The formerly bankrupt and since reborn residential solar company abruptly laid off nearly 400 workers yesterday. For the third time in company history, a significant portion of the workforce was laid off with no warning. Now Sungevity’s future is uncertain – yet again.

Also in the brief: kWh Analytics’ insurance policy on solar production and revenues, Solar FlexRack has reached 200 solar tracker installations, the Wallingford Renewable Energy solar project has been sold and more.

With the scope of global turmoil caused by Covid-19, tax equity, the predominant vehicle for solar project financing will slow down considerably. What options will arise to replace tax equity, and how will they shape the different branches of development?

Also in the brief: Minnesota’s new residential solar restrictions, JinkoSolar donates 1,000,000 masks for pandemic fighting in 19 countries, NABCEP will offer Board Certification and Associate level exams online and more.

Wood Mackenzie has dropped the 2020 outlook down to 430 MW, still a more than 100% increase over 2019, amid concerns over the role of sales and commissioning and interconnection in a period of shelter-in-place ordinances.

Also in the brief: 250 MW have been proposed for the New York Town of Verona, Duke wants to double up on annual solar rebate deadlines and Maryland makes interconnection easier.

The product costs around $28 to $30 per square-foot although prices will vary depending on project complexity. Swiss manufacturer Freesuns says its tiles can be used on historic buildings and can cover 100% of rooftops.

A new type of sheltering in place.

France’s Sunbooster has developed a technology to cool down solar modules when the ambient temperature exceeds 25 C. The solution features a set of pipes that spread a thin film of water onto the glass surface of the panels in rooftop PV systems and ground-mounted plants. The cooling systems collect the water from rainwater tanks and then recycle, filter and store it again. The company claims the technology can facilitate an annual increase in power generation of between 8% and 12%.

The solar plant was built with fixed structures on a 400-hectare water surface at a fishery in Anhui province. The project was the first unsubsidized plant approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2019 and is selling power at a price of $0.054 per kWh.

Solaria CEO Suvi Sharma. “When foreign companies such as Canadian Solar ignore American patents and violate our core IP, we will take action to enforce and protect the technology that took so much effort and investment to develop.”

GCL System Integration plans to build a 60 GW solar module factory in China’s Anhui province, with a total investment of approximately $2.5 billion.

The U.S. thin-film solar company says its production lines in Ohio, Malaysia and Vietnam have thus far been able to carry on operations. The company says measures have been taken to protect its workers at all of its premises.

Tesla’s Nevada operation is still open for business. The EV and battery maker assures the market that its cash position is strong enough to weather an “extended period of uncertainty.”

Also in the brief: financing for a massive Texas project, distributed portfolio expansion in the DMV, Duke waives fees amid COVID crisis and more.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has made that determination after studying the annual maximum peaks for 22 different utility planning authorities over from 1998 to 2018.

In a rollback of Obama-era policy, the new regulation restricts carbon dioxide emissions standards by 1.5% a year through model year 2026, a figure opponents of the bill feel is not nearly enough.

Executive and boardroom moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and venture capital.

Solar PV technologies are expected to play a massive role in the world’s battle against climate change; headed for a global deployment of 7.5 TW by the year 2050. However, a number of PV chemistries exist in the market and PV modules get better in performance and durability by the year. This analysis looks at various PV technologies and develops a technological and ecological rationale for the best PV technology mix to combat global warming

An Alabama industry association and citizens’ groups say regulators should reject Alabama Power’s request to build more gas capacity.

Also in the brief: tech from the rumored Apple car could find its way to your pocket or wrist, a list of Georgia utilities and other services that will not cut off services due to nonpayment, COVID-19 resulting in a 20% decrease in oil demand and more

Can an organic solar cell material finally be commercialized? Last year, Ubiquitous Energy claimed a world record for efficiency of a “transparent solar cell” with a “certified” 9.8% efficiency.

Thin-film solar startup PI Energy didn’t disclose the photovoltaic materials system it’s been commercializing, other than to say that it wasn’t CIGS, CdTe, or perovskites.

Also in the brief: 14 MW approved in Maine, 20 MW approved in Indiana, a molten aluminum thermal energy storage system and more.

Compressed hydrogen is “the first viable option” to help meet wintertime electricity demand in a high-renewables grid, says DNV GL, a global consulting firm.