John Fitzgerald Weaver
Hardware Brief: Solar+storage+indoor farming, space robots, battery packs at $135/kWh, more!
Sunmodo’s racking hardware has been approved by Sunnova, Schneider Electric and Scale Microgrid Solutions are partnering up to do some indoor farming, Groundwork rents the machines you need to build and maintain your facilities and more! Also – send your gear news to USA-Editors@pv-magazine.com to get in here.
First half of 2019 saw sunlight down as much as 10%, grand solar minimum held off in second half
Clean Power Research saw solar generation shift downward from the norm as much as 10% in many U.S. locations in the first half of 2019.
MIT and NREL see solar modules reaching well below 20¢ per watt
Although, the author of this article sees a path below 15¢ per watt. Researchers at MIT, working with financial modeling teams at NREL, have projected the electrical losses and financial gains of thinning solar cells from the current 160 micrometers to 50 micrometers.
Kentucky seeking its largest solar power plant via a deal with Toyota and Dow
Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company are seeking approval for a 100 MWac solar power project to be split among their own customers, plus the two corporations, to be delivered by 2022.
NextEra on its ‘secret sauce’ for energy storage, 2 GW of solar+wind+storage, 10 GW of Florida solar, and more
NextEra’s earnings call showed why the company’s stock has gained greater than 50% in the past year, as it deployed 2.7 GW of new and repowered renewables, including 700 MWac of solar power and 340 MW/1.3 GWh of energy storage in 2019.
Zinc-air battery being deployed in New York aims for extremely low $45/kWh cost
New York state has chosen Zinc8’s zinc-air battery to demonstrate the technology’s viability over a three-year period in a 100 kW/1 MWh storage system.
Hardware Brief: Solar mandate in real life, two types of weird new racking, 50/150 cell 500 watt module, more!
Module pricing is flat this week as the Chinese New Year approaches, Acme Express won $1 million to design new C&I racking, Unirac is testing a new connection technique, and Trina is deploying the largest and newest solar cell type. USA-Editors@pv-magazine.com gets your gear in here!
Tinder, except for solar and sheep
The American Solar Grazing Association is seeking to connect local, available sheep with O&M teams at solar power farms, and they’re raising $4,500 to build phase I of a webpage to make it happen more efficiently.
Dirt-eating solar panel coating wins government funding
Swift Coat has won a $1 million grant from the DOE to develop a solar glass coating that combines industry standard anti-reflective properties with photocatalytic titanium dioxide that breaks down organic materials on solar modules, potentially increasing energy generation by 3% over standard panels.
Arizona utility seeks 400 MW of solar power, 200 MW of it on Navajo tribal lands
Salt River Project has released an RFP requesting up to 400 MWac, in 100 MW or 200 MW increments, of solar power purchase agreements to be delivered before the end of 2023.
