The Covid-19 pandemic and higher productivity rates cut U.S. solar jobs by about 6.7% in 2020.

The companies, led by SEIA, lay out six policy actions deemed necessary to grow the industry to the size needed to fight climate change and realize clean energy goals.

Solar PV module shipments reached a record high in 2020, growing 33% year over year.

Just 313 small rooftop solar projects were completed statewide in Q2 2021, compared to 2,908 a year earlier, as the state remains in a perilous solar incentive limbo.

The two companies led the initial effort to impose tariffs and now claim they have been unable to complete plans to adjust to import competition given the pandemic, alleged “predatory” pricing, and other factors.

The 260 MWdc Brazoria West Solar Project is under construction, with commercial operation planned for 2022.

Also on the rise: Solar capacity additions are recovering from a subdued 2020, utilities ask for 50 MW of solar in West Virginia, and Broad Reach gets a $400 million equity commitment.

The funding commitment comes as Apollo takes a 50% stake in the company from venture capital firm EnCap Energy.

A 2020 bill authorizes electric utilities to own and operate up to 200 MW of renewable energy facilities.

The FERC’s latest data release shows solar led new generating capacity with 8,410 MW added through the first three quarters of 2021.

Lightsource bp and bp placed orders for around 4.4 GWdc of modules, with options for an additional 1 GWdc.

The facility will include a battery recycling building, an office building with laboratories, and a finished goods warehouse.

Developed by a U.S.-based start-up, the new manufacturing process is claimed to reduce silver consumption and improve solar module performance by up to 3 W. It consists of connecting sub-cells in series within a single cell in order to increase the device voltage and without requiring cells to be physically broken and rewired.

A report by Lux Research forecasts growing demand for lithium-ion battery recycling capacity, along with a need for innovation to meet that demand.

A-SMACC urged Commerce Department officials to consider launching their own circumvention actions and trade cases on behalf of the U.S. solar industry.

The company said it will use the proceeds for its long-term strategic growth plans, including investing in its battery storage business and growing its storage pipeline.

The issue now moves to President Joe Biden who will decide whether or not to extend the tariffs beyond their February 2022 expiration.

Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities, and energy transition finance.

CSI’s parent Canadian Solar said it has a global battery storage pipeline of 21 GWh, including 2.9 GWh under construction.

A new Ernst & Young power and utilities overview report shows that utilities and other deep-pocketed investors are putting financial support behind their environmental, social and governance initiatives.

Scientists in the UK delved deep into the structure of a perovskite solar cell to understand the complex relationship among the materials that make up the perovskite layer

The plant would be able to deliver 400 MW of electricity for 8 hours, and would be comparable in size to some of California’s largest fossil fuel power plants. 

Also on the rise: Ohio regulators OK another 600 MW of solar, and a megawatt-scale bifacial solar project enters service near the Arctic Circle.

The solar cell is based on a nanotextured front side and a back side with a dielectric reflector.

Research finds that the energy yield of a novel approach could almost double that of standard shingled cell interconnection under random shading conditions.