Trump Admin proposes 10% tariffs on inverters, AC modules, non-lithium batteries from China
As the trade war escalates, inverters may be the latest victims.
Solar modules on the floor at Intersolar North America 2018
Cruising the floor at a solar power conference is always full of ‘oohs and aahs’. New hardware – new software – and new techniques of getting solar into the world!
Riding the French Express to higher capacity factors
California’s NEXTracker has acquired key IP from French company Optimum Tracker to “fortify” its current offerings, while opening opportunities for further platform growth.
Chint investigates U.S. manufacturing
The company is planning pilot U.S. inverter assembly in Texas, while it scouts for manufacturing locations in the U.S. Midwest.
EIA examines HVDC for renewables
HVDC’s main challenge is the price, which can cost between $1.17-8.6 million per mile, along with scaling the technology in the United States.
Amount of silver needed in solar cells to be more than halved by 2028
The Silver Institute finds the amount of silver loading may fall from 130 mg per cell in 2016 to roughly 65 mg by 2028. Alternative and cheaper raw materials, such as copper and aluminum, are not expected to replace silver in commercial cell production, at least in the next decade.
Schletter acquisition could save North Carolina factory
The company’s U.S. subsidiary is part of the purchasing agreement, which appears to come just in time as the factory in Shelby was running out of funds to operate.
Powerhouse solar shingle seeks 17.1% panel efficiency
In an pre-UL Certification specification page of the Powerhouse 3.0 Solar Shingle, RGS Energy notes a 55W, 15.6% efficiency shingle and a 60W, 17.1% efficiency shingle.
Recom’s acquisition of Jabil lines could lead to a U.S. solar factory
The PV module manufacturer started negotiations with Jabil after the United States introduced duties on solar imports. Recom plans to restart manufacturing activities with Jabil’s 700 MW production equipment in the first quarter of 2019. Where exactly this will take place has not been disclosed yet.
Powerhouse pumps $36 million in “written reservations”
RGS Energy repeated its September goal for UL certification, while announcing an expansion of its manufacturing partnership with Revere Plastic Systems to support up to $138 million in Powerhouse annual sales.
