The cost of installing and owning solar panels will fall even faster than expected according to new research.

Avoiding this high-priced solar stock has cost investors little over the long haul.

The IT and telecom industries have stepped up a lobbying effort for energy-efficient IT projects to be included in an expanded Clean Development Mechanism.

SILVER SPRING, Md., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ — CPV Renewable Energy Company (CPV REC) today announced plans for a 10 megawatt (MW) solar farm in southern Maryland to be co-located with the proposed natural gas combined-cycle CPV St. Charles Energy Center. The announcement was made today as part of American Community Properties Trust (ACPT) 9,100 acre planned “Model Green City” in Charles County.

Named the CPV Piney Reach Solar Farm, the planned facility will begin permitting immediately and is expected to be in service by 2012. The solar farm will employ arrays of photovoltaic panels to turn sunlight directly into clean electricity. The project is the largest of its kind announced in the state.

Co-locating the solar farm with a natural gas generator represents a new “hybrid” approach to electricity generation being developed by CPV. This approach marries the environmental attributes of renewable electricity production with the controlability and low emissions rates of natural gas generation to yield clean, low-emission electricity that is available whenever the public demands.

“We are extremely excited to be bringing this solar project to the people of Maryland in conjunction with our CPV St. Charles Energy Center,” said Competitive Power Ventures Chairman and CEO Doug Egan. “We believe this combination of renewable generation with natural gas generation will be the wave of the future and Maryland is on the cutting edge.”

The project will also start Maryland on its way toward achieving its aggressive renewable portfolio standard goal of installing 1,500 megawatts of solar by 2022.

CPV REC is currently developing several major solar projects nationwide and has more than 5,000 MW of wind projects under development. 1,000 MWs of these projects are currently in negotiations for their output and are expected to be online by 2012.

For more information about the project and CPV please go to www.cpv.com.

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today that one of the world’s most competitive and innovative thin-film solar panel producers will open a manufacturing facility in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard, creating 400 jobs and leveraging hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment.

The Governor said the planned project by Heliosphera US represents an exciting development for Pennsylvania’s green economy that will bolster the state and city’s reputation as an emerging leader in solar technology and development.

“This was a very competitive project and Heliosphera’s decision to locate this exciting facility at the Navy Yard speaks volumes about Pennsylvania’s efforts to build a competitive economic climate and one that encourages growth and innovation in the renewable energy field that will define our future,” said Governor Rendell.

“This project means a great deal for the city and the state, not only in terms of jobs and the sizeable investment the company is making here, but also in strengthening our state’s presence in the solar energy industry. Solar is the fastest growing source of electric generation in the world. With this and other solar projects underway across the state, we’re making a statement that we intend to be a leader in that growth.”

Pennsylvania provided the company with a $49 million funding offer, coordinated through the Governor’s Action Team, consisting of a variety of grants and loans.

Under Governor Rendell, Pennsylvania has been a leading state in advancing renewable energy technologies.

There are more than 1,300 solar projects underway in Pennsylvania today that, once completed, will bring the state’s total solar capacity to nearly 60 megawatts, or enough to power 7,200 homes. That level of expected growth represents a fifteen fold increase in the amount of solar energy produced in the state in only a couple of years and will make Pennsylvania one of the top five states for solar production by 2010.

Pennsylvania is also one of the fastest growing states for wind power, ranking second nationally in wind power growth in the second and third quarters of 2009. By the end of 2009, Pennsylvania will have 17 operating wind farms providing 800 megawatts of electricity; enough to power 270,000 homes.

The Governor noted that Philadelphia is gaining a reputation as an emerging leader in solar technology and development. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy designated Philadelphia as a “Solar America City.” Last summer, the nation’s leading solar industry group, the Solar Energy Industries Association, chose Philadelphia as the site of its first “PV America” conference, which attracted corporate executives, energy leaders, small business owners and entrepreneurs from across the nation.

Governor Rendell said that Pennsylvania could attract even more renewable energy projects by expanding the state’s alternative energy portfolio standards, which was first enacted in 2004 and led to the state’s rapid growth in the industry. He urged the legislators to pass House Bill 80, which among other things would increase the share of energy electric companies must obtain from solar photovoltaic sources to 3 percent by 2026. The requirement is now 0.5 percent by 2020.

Heliopsphera Holding SA, an affiliate company of Heliosphera US, recently began operating its new 60 megawatt production facility in Peloponnesus, Greece. Production in that plant began in September 2009.

“Heliosphera US is pleased to announce the development of its new solar panel manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. This investment will allow the company to address what we believe will be the largest solar market in the world. We would like to thank Governor Rendell and the commonwealth for their strong support in developing this project,” said Dr. Panos Ninios, president of Heliosphera US.

Since Governor Rendell took office in 2003, the Governor’s Action Team has successfully completed 1,190 projects, resulting in commitments to create 126,200 new jobs and retain 298,400 existing positions. The state has offered more than $2 billion in assistance for these projects, which will leverage more than $16 billion in additional investment.

For information on the Governor’s Action Team, visit www.NewPA.com or call 1-866-466-3972.

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SpeedInfo, a leading innovator of real-time traffic data network technology, announced today that it has received a U.S. patent for its market-leading innovations in developing solar-powered Doppler radar sensors, and the systems to process and share the information, in near real-time.

More than 950 SpeedInfo sensors have been deployed to date by over 10 state departments of transportation and municipal planning organizations, covering 2,000 miles of roadway. These organizations typically incorporate SpeedInfo sensors into their comprehensive area traffic management systems. Sensors are typically attached to interstate or arterial light or signage poles, but can be installed on almost any available infrastructure.

SpeedInfo sensors measure vehicles on both sides of the highway from a single device, sampling data to conserve power, and relay data via GPRS wireless enabling the sensors to operate with very modest energy needs supplied entirely by batteries and very small solar panels. This low profile and lightweight design approach minimizes wind loading and enables transportation agencies to utilize existing infrastructure, dramatically reducing costs, complexities and time to coverage.

“Awarding this patent recognizes the breakthrough SpeedInfo has developed in traffic management technology. In addition to providing a “green” solution, our sensor and server technologies enable our customers to provide accurate travel times and real-time road speeds using the lowest cost option for high quality, verifiable and directly measured traffic speed data. Because of this recognized innovation, our customers deliver better information to travelers while improving their financial efficiency , flexibility and road safety,” said Charlie Armiger, SpeedInfo’s Vice President of Program Development. “High quality information helps to minimize congestion around construction areas, at bottlenecks, such as bridges and tunnels, and during peak travel times. Less congestion translates to less energy consumed and pollution emitted by vehicles, not to mention less stress and strain on travelers.”

How SpeedInfo’s Technology Works

SpeedInfo’s Doppler radar sensors are located approximately every mile and collect traffic speed information continuously. Sensors forward data to the SpeedInfo Traffic Data Server via the AT&T™ Wireless data network with virtually no latency. SpeedInfo servers format the data for delivery to customers via the Internet. The data is available from SpeedInfo servers in a standard XML format, or if required, specialized formats. Unlike other solutions that are expensive, difficult to deploy and provide inaccurate data, SpeedInfo’s sensors install easily on existing infrastructure. Highway crews can cover as many as 15 miles of highway a day with no lane closures or disruptions to traffic.