Morning Brief: natural gas company to go solar, Duke receives 2 GW of proposals

Also in the brief: Q Cells and Silfab achieve top performer rating in the 2020 PV Module Reliability Scorecard, Tigo sues APS.

June 2, 2020 Tim Sylvia

Image: Duke Energy

Even natural gas companies are getting in on the transition to renewables: Williams has announced that it is taking steps to develop solar energy installations at its facilities to provide electricity to the company’s existing natural gas transmission and processing operations. Initial sites have been identified in Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia and are expected to be placed into service beginning late 2021. The capacity of the farms will range from 1 MW to 40 MW. Source: Williams

In the second round of a competitive procurement process, Duke Energy has received 43 proposals, ranging from 15 MW to the maximum 80 MW AC generating capacity. In all, the company has received 2,295 MW AC of proposed capacity. Only four of the proposals also came with outlines for attached energy storage systems. Of the roughly 2,200 MW submitted, the final project awards will only have room for 680 MW of new capacity. There is no information yet on how many of the bids were made by either of Duke’s own utilities or Duke Energy Renewables, as well as no information on how many of the proposed projects would be operated by the independent developers with power sold to the utilities under a 20-year contract, as opposed to being be bought by the utilities. Source: Duke Energy

For the fifth year in a row, PVEL and DNV GL have deemed Q Cells a top performer in the companies’ combined PV Module Reliability Scorecard. Q CELLS earned the Top Performer recognition with its monocrystalline Q.PEAK DUO and multicrystalline Q.PLUS DUO series. The modules earned such high marks due to their Anti-light induced degradation, Anti-potential induced degradation, and Anti-light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation performance, as well as their hotspot protection. Source: Q Cells

Silfab Solar, a solar manufacturer operating out of Bellingham, Washington U.S. and Toronto, Canada also grabbed a “top performer” rating under the PVEL report — one of the few North American companies on the list, and its second year in a row.

Tigo Energy has filed a lawsuit against Altenergy Power Systems (APsystems), seeking to hold APsystems accountable for its infringement of Tigo patents related to rapid shutdown technology. A rapid shutdown function is required for PV systems on buildings to comply with the U.S. National Electric Code to reduce shock hazard for emergency responders. Tigo notified APsystems in person and in writing about the infringement but received no response. Tigo discloses that SMA Solar Technology owns 10% or more of its stock. Source: Tigo

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