Clean Energy Sector Ups Spending on Lobbyists

A recent report from research firm New Energy Finance, spending on Washington lobbyists by the clean energy industry has accelerated rapidly in recent years, but still lags behind that the fossil fuel industry. Through the first six months of 2009, the sector spent an unprecedented $r12.1 million on lobbying, According the Center for Responsive Politics, During the same period, oil and natural gas spent $82.2 million on lobbying, with ExxonMobil alone contributing $14.9 million. That’s $2.8 million more that the entire clean energy sector.

Cost to Produce Solar Cells Brought Below $1 per Watt

Earlier this month, First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) announced that it has reduced its manufacturing cost for solar modules in the fourth quarter 2009 to 98 cents per watt, becoming the first solar cell manufacturing company to break the $1 per watt price barrier. This is a major price milestone for the solar photovoltaic manufacturing sector and represents a significant step towards achieving what is known in the industry as as grid parity, the price level where the per watt cost for solar electricity reaches the current averaged cost of electricity on the grid a goal First Solar plans to reach by 2012.