When will renewables pass coal? Sooner than anyone thought: A milestone in the clean energy transition may arrive earlier than expected, with renewables overtaking coal as a leading source of electricity by the end of this year, according to a forecast by the Energy Information Administration released on Tuesday. Renewables have been steadily gaining on coal, a trend that has accelerated with the economic disruption of coronavirus. There was little doubt that renewables would pass coal in the near future, but analysts had projected that it would take longer. This fast-forwarding of the timeline means that renewables will trail only natural gas and nuclear, showing that years of wind and solar power development have become major parts of the energy mix. Source: Inside Climate News
DuPont publishes 2020 global PV reliability report: DuPont released its latest Global Photovoltaic Reliability Report, with results from its highly developed field inspection and analysis program that monitors material degradation and its impact on module performance. Data was analyzed for 3 gigawatts of solar installations, 9 million panels and 551 installations. This unique and innovative program features a multi-step inspection protocol conducted by DuPont scientists and engineers in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. A number of variables were analyzed in the course of the inspections including component, material, mounting, time in service and climate. The report can be downloaded free of charge. Source: DuPont
S. David Freeman, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) Senior Energy advisor and clean energy pioneer has passed at the age of 94. Freeman spent much of his 94 years championing renewable energy energy efficiency and clean transportation policies and initiatives that have left lasting marks on the energy industry landscape across the country. SACE’s Executive Director Dr. Stephen A. Smith said “S. David Freeman was a visionary force of nature. I’m proud to have collaborated with him over the years in support of our common goals of a cleaner greener world. Dave taught me that most utilities will first tell you ‘no’ on advancing many clean energy policies but never take no for an answer. We will miss his leadership and tenacity and will honor him by carrying his vision forward in our work.” Freeman is survived by his daughter, two sons, nine grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Five farmers in Rhode Island have received grants from The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), in partnership with the Office of Energy Resources and the Rhode Island Resource Conservation & Development Area Council to support solar and energy-efficiency projects at the farms. Each farm received $20,000 in grants, and will be constructing a solar system between 10 and 42 kW. Funding for the grants comes via the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Source: ecoRI
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
It’s interesting what Dupont said about PVDF back sheet failures at 16%, is this enough of a failure rate to force a basic product recall on solar PV panels using PVDF or are we on our own?