. It is also constructing a third factory in Malaysia. But with the solar market in the U.S. expanding, SunPower is eager to begin manufacturing in key states like California. In its most recent annual report, the company said it hopes to produce 25% of its solar panels domestically within the next two years.

Solar Power Inc. hopes to tap into more federal stimulus money to help finance two utility-scale solar farms in Sacramento County that would produce enough electricity to power more than 10,000 homes. Energy produced by the farms -- one 70-acre solar farm in Rio Linda and a second farm more than three times that size to be sited elsewhere in the county -- would be sold to a local utility. Solar Power is seeking $147 million in either tax-exempt or tax-credit bonds, or some combination of both, to help pay for the projects.

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