Racking

Also in the brief: American solar supplier Aptos Solar added to Loanpal’s approved list, second life EV batteries for use in a microgrid, Maxeon upsizes convertible note offering

Also in the brief: Bank of America signs its first PPA, CS Energy has completed a 33 MW portfolio of solar projects in Texas, RP Construction Services and RECON partner to build tracker projects and more

New research from Wood Mackenzie shows that overall system costs for installations using mono PERC modules are set to fall by as much as 20% by 2025.

Also in the brief: net metering under attack, Clir Renewables’ new asset optimization platform, Roll-A-Rack is seeking beta testers and more.

Researchers from the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore have concluded that utility-scale PV projects relying on bifacial panels and single-axis trackers deliver the lowest levelized cost of energy in most of the world. They found that the combination of bifacial products with dual-axis trackers is still too expensive, despite the higher yield. The second-lowest LCOE is offered by monofacial single-axis tracker plants.

Also in the brief: product announcements from GAF Energy, REsurety and Point Load Power.

Executive and boardroom moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy VC.

The Oakland-based developer is focused on solar-plus-storage and will be developing the massive, new 690 MW Gemini solar project with its 380 MW/1,400 MWh lithium-ion battery.

Also in the brief: kWh Analytics’ insurance policy on solar production and revenues, Solar FlexRack has reached 200 solar tracker installations, the Wallingford Renewable Energy solar project has been sold and more.

With three models of 500-watt solar panels officially unveiled, here’s a look at what that means for the future of project development and the solar industry at large.