pvMB: REC sells 200 MW in December, $300 billion for EVs, solar worker death

Solar contractor fined for worker death at Ft. Riley, Kansas. In their findings, OSHA says the employee was hoisting a metal rail that came into contact with overhead power lines. The agency confirmed that Power Factor, LLC. allowed employees to work in close proximity to live and uninsulated power circuits, and says the company failed to maintain a safety program to conduct regular inspection of the job site, or train workers to recognize and avoid hazards. Source – WIBW

REC Group sells 200 MW of TwinPeak 2S Mono 72 Series in December. Using p-type monocrystalline PERC cells, the TwinPeak 2S Mono 72 is rated up to 380 Wp, available in 1500 volt. It also features REC’s new premium warranty: doubling the product warranty duration from 10 to 20 years; 0.5% annual degradation over 25-year power warranty for 72-cell panel, 0.7% for the 60-cell version. The order was secured for projects already committed for installations across the United States, with utility and community solar projects stretching from coast to coast, and is a validation that modules based on half-cut cells are becoming more mainstream. Source – REC Group.

Reuters finds 29 automakers are investing at least $300 billion in electric vehicles; more than 45% of that is earmarked for China. Actual spending by vehicle manufacturers on research and development, engineering, production tooling and procurement likely will be much higher. The analysis also does not include related spending by automotive suppliers, technology companies and large corporations in other industries, from energy and aerospace to electronics and telecommunications. The Reuters analysis breaks down major flows on a company and country level. Source – Reuters

Four New York cities join forces for 100% renewable energy. The initiative is made possible through the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Program, authorized by the New York State Public Service Commission. The Monroe County towns of Brighton, Pittsford and Irondequoit, as well as the Village of Pittsford, have agreed to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to allow for the joint selection of a third-party administrator to secure a 100% renewable clean energy product. Should the towns and village move forward, residents would remain RG&E customers – the major change being the source of energy supply provided by the utility. Source – Wind Power Engineering

Vote Solar brings on three new staff. The national advocacy organization has hired Katie Ottenweller as its new southeast director as well as Lavannaya Pulluveetil as its access and equity program manager and Meghan Long as development coordinator. All three are women, and both the geographic focus and the focus on equity shows that Vote Solar is not only following the expansion of the solar industry, but also taking on the challenge of diversity.

In the below tweet we see RGS Energy and its first POWERHOUSE’s installation is underway.

https://twitter.com/RGSEnergy/status/1082772538810384386