WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Thursday identified 17 sites in six Western states as prime candidates for solar energy projects on public lands, continuing a push for solar power despite the high-profile bankruptcy of a solar panel maker that received a half-billion dollar federal loan.

Solar is getting hotter every day.

A draft plan on the solar potential of federal land identifies three Arizona sites encompassing nearly 14,000 acres as highly suitable for energy development.

Washington -- Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service policies discourage the development of solar projects, an executive for Tempe-based First Solar told congressional lawmakers this week.

A group of Southwestern utilities is exploring the possibility of developing a 250-megawatt solar power plant in Arizona or southern Nevada, which would be one of the largest in the region.

WASHINGTON – The federal government identified two sites in Arizona Tuesday as hot spots for solar energy, part of a larger plan to spur development of utility-scale solar projects in six Western states.

SAN FRANCISCO — Federal officials on Friday approved a plan that sets aside 445 square miles of public land for the development of large-scale solar power plants, cementing a new government approach to renewable energy development in the West after years of delays and false starts.

The move by China-based Suntech Power Holdings Co. to set up its U.S. headquarters and a solar manufacturing plant in the Valley could be the first of several solar-energy manufacturing facilities coming to Arizona, according to the Valley’s chief economic development executive.

More than 192,000 acres of land in Arizona is being dedicated to utility-scale renewable energy projects.

In ancient Greece, the rulers of Sparta strove to create a utopian society by criminalizing excessive consumption, imposing rigid egalitarian rules and demanding absolute discipline from their citizenry.

Gilbert is moving forward with plans to form an environmental citizens committee as it begins the process of revamping its citizen boards and commissions.

A landowner near Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is betting on going green to make some green - and hopefully stave off an impending foreclosure.

Gilbert has its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified "green" house.

Scottsdale could establish a new Office of Environmental Policy to research and oversee "green" programs and handle federal environmental mandates.

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From creating a solar energy plant to pasteurizing orange juice in Ghana to creating a word game for the iPhone, students in ASU Polytechnic’s College of Technology and Innovation are putting their education to real-world use.

A new Mesa-based development company that specializes in super-energy-efficient buildings is ready to start its first projects. Called c.i. Development Group, the firm was formed in 2006 by partners Jason Savell and Eric Faas to build LEED-Gold and LEED-Platinum retail, office and mixed-use projects.

The “Great Recession” cost Arizona 300,000 jobs and cast a shadow long after it was declared over, but the outlook for the East Valley in 2011 is looking gradually, if tentatively, brighter.

The “Great Recession” cost Arizona 300,000 jobs and cast a shadow long after it was declared over, but the outlook for the East Valley in 2011 is looking gradually, if tentatively, brighter.

It's June 22. Do you know where your state budget is? With few days remaining, really good ideas for closing a massive budget gap are in high demand.

Like a huckster of patent medicine in 19th-century America, John McCain is trying to convince us that drilling, drilling and more drilling is the instant remedy for the pain Americans feel approaching a gas pump these days.

The outlook for the East Valley in 2011 is looking gradually, if tentatively, brighter.