manufacturing

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu Friday announced that $27 million will be awarded to nine new projects as part of the government’s $200 million per year “SunShot” initiative to bring the total costs of utility scale solar energy systems down about 75 percent -- to roughly $1 a watt  - by 2020.

Here are the Top 10 Renewable Energy News Stories You May Have Missed this Week:

Shares of semiconductor and solar technology technology company MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE: WFR) were trading up more than 13 percent at mid-day after announcing Fiscal 2010 and Q4 financial results that were dramatically higher than 2009. The company also forecast profits of 40 percent to 300 percent higher for 2011.

OTHER NEWS: Ormat Technologies, LDK Solar, Power-One

Here are the Top 10 Renewable Energy News Stories You May Have Missed this Week:

At the University of Bologna, inventor Andrea A. Rossi and Professor Sergio Focardi, recently announced the invention of a cold fusion energy device ready for manufacturing and capable of producing up to 10-kilowatts of heat power.

Shares of Ener1, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEV) closed up 14 percent Tuesday (down from 25 percent earlier in the day) after announcing prior to the market open that it had signed a joint venture agreement with Wanxiang Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd. to co-manufacture lithium ion cells and battery packs for the Chinese market. 

Ener1 shares are up 43 percent over the past six months, but down 19 percent over the past year.

A closer look today at Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), whose 66.7 percent gain last week led the EnergyBoom Clean 100 Index (E•B Clean 100). 

Plug Power, based in Latham, New York, announced in April 2010 it was restructuring to cut costs, focus on its GenDrive fuel cell power units for fork lifts and halt development and manufacturing of its stationary backup and off-the-grid fuel cell power generators. 

Solar panel manufacturer Evergreen Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESLR) (NASDAQ: ESLRD), based in Marlboro, Massachusetts, said yesterday it was closing its nearby Devens manufacturer plant and laying off 800 employees by the end Q1 2011 because it can’t compete with low-cost Chinese manufacturers.

Shares of tiny photovoltaic (PV) systems and module manufacturer Solar Power, Inc. (OTCBB: SOPW.OB) jumped 30 percent Thursday (but slipped back six per cent in early trading today) after it announced that LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK), the world’s largest producer of multicrystalline PV wafers, was buying 70 percent of the company for approximately $33 million. 

Other news: AQT Solar heading to South Carolina 

Shares of Suzlon Energy Ltd. (BSE: SUZLON.BO), India’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, are trading down two percent today after the company issued a statement denying that Spain’s Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica, SA (OTC: GCTAF.PK) may buy a majority stake in the company for about $1.9 billion.

Meanwhile, Sinovel Wind Group Co., China’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, announced Tuesday it plans to raise up to $1.4 billion in an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares on the Shangai exchange.