PVTech: Will SolarCity’s 1GW Buffalo Riverbend Production Plant Be a Dream or a Dread?

SolarCity, the largest residential solar PV installer in the U.S., has started down a path to become the largest domestic producer of solar cells and modules after construction of its ambitious 1 GW Buffalo Riverbend Manufacturing Facility started in September last year.

Not only is the plan highly ambitious but the construction, tool install, qualification and ramp of the facility are also aggressive, especially when factoring in the use of high-efficiency cell technology from a startup, Silevo.

This has raised a few eyebrows within the PV industry and investor community, as the risks are high and the dream to become an integrated producer could end up crippling the company.

Philadelphia Inquirer: N.J. lawmakers Approve Direct Car Sales by Tesla

Electric-car manufacturers such as Tesla Motors would be able to bypass auto dealerships and sell their vehicles directly to consumers under a bill passed by the Legislature on Monday.

The Democratic-controlled Senate also tried but failed to override Gov. Christie's controversial veto of legislation that would overhaul the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The Senate voted 30-2 in favor of the Tesla bill. The Assembly passed it 77-0, with one abstention, in June.

PV Magazine: Congress Debates Distributed Solar Ahead of New Legislation

United States senators on Tuesday received testimony from representatives of the electric power industry, energy regulators and national laboratories on the state of innovation related to the grid.

This set the stage for a lively discussion over the value of distributed solar, mirroring debates that have erupted in state regulatory proceedings and legislatures around the country over the costs and benefits of onsite solar generation.

The Hill: Obama Guarantees GOP Will Change on Climate

President Obama said that the Republican Party will be forced to change its views on climate change in a new interview with Vice News.

"I guarantee that the Republican Party will have to change its approach to climate change because voters will insist upon it," he said in the interview, released Monday.

Obama described the "phase the Republican Party is going through" as one of political dysfunction.

The Carbon Brief: More Coal Plants Are Being Canceled Than Built

The global coal boom has started to slow, a new report says, as more plans for new power plants are now being shelved than completed.

The number of canceled coal projects across the world has outstripped those completed at a rate of two to one since 2010, according to Sierra Club and CoalSwarm -- two campaign groups that have tracked the progress of 3,900 intended plants since January 2010.

The findings update a 2012 report by the World Resources Institute, which estimated that 1,199 new coal-fired power plants, with a total capacity of 1,401 gigawatts, were in the pipeline for construction.