Third-Party Module Warranties Mitigate Risk
The trend toward more solar module manufacturers acquiring third-party warranty coverage for their products is helping to mitigate the long-term risk in a project and to make it more bankable, since the likelihood is that insurers will stay in business long after some module manufacturers.
Quality, now more than ever: An interview with Bill Gambogi and Bob Olsen of DuPont
As part of a focus on PV module and system quality in preparation for our Quality Roundtable at the Solar Power International Trade show in Las Vegas, pv magazine brings you an interview with DuPont Research Fellow Bill Gambogi and Director of Corporate Marketing Bob Olsen.
Burnt out, incompatible connectors
Quality control campaign: PV panel manufacturers selling plug connectors as MC4 compatible is nothing unusual. Two operators who have installed such modules are now struggling with lost insurance coverage and fires.
D.E. Shaw, Madison Dearborn agree not to block the sale of SunEdison assets
The agreement removes a key hurdle to the carving up of SunEdison’s empire.
Melting backsheets, broken cells, and hotspots
Quality roundtable preparation: A case of compromised quality. An operator claims nearly 17% of the modules in his array displayed significant damage after three years. The EPC company concealed the damage from the investor until the warranty had expired. The module manufacturer responded slowly and only out of goodwill.
Poor quality planning: Shifting the blame, passing the buck
An installation company in the Midwest reports how blame was laid at their door for defective PV panels. The actual cause of the defects probably lie elsewhere.
TerraForm Power holds on to SunEdison staff, changes terms on notes
The changes in terms on notes also include a requirement that companies buying up TerraForm stock take over the notes.
Florida initiative to exempt solar from property taxes passes by wide margin
The measure is a first step to lifting significant obstacles to the development of solar in the Sunshine State.
PG&E to open bidding process for 75 MW of shared renewables
The utility is seeking 75 MW of solar and other renewable energy projects from 500 kW to 20 MW in capacity under a new shared renewable energy program.
Virginia puts online its first community solar plant
The 550kW system will serve members of a rural electric cooperative in the Shenandoah Valley, and comes in the absence of state policies for shared renewables.
