Energy funding: Voltus raises $25 million for demand response and DERs, plus VC for new solar silicon production
And $156 million for energy retrofits from Redaptive.
Morning Brief: Tesla working with Panasonic on 4680 battery cell pilot line at Giga Nevada, Another profitable quarter for Freedom Solar
Also in the brief: The Trump administration is burying dozens of studies detailing the promise of renewable energy, Kansas utility goes for “grid access” charge, plus sonnen working with Stanford
REC Silicon could restart poly production at Moses Lake
The Norwegian polysilicon maker has been been frozen out of the Chinese solar market by political tensions between Beijing and the U.S. and mothballed its Washington State production line last year. However, two recent business agreements could change all that.
Morning Brief: Solar FlexRack goes Northeast, Aggreko delivers grid stability, Namasté Solar and Solaris win up to 10 MW of PV at CSU
Also in the brief: The Trump administration is burying dozens of studies detailing the promise of renewable energy, plus battery stewardship and recycling
Enphase reports 3Q revenue rebound, aided by new storage product
An improved quarter for Enphase was carried partially by the American launch of the Encharge storage system, as well as impressive revenue improvements in the European market.
Solar startup wins $7.6 million in VC funding for innovative ribbon silicon furnaces
Leading Edge Equipment Technologies falls in the kerfless solar wafer or direct solar wafer category. According to the company, its “drop-in” manufacturing technology reduces wafer costs by 50%, increases commercial solar panel power by up to 7%, and reduces manufacturing emissions by over 50%. It’s the emissions piece that might be winning over investors.
Can CIGS thin-film solar manufacturing re-emerge in the US? Can First Solar play a role?
A scientist intimate with First Solar’s earlier efforts in CIGS makes the case for the CdTe pioneer to re-enter the technology.
Canadian Solar to launch 600+ W photovoltaic module
Bigger PV module designs are now hitting the market, but the production of larger, more powerful solar panels is challenging. Canadian Solar is launching its new Series 7 modules with pv magazine in a webinar on Oct. 29. Our editorial team recently caught up with Canadian Solar’s chairman and CEO, Shawn Qu, and director of module R&D, Alan Xu, to discuss the company’s latest efforts to shake up the market.
A solar module stress test for all seasons
Scientists led by NREL have developed a new stress testing protocol for PV modules, one designed to simultaneously expose modules to multiple stresses, as they likely would be in the field. Putting modules through this test, the researchers have already been able to reveal new information regarding backsheet degradation, and they promise new insights into other degradation mechanisms.
Morning Brief: Human rights allegations in Xinjiang China could jeopardize solar supply chain
Also in the brief: Time to see how serious industry is about ESG and D&I versus LCOE. Plus Hawaii solar on the rise.
