Solar stocks rebound on the prospect of continued tax breaks; Chrysler shows off a radical electric concept car; and Dell gets a little bit greener.

Solar stocks enjoy rally as tax breaks renewed: Solar stocks came roaring back on Wednesday, the day after U.S. Senate negotiators renewed an $18 billion package encouraging renewable energy development. Shares of SunPower Corp rose 12.7 percent to close at $98.60. Evergreen Solar was also up 14.5% to $6.58 a share. The measure is expected to yield 440,000 permanent jobs in the United States and generate $232 billion in new investment. (Reuters)

Chrysler’s GEM Previews ‘Peapod’ Electric Car: Chrysler surprised the automotive market by their announcement this week that it plans to produce an electric car by 2010. With the cat out of the bag, company officials are starting to show off a highly revised version of its GEM “Peapod” electric car. The Peapod has already been given a new name: the GreenEcoMobility concept. The airy, pod-like electric vehicle makes extensive use of glass surfaces, and incorporates interior features made from earth-friendly recycled and recyclable materials. Chrysler says it could bring the GreenEcoMobility vehicle into production as early as 2009. (EV World)

Green is the New Red-Handed: With high energy costs and an increasing number of installed systems, solar owners in the U.S. are beginning to experience something new: panel theft. The relative compactness and high value of solar panels make them a tempting target for thieves. So is the availability of resale marketplaces such as eBay and Craigslist. Your best bet to protect a solar panel investment? Alarms, video surveillance, and tamper-free mounting screws. (Grist)

MINI EV won’t come with lithium ion batteries?: Engineers testing different configurations of the upcoming electric MINI privately confide they’ve had little success with lithium ion batteries and hub-mounted electric motors. That’s leading some analysts to believe the diminutive plug-in may be shipped with nickel hydride storage units or a Zebra battery similar to that in the electric Smart. Since the MINI’s Barvarian parent company isn’t commenting, we won’t know much about the vehicle’s production trim until it’s revealed at the LA Auto Show later this year. (Autoblog Green)

Dell Equipping All New Laptops with Energy Efficient LED Displays: Dell is the latest computer manufacturer to expand it offering of greener products. The company plans to offer LED backlit monitors in all its laptops by 2010. LED monitors are brighter and considerably more efficient than traditional displays. The energy savings will also mean increased battery life, early doubling the duty cycle of most models while decreasing display thickness. (CleanTechnica)

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