Solar

SunEdison LLC, one of the nation's largest providers of solar energy services, said at a news conference with California's governor Monday that it had moved its headquarters from Beltsville to California's Silicon Valley. The news was announced by California Gov. Jerry Brown, who said in a statement that the company would bring 200 employees from Maryland to Belmont, Calif. SunEdison also pledged to create 300 new jobs over the next five years. Brown attributed the company's decision to relocate to a tax relief law geared toward solar energy firms that was passed this summer.

Let me see if I have this right. We are going to pay $60 million for a solar project at Mount Saint Mary's University for which the kilowatt hour rate is "well-above current cost" ("Largest solar power project under way," Sept. 30). The solar panels may well be made in Malaysia or Germany, and a grand total of two permanent workers will be added to the payroll? I'm no rocket scientist, but I can divide $60 million by 2 employees and figure out the latest boondoggle promoted by Gov. Martin O'Malley is costing $30 million per employee.

It might not seem to be a bright investment right now, after weeks of seemingly endless clouds and rain, but solar panels are popping up on rooftops all over Maryland. With government help in the form of tax credits and grants, companies making equipment available through long-term lease and economies of scale bringing prices down, the industry is seeing steady and continuing growth in demand for drawing power from the sun. And Maryland is among the states experiencing a rapid expansion, with an increasing number of companies getting into sales, installation and leasing of the panels to homeowners and businesses.

The University of Maryland took first place Saturday in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2011 with a solar-powered, energy-conserving WaterShed House that was inspired by the Chesapeake Bay. The design features a green roof that retains rainwater, solar panels that provide year-round power and a patent-pending indoor waterfall — key factors in an international competition that required the winning home to produce as much energy as...

WASHINGTON - The Department of Energy says the University of Maryland's entry in its Solar Decathlon competition has taken first place for architecture. The overall winner will be announced Saturday in Washington. The competition pits university designed solar-powered homes against each other. The homes are on display this week on the National Mall's West Potomac Park. The competition involves 10 contests that gauge each house on factors including performance, livability and affordability.

Solar panels under construction at a long-capped landfill in Howard County will soon be used to offset energy costs at a nearby elementary school. The county began installation of the solar arrays this week at the former New Cut Landfill, an 83-acre tract in Ellicott City that shut down operations more than 30 years ago. Officials expect the $462,000 project will be completed in about eight weeks and the panels will begin drawing energy from the...

After Hurricane Irene, power to my entire block in Hampden was out - except at my house, thanks to my solar panels. While the panels obviously didn't work during the night of the storm, by the next morning my fridge was still ice cold, my sump pump was back on and I was able to tend my yard without the din of a generator. By the time nightfall came and my panels were starting to switch off, I had been able to accomplish all my electric chores. I spent the rest of the day chatting with neighbors and enjoying a peaceful evening.

BP Solar warned state regulators Monday that it will close what remains of its Frederick operation and lay off 58 employees, starting this fall. The company's decision to shut the solar-power facility, cutting research and development jobs as well as sales and marketing positions, came after it relocated the manufacturing operation there overseas. BP announced in March 2010 that the site would lose 320 manufacturing jobs as a result. The remainder of the facility will close by March of next year, with layoffs beginning in October, said a BP Solar spokesman, Pete Resler.

Solar power is not just for large manufacturers and other companies looking to save on energy costs. Photovoltaic systems increasingly are turning up on rooftops of residential homes. It's a market on which Astrum Solar is betting. Based in Annapolis Junction, the four-year-old, privately held company markets itself as a full-service provider of solar power focusing exclusively on homeowners. Astrum Solar operates in 10 states and the District of Columbia. Installing a solar panel system can be expensive, but tax credits and other incentives and falling equipment prices are helping to drive down the costs.

At a small construction site tucked between an ice skating rink and an office building, students, professors and contractors sing along to country music as they put the finishing touches on two small houses joined in the middle by a manmade wetland. The University of Maryland students are building WaterShed, the school's entry in the 2011 Solar Decathlon. They are competing against 19 other teams from around the world, including China and Australia. After months of construction and more than a year of design and planning, the house — powered entirely by solar energy, but with a focus on water conservation and reuse — is nearing completion.