BP Solar ends Md. manufacturing, cutting 320 jobs

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – BP Solar said Friday it is closing its landmark Frederick manufacturing plant as part of a reshaping of the U.S. solar industry in a cost-cutting move that will eliminate 320 jobs.
The company, a San Francisco-based unit of London-based BP PLC, said the sharply falling price of solar-power modules prompted it to shift its remaining in-house production to lower-cost joint ventures in China and India and contract with other manufacturers for the rest.
About 110 jobs in sales, marketing, research and project development will remain in Frederick, housed for now in the prominent slant-roofed building along Interstate 270 about 40 miles from Washington, spokesman Pete Resler said.
The company said solar panel prices have fallen nearly 50 percent in the past 18 months. The price drop has driven the consumer cost of solar power closer to that of electricity generated from fossil fuels, said Chief Executive Officer Reyad Fezzani.
He said that with global demand for solar power expected to boom in coming years, "we are scaling up our supply chain to serve this rapid growth here in the US, in the European and Asian markets."
In 2009, BP Solar announced its global sales rose more than 26 percent. The company said it expects sales growth exceeding 50 percent in 2010.
BP Solar said it is increasingly focused on developing utility-sized projects. Fezzani said about 70 percent of solar industry jobs are in design, installation and maintenance. As a major project developer, BP Solar will help create hundreds of these new jobs, he said.
Still, the company's announcement was "a big hit" to Frederick's economy, said state Sen. David Brinkley, R-Frederick.
"They're obviously going to be making the solar cells somewhere, but they're choosing physically to relocate and not be here, and that's indicative of, I guess, the environment — the business environment and the economy," Brinkley said.
Solar-cell manufacturing in Frederick dates to the mid-1970s, when Hungarian expatriates Joseph Lindmayer and Peter Varadi established Solarex. The company, housed in the plant topped by a huge, slanted, solar-panel array, became the nation's largest U.S.-owned solar cell producer by 1994, when then-owner Amoco Corp. sold a 50 percent share to Enron Corp.
BP acquired Amoco in 1998 and bought Enron's share a year later.
___
Associated Press writer Brian Witte contributed to this story from Annapolis.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100326/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bp_solar_layoffs_2

Solar Millenium

Solar Millenium






Link to: http://www.wallstreet-online.de/diskussion/1073576-5171-5180/solar-millenium-diskussionsforum

Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/

Space Pictures Without Using Rocket Fuel

No Rocket Fuel Needed


Links to videos:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36063922#36063922
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36063922#36060447
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36063922#36049710


Top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/

We are looking for more song for playlist

We are looking for more song for playlist. The songs should be energy, earth, or environment related. Please send us suggestions. Thanks.


Link to top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/

Department of Energy - Small Business

Department of Energy - Small Businesses Helping Drive Economy: Clean Energy, Clean Sites






http://www.energy.gov/recovery/documents/Small_Business_Memo_Mar2010.pdf

http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/

Listen to Bill Gees Playlist

Earth Day 2010

Earth Day 2010 Coming In April 22 nd

Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.
Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.
Start planning your Earth Day 2010 event and take action today.
Tools to Get Started
Organizers GuideEarth Day In A Box
Earth Day Network’s Campaign for Earth Day 2010
Global Days of Service – April 17-18 - Join millions around the globe to make your community and the world cleaner and more sustainable.
Help Generate a Billion Acts of Green™ - Register individual, community or business service acts and take action for Earth Day.
Events on The National Mall in Washington, DC
Earth Day 40th Anniversary Events – April 22
Change the Climate Rally – April 25
Exhibitions and Performances on The National Mall – April 17-25
Arts for the Earth™ - Get involved in art that promotes environmental themes.
Song for the Earth Contest - Youths 18 or under who are passionate about music and the environment are invited to compose and submit a song. Winners will perform on The National Mall.
Athletes for the Earth™ - Athletes are signing up to change the climate!
40th Anniversary Global Advisory Committee - See who is part of the team!» -->

http://www.earthday.net/earthday2010

Top of blog: http://www.usaalternativeenergy.blogspot.com/