Portland General Electric (PGE) expanded its solar energy resources with a new 2.4-megawatt rooftop project, the company reported in March. PGE is partnering with U.S. Bank, ProLogis and several Oregon companies on the project. The three-city project is PGE's second with ProLogis, bringing its partnership with ProLogis to 3.5 megawatts of solar energy, enough to power approximately 388 households annually. The roughly 900,000-square-foot project will cover the roofs of seven ProLogis distribution warehouses in Portland, Gresham and Clackamas. U.S. Bank and PGE formed SunWay 3 LLC to own and operate the system and to secure state and federal solar tax credits to help finance the project.

SolarCity and U.S Bancorp Community Development Corporation (USBCDC), a division of U.S. Bancorp, in March created a new fund to finance another $90 million in solar installations and SolarCity's expansion into additional states in 2010. SolarCity will use the fund to finance its solar lease and power purchase agreements (PPAs) while it expands. The PPAs allow customers to install solar panels without putting money down, and monthly payments can be as little as $30 in some areas. The company recently expanded service to Colorado and Texas and now serves five states, including Arizona, California and Oregon. SolarCity and USBCDC have collaborated on three separate funds and since 2009 have financed a total of $190 million in solar projects. In other SolarCity news, John Stanton joined the company as its vice president of government affairs. Stanton is based in the Washington, D.C. office where he will oversee SolarCity's work with federal and state government organizations on a wide range of renewable energy policy issues. Prior to joining SolarCity, Stanton served as executive vice president and general counsel for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), where he played a role in the extension of the solar investment tax credit (ITC). Stanton earned a bachelor's degree from Tulane University and a juris doctor from Georgetown University Law School.

Second Wind Inc. named Dan Vitti vice president of operations in February. With his more than 20 years of senior management experience, Vitti will focus on expanding the company's manufacturing capabilities and operating structure to address rapid market adoption of its latest product, the Triton Sonic Wind Profiler. Most recently Vitti was vice president of operations and then chief operating officer at Sagamore Systems. His experience also includes senior management roles at Converged Access Inc., Axiowave Networks, Lucent Technologies and Agile Networks.

U.S. wind resources are larger than previously estimated, according to a new assessment from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Among the findings announced in a statement issued by the American Wind Energy Association, the assessment concluded that onshore U.S. wind resources could generate nearly 37 million gigawatt-hours (gWh) annually, more than nine times the nation's current total electricity consumption. AWEA says that the United States is barely tapping this resource with a current installed capacity of 35 gW. Improved wind turbine technology, including taller turbines and more refined wind measurements, are some of the factors contributing to the larger estimates. According to NREL, the previous national government survey of U.S. wind resources estimated U.S. wind potential at less than 11 million gWh. The recent study also found that the top 10 windiest states, in order, are Texas, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Indiana, Ohio and Oregon ranked in the top 20 windiest states for the first time. The new wind resource potential numbers are listed under the news link at www.windpoweringamerica.gov.