You picked ’em: Our most popular articles of 2020
Five articles (well, six, since news about Tesla made it twice) that captured the imagination of our audience during 2020.
VC funding in solar 2020: perovskites, silicon and utility-scale foundations, plus lots of software
Here’s a list of solar firms that VCs funded during this pandemic year.
First Solar’s PV module technology completes 25 years of testing at NREL
“Determining how many years a solar panel will last can take, well, years.”
Solar 2020 year in review: Thriving markets despite a pandemic, import tariffs and expensive PV
We cover residential resilience, tariff trouble, big Texas solar, storage everywhere, IPOs, interconnection queues and more in a review of this difficult, ridiculous, successful year. Next year will be better.
Solar for trekking
Belgian start-up Sunslice has developed small, portable, high-performance solar panels that can be applied to backpacks and be used as rechargers for smartphones and watches.
Bigger modules, yes, but better…?
It is now a well-established trend. After the switch to larger wafer sizes played out in 2019, this year has seen virtually all of the biggest PV manufacturers introduce new modules in dimensions above the 2-meter mark, and with power ratings in excess of 500 W – in some cases, as high as 800 W. As these modules begin to roll off production lines in larger quantities, it’s vital to take a look at the challenges and opportunities they bring to system design, installation, and long-term operation.
New ‘slide-in’ solar canopy tech from Australia
Australian design and manufacturing company PVDymanics has unveiled a solar canopy technology which can be used with both framed and frameless solar modules. The company believes its system can revolutionize the micro-grid market.
Morning Brief: Trump thwarted in latest bid to kill solar-tariff loophole, plus pallets for PV modules
Also in the brief: Iberdrola’s deal worth $8.3 billion adds PNM Resources to its Avangrid business. The value of energy storage for military resilience. And Also emotional ownership is the key to delivering community solar.
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.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk: ‘We continue to believe that the energy business will ultimately be as large as our vehicle business’
Tesla’s solar and battery businesses show signs of life in another profitable quarter for the EV maker.
