WRAL Tech Wire

Shine on: Durham solar firm Semprius cracks MIT top 10 tech list

The startup company's leading-edge solar technology "could soon make electricity cheaply enough to compete with power plants fueled by coal and natural gas," says the Massachusetts Institute for Technology in its annual "most important technology milestones" list.

Semprius' solar panel technology

Capitol Broadcasting builds solar 'farm' at broadcast tower site

The 1-megawatt solar facility will produce electricty that will in turn be sold to Progress Energy.

Raleigh's Convention Center roof soon to be site for a solar farm

The City has leased space on the roof of the massive downtown structure for the construction of solar panels by private firms. They in turn will sell power to Progress Energy.

Raleigh's growing skyline, Civic Center at right

CIA investment arm pours more money into solar tech firm Semprius

The Durham-based firm secures more money from In-Q-Tel and a new investor. Duke Energy Renewables executive is also is named to the firm's board.

The Semprius process

Clean energy investment hits record $260B in 2011

U.S. leads the way with solar power investments surging 36 percent. Spending in the U.S. rose by a third to $55.9 billion, surpassing the 1 percent gain in China to $47.4 billion.

New dye from NCSU raises solar-cell efficiency

A new "sensitizer" developed at N.C. State University collects more ambient and solar light energy than anything on the market now for use in dye-sensitized solar cells.

Buffett invests $2B to cash in on promise of solar power

"Buffett's investment shows that solar has come of age," a Wall Street analyst says. The end of the grant program "takes away some of the incentive but there will still be viable large scale solar plants."

Google pulls plug on renewable energy project, 'green energy czar'

The search giant's "green energy czar" has already left the company. "At this point, other institutions are better positioned than Google to take this research to the next level," a Google exec writes in a blog.

Duke Energy acquires three solar farms in southwestern NC

The latest three, which are all located near Murphy, were acquired from ESA Renewables. Duke now owns seven such farms in the state.

Google to finance solar panel systems for homes

The search giant will provide $75 million to build 3,000 residential solar electricity systems across the country. Google will own the panels, and get paid over time by customers who purchase the electricity the panels produce.

Florida-based firm eyes two locations in Triad for $1.4B solar plant

National Solar Power of Melbourne, Fla., has named the North Carolina county among seven finalists for its $1.4 billion solar project. Other contenders are in Georgia and Florida.

CIA pours more money into Durham solar tech startup

The secret sauce at Semprius draws more money from the "Wizards of Langley" venture arm as well as Siemens and Durham-based Intersouth in its latest $20 million capital fund raiser. So what can the CIA do with advanced solar power?

Might Semprius someday power a CIA drone?

Solar power startup Semprius raises $20M, looks for $10M more

The Durham-based company, which recently sold a 16-percent interest to Siemens Energy, discloses the funding in a regulatory filing. It's the latest in a streak of good news for the firm and its investors, which include Durham-based Intersouth Partners.

An illustration of Semprius' transfer process

Progress Energy wants more solar power providers

The utility company is looking to add new sources for its electrical grid in order to meet law requiring more power from renewable sources.

NC 'clean energy' firms jump by 700 to 1,800 in less than year

According to a new report from the NC Sustainable Energy Association, the state also is the site of more than 1,800 renewable energy system projects with nearly 3 megawatts of generating capacity. That's enough for more than 561,000 homes.

Clean energy