California residential solar power headed toward $1/W and 2.5¢/kWh
ASU energy security researcher Dr. Wesley Herche and pv magazine author John Weaver describe the new math involved with requiring solar power to be installed at the time of construction for newly built homes.
Stion R&D tools go to auction
Heritage Global Partners will auction off the thin film PV maker’s tools from its research & development facility in Silicon Valley on May 30-31.
The duck curve comes to New England
In late April, daytime net demand fell below overnight power consumption for the first time on the New England grid, thanks to rooftop and other behind-the-meter solar.
Alta Devices launches new solar cell for vehicle integration
Alta Devices has launched a new gallium-arsenide based solar cell, which it says improves on the power to weight ratio of its previous cell by 160%. The cell is designed to provide lightweight, high efficiency generation for integration with cars, drones and other vehicles.
100 hours and longer: ARPA-E seeks 5¢/kWh energy storage
The U.S. government’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy is offering up to $30 million in funding to build innovative technologies to enable long-duration energy storage, with the aim to provide reliable electricity from 10 to roughly 100 hours, and longer.
Solar power tax incentives fall almost 50% as installations increase 300%
An analysis by the Department of Energy shows electricity generation from solar growing 32% annually since 2000. Meanwhile, the tax benefits claimed for solar fell from just over $2 billion in 2013 to just over $1 billion in 2016.
Berkeley Lab scientists discover coating to capture near-infrared light
A team of researchers the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has discovered a method of coating particles with organic dye, which can capture near infrared light, a breakthrough which could greatly boost solar cell efficiency by capturing a larger section of the light spectrum.
California blows through solar power, renewable energy output records
California has set a new record for peak output of utility-scale solar at more than 10.5 GW, as well as for renewable energy overall. However, the state’s grid operator is still curtailing solar and wind while hydro and the last nuclear plant run full-steam.
DOE lashes out at 1366 Technologies
1366 Technologies, “recipient” of an undisbursed $150 million manufacturing loan guarantee, has received an aggressively-worded letter from the U.S. Department of Energy as it seeks a Section 201 exemption.
Getting solar power in Illinois beyond FEJA
Illinois’s solar market under the Future Energy Jobs Act is just getting started, but a business group is calling for the next governor and state legislature to provide less restriction and more action in community and distributed solar programs.
