The Year in Solar: Sunny Side Up

My reporting on the solar industry continues with this ditty for the East Bay Express' Year in Review package. Unlike most of my other solar stories, this focuses on rooftop solar installation (as opposed to utility-scale solar in remote areas, and the environmental impacts thereof). It's relatively short (900 words), but you'll get a good idea what 2011 was like from the subhed: "Solyndra went under, but more East Bay homes went solar in 2011 than ever before." In other words, although it was the year that the US solar industry came under fire (and China asserted its dominance in manufacturing) like never before, it was also a year that other elements of the industry -- particularly solar leasing for rooftop residential installations -- truly caught fire. Read on ...