Hardware and Services Brief: 72-cell heterojunction, fuzz and buzz, Tesla making its own battery cells, more!
PV InfoLink sees some multi-silicon module pricing increases, Array Technologies’ new clip lets First Solar install a module every 11 seconds and DNV GL has launched a global solar production projection tool. Send your hardware and services to USA-Editors@pv-magazine.com
Chinese solar production juggernaut rumbles on
Three more PV manufacturers are announcing plans to invest in an expansion of production capacities — as the industry appears to make light of coronavirus fears.
Sunrun installs record capacity in Q4 while driving down customer acquisition costs
The nation’s largest residential solar company installed 117 MW in Q4, reaching a total customer base of 285,000, all while bringing creation costs lower than they have ever been.
How zinc-air battery capacity might reach a cost of $45/kWh
Zinc8 revealed some of the details of its long-term energy storage product, including its pricing structure and the science that makes its technology possible.
Panasonic: ‘Eventually solar-plus-storage will be like air conditioning or HVAC’ but for now it’s an ’emotional sale’
“Brand is powerful — after a house and a car, a PV/storage system worth tens of thousands of dollars is one of the larger purchases a family will make.”
Solar could be installed on coalfields in West Virginia if The Nature Conservancy succeeds
Some former surface coal mines in central Appalachia could be repurposed for solar development. The Nature Conservancy, a global land conservancy with $1 billion in annual revenues, is exploring the options.
Morning brief: Oil billionaire pursuing perovskites, energy storage market to grow to $546 billion
Also in the morning brief: Arizona mandatory solar panel recycling bill, Sumitomo invests $46 million in long-term energy storage from Highview Power, and more.
Global energy storage market to surge to 15 GW by 2024
The sector continues to grow rapidly — but delays in manufacturing scale-ups, difficulties sourcing raw materials and a separate path taken by the EV industry could all chuck ‘sand in the gears’, according to analyst Wood Mackenzie.
Sunrun responds to PG&E’s gas procurement by modeling a decentralized grid
Directly challenging the bankrupt utility’s system reliability request for proposals, Sunrun has released a paper outlining a renewable alternative: distribution islands with solar and battery backup.
Morning Brief: Kauai is 55% renewable, Dominion’s Virginia battery pilot approved
Also in the brief: Engie and JLL develop an energy program for State Fund, Oklahoma Gas and Electric is set to develop solar projects for the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes, PG&E pays Topaz in January.
