The Covid-19 pandemic and higher productivity rates cut U.S. solar jobs by about 6.7% in 2020.

The companies, led by SEIA, lay out six policy actions deemed necessary to grow the industry to the size needed to fight climate change and realize clean energy goals.

Solar PV module shipments reached a record high in 2020, growing 33% year over year.

Just 313 small rooftop solar projects were completed statewide in Q2 2021, compared to 2,908 a year earlier, as the state remains in a perilous solar incentive limbo.

The two companies led the initial effort to impose tariffs and now claim they have been unable to complete plans to adjust to import competition given the pandemic, alleged “predatory” pricing, and other factors.

The Solvest-developed 1.76 MW project will sell power as an IPP for the next 25 years.

The projects include the 275 MW Cadence Solar Energy project, one of the largest projects to be approved for construction in the Buckeye State.

Also on the rise: Consumers Energy will add 400 MW of solar, an agrivoltaics clearinghouse launches to help drive the movement, and John Weaver lays out the case for continued California net metering.

Under the agreements, the utility would own and operate one facility, and buy power from the other two.

Lightsource bp and bp placed orders for around 4.4 GWdc of modules, with options for an additional 1 GWdc.

Developed by a U.S.-based start-up, the new manufacturing process is claimed to reduce silver consumption and improve solar module performance by up to 3 W. It consists of connecting sub-cells in series within a single cell in order to increase the device voltage and without requiring cells to be physically broken and rewired.

A report by Lux Research forecasts growing demand for lithium-ion battery recycling capacity, along with a need for innovation to meet that demand.

A-SMACC urged Commerce Department officials to consider launching their own circumvention actions and trade cases on behalf of the U.S. solar industry.

In a new report, experts from the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power System Programme (IEA-PVPS) have assessed the economical and environmental benefits of repairing and reusing or replacing solar modules that are not complying with a 30-year expected lifetime.

Also on the rise: Ponzi scheme gets a DC Solar owner 30 years, import restrictions that jolted the solar industry may be easing, and Competitive Power Ventures buys a solar portfolio.

Also starting up: Haliburton funds a company capturing and using waste heat from solar panels, and nonprofit Native Renewables connects Navajo and Hopi families with solar power.

Once completed, 1 MW project will sell power to the township via a power purchase agreement.

John Fitzgerald Weaver argues that we need net metering to fully recognize the value of solar power on our homes and businesses.

The National Center for Appropriate Technology launched the clearinghouse to connect farmers and solar developers with agrivoltaics information.

Also on the rise: SunPower will market a VPP offering for energy storage customers, and mPrest CEO Andy Bennett talks with pv magazine about the potential for DER under Build Back Better.

The solar cell is based on a nanotextured front side and a back side with a dielectric reflector.

Research finds that the energy yield of a novel approach could almost double that of standard shingled cell interconnection under random shading conditions.

Landfill sited solar capacity would nearly double Biden administration goals to grow community solar while increasing total U.S. solar power capacity by about 58%.

The forecast include electricity generated from both utility-scale and small-scale solar facilities in the electric power, residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.

Also on the rise: Rooftop solar fires are a real and growing risk, A-SMACC says it could refile anti-dumping tariff petitions, and five New England colleges now are powered by solar under a novel PPA arrangement.