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ENERGY Solar in France

Recurrent Energy of San Francisco said Tuesday that it will partner with a French firm to develop solar power projects throughout France.

Recurrent and BlueWatt will build photovoltaic installations on the rooftops of large commercial and industrial buildings. Recurrent will focus on the financing and engineering of the systems.

Tuesday’s announcement marks the second international deal for Recurrent this month. Two weeks ago, the company announced plans to build solar installations in Ontario, Canada, capable of generating 177 megawatts of electricity. A megawatt is a snapshot figure, roughly equal to the amount of electricity used by 750 houses at any given moment.

TECHNOLOGY

Ay-yi-yi iPhone

Apple Inc. got an iPhone prototype back from technology blog Gizmodo.com, which said it obtained the device after a company engineer left it at a bar.

The device, disguised as the current 3GS model, was found in a bar in Redwood City, the Gawker Media-owned blog said yesterday. The handset, using an unreleased version of Apple’s operating system, has a front-facing camera, metallic rim and boxier design. It also has a camera flash, higher- resolution screen and larger battery, the blog said.

Gizmodo paid $5,000 for the device, Jason Chen, editor of the blog, said Tuesday in an e-mail. He said he returned the prototype to Apple Monday after receiving a letter from the company’s general counsel requesting it back.

INTERNET

Google lobbies

Google Inc., which is pushing the Federal Communications Commission for rules to keep Internet access providers from limiting Web traffic, boosted its lobbying spending in the first three months of 2010 by 59 percent over the same period a year ago.

Google spent $1.4 million between January and March, compared with $880,000 during the same period in 2009, according to Senate filings released Tuesday. Google spent $4 million overall to lobby in 2009, up 43 percent over the $2.8 million it spent in 2008.

The company has urged the FCC to bar companies that offer Internet access, such as Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. and Dallas-based AT&T Inc., from favoring some content providers over others.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Groupon funding

Digital Sky Technologies of Russia, which holds a stake in Facebook Inc., led a $135 million round of funding for Groupon, a social commerce Web site based in Chicago.

The investment will be used to boost Groupon’s global expansion and restructuring, Digital Sky said. Groupon, which uses social media tools to provide large discounts on deals ranging from spa treatments to dining, operates in more than 50 cities in the United States and Canada.

David R. Baker and Bloomberg News

This article appeared on page D – 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle