Hillsborough is the new home of an unusual solar energy company that is expanding photovoltaic cells beyond rooftops and integrating them into the sides and windows of homes.

Nature's Energy Solutions opened its Hillsborough headquarters on Monday and plans to employ eight people at the site. The company manufactures its 19 products at a manufacturing facility in Fredricksburg, Va., that began operating last month.

The company specializes in making solar photovoltaic roofing shingles, solar windows, home siding and window shades, among other solar energy products. It's part of an experimental technology wave that some scientists believe will ultimately lead to the widespread adoption of solar photovoltaic paint that can convert sunshine into electricity.

Progress Energy announced another major solar farm today as the Raleigh electric utility expands its reliance on green energy throughout the state.

The latest power plant that turns sunshine into electricity is at the city of Raleigh water treatment plant. The facility is home to a 250-kilowatt solar facility whose power output is equivalent to the usage of 22 typical homes.

The solar farm at the municipal E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant was built and is operated by Carolina Solar Energy, a renewable energy developer in Durham. Progress Energy buys the electricity to comply with a 2007 state law that requires power companies to increase their reliance on green energy.

Mayfair Plaza Shopping Center in Cary is offering something different: a solar energy power plant.

The retail center hosts one of the state's largest solar farms, all of it installed on the roof of a Food Lion grocery store.

The solar farm generates 250 kilowatts of power, enough to meet the energy needs of 22 typical homes. The facility began generating power last month.

Progress Energy customers will see a slight decrease on their monthly bills beginning Dec. 1, as the electric utility passes on several cost reductions.

The Raleigh-based utility is lowering its cost for fuel and efficiency programs and charging more for solar farms. The net effect for a typical residential customer will be a reduction of 22 cents a month.

Cary software developer SAS will double the size of the solar farm on its corporate campus.

The company said today it will build a 1.2-megawatt addition, enough to power about 200 homes, to the existing 1-megawatt facility that began operating in December. The new solar project is scheduled to begin generating electricity in March.

When combined, the 2.2-megawatt SAS solar project will constitute the state's biggest solar energy farm.

Progress Energy today announced its sixth and biggest solar energy contract to date, a solar farm to be built in Laurinburg, about 100 miles southwest of Raleigh.

The solar farm will generate 2.3 megawatts of electricity, about twice as much power as the biggest solar farm that currently supplies power to Progress Energy and is located near Wilmington.

The Laurinburg project will be built by private developers and will sell power to Progress for 20 years. It's expected to start generating power within six months.