Morning Brief: Duke Energy reaches deal with Sunrun, Vote Solar to modernize rooftop PV in South Carolina
Also in the brief: 67-MWdc Lotus Solar Farm in Madera County, California, developed by 8minute Solar Energy, is now fully operational. Plus First Solar’s secondary offering for the Waltons, and Natron gets $20 million for battery scale-up.
Tesla battery day bingo
Tesla battery day is next week. Earlier this year, Musk told analysts that what he had to say “will blow your mind. It blows my mind.” Here’s a list of battery hyperbole and terms you’re bound to hear at the event.
First Solar changes course: now selling its thin-film solar panels into the distributed generation market
The utility-scale solar pioneer and specialist is going small. After decades of avoiding distributed generation, its distributors will now offer First Solar’s series 6 modules to “projects and customers of all shapes and sizes.”
Secretive battery builder QuantumScape to go public via SPAC at $3.3 billion valuation
Aiming to win the EV battery race, the ten-year old solid-state battery builder has received more than $1 billion from investors including Bill Gates, Vinod Khosla and VW.
Navigating the uncharted 500 W panel market – part I
This pv magazine series, done in collaboration with industry experts, will analyze the challenges and opportunities created by the new generation of 500 W and greater panels.
EnerVenue looks to shake up the battery market with metal hydrogen technology
The company launched today with $12 million in seed funding, boasting advantages over lithium-ion in performance, price, operability in extreme weather and decades of use in the aerospace industry.
Long-duration energy storage makes progress but regulation lags technology
Technologies, players and regulatory gaps in the U.S. long-duration storage market.
In search of the ‘most rational design’ for anti-reflective coating
Scientists in Spain have tested various properties of anti-reflective and anti-soiling coatings for PV module glass, aiming to develop a material that offers the best balance of desired material properties at the lowest cost. Over a year of testing, the best coatings were shown to boost module output by around 2%, and the group also made several observations that could influence future developments of coatings for PV module front glass.
Recycling PV panels: Why can’t we hit 100%?
In February, non-profit EU solar panel recycling body PV Cycle announced it had collected 5,000 tons of modules in France, of which 94.7% could be recycled. A reader asked us about the remaining 5.3% and here, PV Cycle’s communications manager, Bertrand Lempkowicz, responds.
MiaSole, dormant thin-film solar company, received more than $5 million in PPP loans
Why is an essentially bankrupt Chinese solar company that had already furloughed most of its staff receiving $5 to $10 million from the U.S. treasury?
