CleanTech OC Daily - 10/4/12

As SoloPower starts up factory, quietly raises $12M

SoloPower has not only launched a new factory in Portland, Oregon, but the company has also quietly raised $12 million in debt and options. While the timing of the new thin film solar factory is not great (see Solyndra), the company maintains a positive outlook with a solid business plan to boot. SoloPower’s CEO, Tim Harris, expects the company to produce 20 to 30 MW of solar panels per year by the end of 2012 and ship 2 to 5MW of solar panels during Q4.

Memo To Mitt: Tesla Is Not Solyndra

In the Presidential debate on Wednesday night, Mitt Romney lumped Tesla Motors in with Solyndra, Fisker Automotive and Ener1 as an example of failed investments in green technology by the Obama administration. To illustrate the incorrect comparison, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk posted a blog hours before the debate stating that the company is on track to pay back its $465 million loan guarantee to the Department of Energy.

First US Offshore Wind Turbines: Spinning In ’14?

Block Island in Rhode Island may be the first to install an offshore wind farm in the United States. The developer, Deepwater Wind, is confident about moving forward on the 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm after submitting the paperwork for final permits with state and federal agencies. The project will consist of five 6-megawatt turbines spaced about a half-mile apart in a single radial array.