Better conductor protection materials are helping to extend wire management products to 25-year lifetimes.
Announcement
Upcoming Roundtables at SPI
Register now for our upcoming roundtables on September 12 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas:
Both events are free of charge!
Installations
SEIA, allies: No bailouts for “bad business decisions”
From across the country, solar installers, solar allies and the national association descended on Washington D.C. to urge the U.S. International Trade Commission to throw out the Suniva/SolarWorld Section 201 trade case, arguing that a decision in favor of the companies could cut more than a third of solar jobs in the United States.
Manufacturing
Suniva, SolarWorld describe “manufacturing bloodbath”
The crash in PV module prices and resulting struggles of the U.S. solar cell and module manufacturing industry were displayed as Section 201 petitioners and their supporters made their case before the U.S. International Trade Commission today.
Markets & Policy
New FERC chair hints at support for coal and nuclear
Newly appointed FERC Chair Neil Chatterjee is repeating administration myths about coal and nuclear power, calling such generation “essential”.
Markets & Policy
Puerto Rico plans to add 240 MW of solar by June 2019
The new PV capacity will be part of a plan to add 1.5 GW of new generation capacity and to address the state of emergency in the island’s electricity system.
Markets & Policy
Section 201 testimony to be heard today
Today the International Trade Commission will hear arguments for and against trade action under its Section 201 investigation.
Installations
Court denies SolarEdge’s injunction request against Enphase over ad
Saying the company failed to provide sufficient evidence to support any of its claims, a court refused to grant a preliminary injunction to stop Enphase from running the advertisement in question.
Manufacturing
SunPower announces pilot line for new back-contact technology
The new 5 MW line in Silicon Valley will produce cells and modules under a new IBC technology from the company that makes the most powerful commercially available silicon solar products.
Turmoil in residential solar
After years of steady, relentless growth, the U.S. residential solar market is struggling with challenges on both the policy and customer acquisition fronts. And as the market diversifies away from California and the Northeast, the future is far from clear.
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Press Releases
EnSync Energy Delivers High-Value Electricity Solutions in Hawaii, Leading Shift to Renewables and Grid Modernization
Current EnSync Energy contracted systems will sell more than $20 million in electricity over the duration of their contracts.
Sunwealth™ Announces First Closing of Solar Impact Fund
Sunwealth, an innovative clean energy investment firm bringing commercial solar to scale, today announced the first tranche closing of its Solar Impact Fund. The Fund offers investors two compelling ways to invest – via tax equity or a bond offering – in the vastly untapped commercial solar asset class.
Dragon Group opens new chapter with US$20 million investment from strategic investor to grow its next-generation lithium ion battery business
Dragon Group International Limited (“Dragon Group” or “DGI“), an SGX Mainboard-listed company principally engaged in the distribution of electronic components and test consumables, supply of semiconductor equipment, materials and tooling, and development of battery and storage solutions, announced today that its subsidiary, EoCell Limited (“EoCell“), had entered into a share subscription agreement (the “Agreement“) with […]
Duke Energy moves into New York solar
The 24. 9-megawatt solar site on Long Island is under construction.
Installations
Featured
Profit and revenue swell for Canadian Solar during Q2
The second quarter financial results for the Chinese-Canadian solar firm reveal above-guidance growth in revenue and shipments, while profit rises to $168 million for the quarter.
Colorado to build the nation’s largest low-income community solar project
A majority of the output of the 1.95 MW solar project in Fort Collins will benefit low-income households, affordable housing providers and non-profits.
...Go west, young solar? An analysis
A rebate offered by a Missouri public utility is stirring up debate on how to use solar in addressing the vaunted “duck curve”.
...Vivint Solar quietly prepares to raise up to $200 million
The residential solar company has opened the door to raise the funds through a variety of means including a follow-on offering.
...Manufacturing
Featured
Could The Solar Trade Petition Destroy The Industry? Not If It Fights Back
In this op-ed for pv magazine, Tony Clifford of Standard Solar argues that the solar industry must mobilize politically to fight the Section 201 investigation initiated by Suniva.
String to inverter: BoS component failures
Electrical Balance Of System (BOS) components can be key failure points in PV installations, and the further up the chain the component, the greater potential effect on power production.
...SMA’s results affected by price declines
The German inverter manufacturer reports that shipments remained stable in the first half of this year, while revenues were down year-over-year. The company has raised its outlook for 2017.
...Is the standalone residential solar inverter obsolete?
In this guest post for pv magazine USA, Enphase co-Founder and VP of Products and Strategic Initiatives Raghu Belur looks at the future of residential solar inverters versus AC modules, drawing parallels from the personal computing industry.
...Tesla begins pilot deployment of its Solar Roof
The BIPV product is only on the homes of its employees (including its executives) right now, but Tesla predicts that it will begin producing Solar Roof tiles from the Buffalo gigafactory by year end.
...Markets & Policy
Featured
69 legislators pressure USITC to reject trade petition
A bipartisan group of House and Senate members cited the possibility of devastating job losses as the reason to reject the Suniva/SolarWorld Section 201 trade case, one day before the commission hears testimony on the case.
It’s starting: Cuts at national labs slash more than 500 jobs
Though NREL and Berkeley Labs are not specifically mentioned – yet – the cuts at two other labs could signal dim times ahead for these two vital labs for renewable energy research.
...Massachusetts presents proposed final version of 1600 MW solar policy
The new version of the SMART program makes some tweaks to the regulation filed on June 5, including raising the ceiling price for the initial 100 MW procurement, which will set the prices for the resulting incentive levels.
...SolarWorld supplier shutters Oregon factory
Ulbrich Solar Technologies, a longtime supplier for the struggling module supplier, closed the doors on its plant in Hillsboro, Ore., citing fierce foreign module competition as the reason.
...Fossil fuel champion Chatterjee to (temporarily) head FERC
The former energy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that he will only serve until Kevin McIntyre is confirmed.
...Technology
Featured
What does the solar eclipse mean for solar power?
This unusual eclipse is a balancing act for energy companies.
No panic necessary: Eclipse won’t dramatically effect grid stability
Despite the significant amount of solar near the path of the solar eclipse, grid experts do not expect the 90-minute event to create reliability issues.
...Imec hits 23.9% efficiency with tandem perovskite/silicon mini-module
Belgian research institute Imec has achieved a conversion efficiency of 23.9% on a perovskite/silicon tandem module measuring 4 square centimeters. This efficiency level, according to Imec, represents the first time such a stacked configuration has outperformed a standalone silicon solar cell.
...California regulators call for later peak under SDG&E time of use rates
A week before a key ruling and with little justification, CPUC has altered a proposed decision on TOU timing. If approved this will be bad for SDG&E customers who adopt solar and could set a precedent for TOU rate cases at California’s other utilities.
...Report shows grid modernization following renewable energy mandates, DG solar
NCCETC’s latest 50 States of Grid Modernization report shows that the states with the most aggressive renewable energy mandates are also leading on grid modernization – as are many of the states with the highest penetrations of distributed solar.
...