REC introduces 640 W commercial solar panel
The new product contains heterojunction cell technology (HJT) with up to 22.5% efficiency.
CPUC’s revised proposed decision could decimate California’s community solar market
Just as an increasing number of states are implementing pro-active community solar policies, the California Public Utilities Commission is set to vote on a revised proposed decision that fails to seize on the opportunity to create a vibrant market, according to the Coalition for Community Solar Access.
DOE funding available for distributed energy resource operations software
The Department of Energy announced $31 million in funding for research to improve distribution level grid operations of solar, wind, energy storage, and other inverter-based resources.
Technology-neutral proposed tax credit called ‘game-changing policy’
The U.S. Treasury Department has issued further proposed guidance on the IRA, detailing a path to support a broad array of technologies–including solar– with tax credits, and clarifying many additional tax-related items in its latest guidance.
Less than 3% of farmland could power the Midwest
An analysis by the Center for Rural Affairs illustrates how using a small fraction of Midwest farmland for solar energy could meet significant renewable energy goals by 2050, dramatically enhancing the financial stability of farms, and challenging traditional views on land use.
Grid analysts challenge Bonneville Power’s pace in adopting advanced conductors
As the White House encourages utilities to use advanced conductors to help interconnect new renewable generation, the federally-owned utility Bonneville Power is moving slowly to use the high-capacity conductors, analysts said.
Shedding light on tandem perovskite solar cell progress
Perovskite tandem devices are at the front of the queue for commercialization but their characterization presents technical challenges.
Strategies to address thermomechanical instability of perovskite solar modules
A U.S. research team has investigated the thermomechanical reliability of metal halide perovskite (MHP) modules and cells in an effort to identify the best strategies to improve their stability under thermomechanical stressors. The scientists discussed, in particular, film stresses, adhesion of charge transport layers, and instability under light and heat.
Sunrise brief: Battery energy storage tariffs tripled; domestic content rules updated
Also on the rise: Bringing lithium-sulfur batteries closer to commercialization. Largest solar project in Wyoming moves forward. And more.
Texas is the proving ground for a new way of electric grid operation
Texas is uniquely suited to adopt virtual power plant technology due to its competitive, deregulated market. Its success highlights the “perverse incentive” of vertically integrated utilities in other states to make capital expenditures without discretion to raise profits.
