TrueCapture boosts solar plant performance in field tests
Nextracker’s smart tracker yield-optimization and control software helped Arevon realize a more than 2% increase in production at its 38 MW Beacon 5 solar project in Kern County, California.
One-third of global PV manufacturing capacity is at medium or high risk of bankruptcy, IEA says
A new report from the International Energy Agency stresses the importance of geographically diversifying the global PV supply chain. This would prevent supply chain vulnerability to bankruptcies and underinvestment.
Sunrise brief: Energy output is over 100 times the input needed to manufacture solar panels
Also on the rise: The 2022 Solar Risk Assessment focuses on inverter failures and rosy risk projections. Major Southeast utilities will reach only 9% solar by 2030, according to an environmental group. And more.
Powering EV charging stations with agrivoltaics
Oregon researchers find that placing agrivoltaic installations along highways to power EV charging stations can reduce both carbon emissions and range anxiety.
Thin film solar may have carbon intensity advantage over silicon
Thin-film cadmium telluride panels may have a $0.02 to $0.04 per watt carbon cost advantage over traditional polysilicon, said the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in an analysis of embodied carbon, embodied energy, and energy payback.
GE partners with Department of Energy on solar, energy storage, grid integration research
General Electric is partnering with national laboratories and universities on two projects; one to design behind-the-meter energy storage and another to enhance utility visibility of behind the meter solar generation.
It takes more than recycling to establish a circular clean economy, says NREL
Designing renewable hardware to last longer and using fewer materials to construct it can work to bolster recycling efforts in building an effective circular economy for solar and battery technologies, according to NREL research.
Sunrise brief: Renewables may replace hydro dams to restore endangered salmon
Also on the rise: Construction complete on largest solar farm in Nebraska. Renewable Energy Test Center releases 2022 Module Index Report. Job moves. And more.
Perovskite solar module march continues with 30-year “no thickness” layers and speed testing
A team at Princeton University developed a new technique to accelerate solar cell longevity testing, while concurrently discovering a layer, only a few atoms in thickness, which is credibly projected to support perovskites lasting thirty years.
Real-time pricing that balances renewables could save $33 billion per year, study finds
A Pacific Northwest National Laboratory study found that allowing customers to opt for real-time power rates, and shift some consumption to lower-priced periods, would lower customer bills 10% to 17%. A pilot study has shown that real-time pricing works, and more pilots are underway.
