Solar panels are helping Delta Diablo Sanitation District generate big savings on its Pacific Gas & Electric bills. Since May, almost 1,000 panels have been installed on carport structures to power their sewage treatment administration building; the panels are expected to reduce their electricity costs by over $100,000 per year. Having a solar system also lets the district export some of its surplus energy back to the grid.

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- as seen on the Daily Bright Spot www.cabrightspot.org

An Oakland startup will use crowdfunding - the idea of pooling small investments online to back a project - to fund solar power installations. Mosaic Inc. is offering anyone in California or New York a way to invest in solar for as little as $25. Investors will receive a fixed 4.5 percent annual return on their money, which will help pay for solar installations on small businesses, community centers and other facilities.

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- as seen on the Daily Bright Spot www.cabrightspot.org

Solar stocks were burning up last week, led by a 41 percent share price boom for SunPower, which sold a pair of massive Southern California solar power plants to a Warren Buffett company. San Jose-based SunPower said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it sold two Antelope Valley photovoltaic projects to MidAmerican Solar, a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings, itself owned by Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway.

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- as seen on the Daily Bright Spot www.cabrightspot.org

SolarCity Corp., the solar power provider led by billionaire Elon Musk, raised $92 million in its initial public offering, 39 percent less than initially sought after selling the shares at a reduced price. The San Mateo-based company sold 11.5 million shares, equivalent to a 16 percent stake, for eight dollars each. The company is poised for growth, however, after completing the most equipment installations in California, the U.S.’s biggest solar-power market.