LOS ANGELES, Aug 3 (Reuters) – BrightSource Energy Inc on
Tuesday said it was now able to store the energy its solar
thermal power plants produce, allowing them to function during
after the sun sets.

The company, which filed with U.S. securities regulators
for an initial public offering earlier this year, said it is
combining its power tower solar thermal technology with molten
salt storage.

LOS ANGELES/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Solar investors should brace themselves for some downright dreadful second-quarter earnings reports in the coming weeks, though the rest of the year may provide some relief to battered solar stocks as panel prices stabilize and profit margins recover.

The solar market likely bottomed in the second quarter after pullbacks in subsidies in No. 2 solar market Italy stalled development of projects there this spring, creating an oversupply of solar panels in the market and sparking a more than 20 percent drop in prices.

LOS ANGELES/FRANKFURT, July 29 (Reuters) – Solar investors
should brace themselves for some downright dreadful
second-quarter earnings reports in the coming weeks, though the
rest of the year may provide some relief to battered solar
stocks as panel prices stabilize and profit margins recover.

The solar market likely bottomed in the second quarter
after pullbacks in subsidies in No. 2 solar market Italy
stalled development of projects there this spring, creating an
oversupply of solar panels in the market and sparking a more
than 20 percent drop in prices.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – SunPower Corp warned on Monday that it lost money in the second quarter because of subsidy cuts in Italy and one-time charges for an inventory writedown, contract cancellations and its strategy of shifting panel sales to areas of greater demand.

The company’s shares fell 7.1 percent following the announcement.

However, the U.S. panel maker said revenue would be in line with a forecast it gave last month.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Chemical company DuPont said on Monday it bought solar technology start-up Innovalight Inc in a move to help double sales to the solar industry to $2 billion by 2014.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Innovalight’s silicon ink is used by solar cell makers to raise the efficiency of the semiconducting material and reduce the cost of solar power.

LOS ANGELES/BANGALORE, July 20 (Reuters) – Shares of real
estate site Zillow Inc (Z.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) skyrocketed in their market debut
on Wednesday, the latest to ride a wave of dotcom exuberance
while stoking fears of lofy Internet valuations.

The six-year-old, loss-making real estate website, which
recorded $30.5 million in revenue last year from providing
housing value appraisals online, soared to as much as $60 — a
three-fold increase from its IPO price of $20.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – China-based solar equipment maker LDK Solar Co Ltd said on Monday the chairman of its audit committee had resigned, and its shares fell to their lowest level in a year.

The departure of Louis Tung-jung Hsieh came after LDK was named in recent reports on weak corporate governance practices at Chinese companies by ratings agencies Fitch and Moody’s Investors Service.

LOS ANGELES, July 15 (Reuters) – U.S. solar company
Evergreen Solar Inc (ESLR.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) warned on Friday it would not make
$4.2 million of interest payments due on its senior convertible
notes, citing its weakened liquidity.

The failure to pay the interest will trigger a default if
unpaid for 30 days, the company said in a filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. The interest payments were
due on Friday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – U.S. officials said on Thursday they would eliminate or reduce the size of some areas the government had deemed best for solar power development in six western states in response to tens of thousands of public comments.

The refinements will reflect a deeper analysis of the areas’ access to transmission lines as well as improved information on wildlife that could be affected by development of large-scale solar plants, officials from the Department of the Interior said on a conference call.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Trina Solar Ltd said the chairman of its audit committee had resigned from its board, sending the Chinese solar company’s shares down more than 12 percent.

Peter Mak resigned effective July 10 “to focus on other personal and professional pursuits,” Trina said in a statement on Tuesday.