Covid-19

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 in the brief: 100-MW Mustang Two Whirlaway Solar Farm comes online in California, Arizona utility APS offering $144M to tribes in coal-country, Q CELLS to build a 41-MW floating PV power plant.

Biden has made a long list of promises and commitments to the environment and future of clean energy if elected. Which of these promises could we see immediate action on and which are years down the line?

Despite the pandemic, residential solar growth continues. Commercial solar, always the problem child, is having trouble coping with the virus.

Nearly half of all respondents to a new Sunrun survey have had their interest in backup power increase since the outset of the pandemic, with millennials and Gen X showing the most significant interest.

Over the course of this strange year, American residential solar companies such as Sunrun, Vivint, SunPower and Tesla claimed they could weather the Covid storm with remote selling and new online strategies. It turns out they were right. BloombergNEF forecasts that Americans will install 3 gigawatts of solar on residential rooftops in 2020.

With the difficulties of launching a company exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, EnerVenue has been able to not only survive the challenges, but use them to the company’s advantage. pv magazine sat down with CEO Jorg Heinmann to discuss how the company leveraged risk into opportunity.

A new fund has been launched to provide microgrants of $3,000 to $10,000 to the women entrepreneurs and community organizations working to provide clean, reliable and primarily off-grid power to remote communities.

In Vermont and Utah, net metering is under attack — in danger of being significantly devalued or eliminated. In Arizona, the state’s rooftop solar export rates have been saved for at least another year. Outside of policy, Maine has announced the winners of the state’s largest-ever renewable solicitation.

Wood Mackenzie has responded to a criticized report, clarifying that Covid-19 impacts on residential solar finance are much less significant than initially expected — and that faster-than-expected recovery for investments in the industry have kept investor confidence high.