According to the Tribune newspaper in San Luis Obispo, Calif., rooftop solar installation in the county “is spotty at best. One home or business with solar panels on the roof is typically surrounded by many others without.”

The Tribune points to “a graphic example of this... the roof of Costco covered with 580 kilowatts of solar panels. Next door, on the roof of the Home Depot, there are none.”

Sounds like good ol’ “you do your thing and I’ll do mine,” but the Tribune evidently feels the Home Depot should have solar panels as well, so they called the company’s corporate headquarters “to inquire about the company's policy on rooftop solar.” The call was not returned.

Renewable energy advocates tell the Tribune that there are “many roadblocks to installing solar. Tom Murray, a green building contractor in San Luis Obispo County, told the newspaper, "We are really falling short on rooftop solar. We should be moving ahead a lot more aggressively."

According to various contractors contactedd by the Tribune, there are a some things that should be happening to spur solar, which evidently doesn’t appeal on its own merits. “The federal government and states should adopt uniform standards for solar incentives,” the paper says, adding that “this would allow solar businesses to streamline their work forces because they would not need multiple specialists familiar with local rules.”

Also this month TMC’s (News - Alert) Anuradha Shukla wrote the global producer of solar panels, SuntechPowerHoldingsCo., is set to expand 1.2GW PV cell capacity. The company has announced updated financial guidance for fiscal year 2010, financial expectations for fiscal year 2011 and a joint venture for this purpose.