Sunrise brief: PV module plant is headed to the U.S., an energy storage milestone, and a North Carolina trojan horse?

Here’s the latest on solar, clean energy, and cleantech.

Philadelphia Solar plans a 1 GW module plant in the U.S. Site negotiations are underway for the facility, which would produce monocrystalline facial and bifacial modules for C&I and utility markets in the U.S. and abroad. The plant could open in Q3 2022.

California breaks gigawatt storage milestone. Energy storage is making its presence known on California’s electricity grid as projected shortfalls widen and deepen in the coming years.

A battery chemistry tweak could double electric vehicle range. Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed a lithium-metal battery chemistry that they say will allow EV batteries to almost double capacity.

Senate passes bill to ban Xinjiang imports, State Department issues a warning. The bill would shift the burden of proof to importers and now heads to the House. State warned businesses to exit supply chains with ties to the Chinese region.

174 Power Global received a regulatory OK for its 100 MW /400 MWh energy storage project in NYC. Under a seven-year contract, Con Edison will bid power from the system into the state’s wholesale energy market.

North Carolina bill hides reduced utility oversight behind lots of new renewables. House Bill 951 would lead to a huge procurement of renewables, but adds gigawatt-scale fossil fuel capacity, corrals regulatory oversight, and hints at potential multi-year rate hikes.

By addressing heat, this serial inventor just may change the entire solar value chain. Kent Kernahan set out to take the heat out of solar cells. He and his partners may end up bringing solar manufacturing jobs to disadvantaged communities.

Energy Department releases $20 million in funding to solicit participation in NREL-organized consortium of leaders in thin-film cadmium telluride module advancement.