For the first time since LevelTen Energy began tracking the market, solar PPA offer prices rose in 2020, with Q4 2020 prices 11.5% higher than a year earlier.

As the pandemic continued its attack on the U.S. economy, 2020 ended with 429,000 fewer clean energy workers.

Five articles (well, six, since news about Tesla made it twice) that captured the imagination of our audience during 2020.

The final incentives from the state’s 2017 Future Energy Jobs Act have been awarded. With no emergency funds or new legislation pending, thousands of jobs could be at stake.

The new-look discussions dove into all things shaping the solar industry and renewable energy as a whole in 2020, including the global pandemic, extreme weather and natural disasters, the election and more, all presented in the light of rapidly-changing technologies and materials.

Also on the rise: Webinar panel discusses energy under Biden, JA Solar supplies modules for 88 MW project, partners develop P2P blockchain trading platform, and Total splits with API over climate, for now.

In an interview with pv magazine publisher Eckhart Gouras, Tony Seba and Adam Dorr discuss their concept of “SuperPower”: by investing in even more solar PV and wind power than the lowest-cost system defined by the “Clean Energy U-curve,” the gain in additional energy, or “superpower,” is exponential to the money invested.

In cold climates, floating ice and frost heave need to be considered in designing the anchorage system. Kane Wang of Sungrow Floating offers more tips.

Also on the rise: Swamped with interconnection requests, Michigan updates its rules; and Tigo Energy closes an investment round.

Texas-based Consolidated Asset Management Services said the deal is a natural extension of its existing clean energy offerings.

Also on the rise: Developer plans a 100 MW solar plant in West Virginia, Plug Power secures $1.5 billion to fuel its Asian expansion, an agrivoltaic project secures a PPA, and the National Science Foundation backs a novel DER integration testbed.

Trina Solar is spearheading an effort to standardize 210mm silicon wafers and modules, aiming to improve production efficiency, supply chain optimization and innovation.

Also on the rise: Wisconsin to revise dated DER rules, Massachusetts sets a course for 2050 energy goals, Sungrow notches an inverter delivery milestone, and a 1.6 MW solar carport enters service in New Jersey.

Nearly 1.4 GW of battery energy storage capacity is under construction and slated for delivery during 2021, according to data from FERC and DOE.

Also on the rise: Fluence gains an investor, Cap Dynamics buys an Arizona solar facility, and legislation would boost DER as a safeguard in wildfire-prone California.

The broad legislation included provisions to reduce emissions and important compromises to cut red tape for solar projects in the Bay State.

The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources and The Brattle Group released the report outlining how the state can meet 100% of electricity demand with renewable energy by 2030.

As heads of powerful congressional committees, Frank Pallone and Joe Manchin will act as the gatekeepers for any meaningful energy and climate policy. However with Pallone’s focus on healthcare and Manchin’s reputation as a conservative Democrat from a coal state, how much can Biden realistically expect to see accomplished?

The newly combined independent power producer brings to the table a 4.2 GW generation portfolio, including 543 MW of solar.

French energy giant Total called the 50/50 joint venture a “first significant step” into the U.S. utility-scale solar market.

Also on the rise: Tenaska could add 300 MW of solar to Indiana, advocates appeal an unfavorable ruling in Alabama, and a novel approach to combining solar and wind at one site.

Interconnection queues, in which solar, wind and storage make up 90% of the projects, are “excessively slow, creating a backlog of unbuilt projects.” The culprit is inadequate transmission planning, says a new report.

Using the California Energy Commission grant, Indian Energy will develop, integrate, and commission innovative Hybrid Modular Storage Systems as a long-duration energy storage technology demonstration project.

Research from the U.S. Department of Energy has found that urban landscapes and man-made aerosols have the potential to accelerate hail storm formation, make their winds harsher and direct these storms toward cities.

Agrivoltaics could result in more food, more energy, lower water demand, lower carbon emissions, and more prosperous rural communities, says an Oregon State University researcher. He plans to build a farm to prove the point.