DNV projects 1,000 GW of solar power and 90% clean electricity for the USA and Canada
DNV’s report sees federal policy as muddled, but individual provinces, states and cities are pushing electrification of buildings and transportation, significant per-capita efficiency increases, 30% less energy use overall, and coal going away in just over a decade.
Pragmatic projection sees solar power nearly tripling in roaring 2020s
NREL’s 2019 Standard Scenarios Report looks at 36 models to project what energy sources the USA might use going forward, and what variables might drive that – with the mid-case projections suggesting wind+solar power meeting 28% of all electricity demand.
Shutdown continues at Hanergy-owned Alta Devices, high-efficiency PV pioneer
Alta Devices has not located a white-knight investor to save the company and resume its PV cell production. That means no health care or COBRA for its furloughed employees.
Ten research teams aim for long-duration storage at 5¢/kWh
To get long-duration storage costs down to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, research teams funded by ARPA-E are pursuing breakthroughs in flow batteries, hydrogen storage and other technologies—even thermovoltaics.
Utility scale solar power as cheap as 70¢ per watt and still falling
Government researchers find that Florida has dethroned California as the largest market, trackers dominate, solar+storage compensation diversity, and a lot more in Berkeley Labs annual utility-scale solar power report.
5 most popular articles at pv magazine USA in 2019
Certain articles at pv magazine catch fire and capture the imagination of our solar colleagues as well as a wider, equally nerdy, audience. Here are the most widely read pieces of the year at pv magazine USA.
46% of U.S. homeowners want rooftop solar
A Pew Research Center survey shows that support for distributed generation and a desire for a residential installation of one’s own is up 6% nationally since 2016.
The quick gray fox jumped through the upside-down solar fence—a photo essay
Deer fence installed upside down lets foxes and other small wildlife through to forage and pursue prey. Solar developers in Tennessee and North Carolina have the photos to prove it.
US research lab rewires solar cell increasing efficiency to 27.3%, sees path to greater than 32%
NREL has published a paper showing an experimental solar cell, with a unique technique for wiring two separate solar cells into one, that increased the cell’s efficiency by 4%. As well the document offer a respectable review of other technologies being developed.
MIT sees wind+solar going big, dreams of nuclear, forgets batteries exist
Researchers see wind and solar headed to over 40% of US electricity generation, even without major national policy. However, analysts project that beyond 40%, the intermittent nature of these sources will drive costs higher without nuclear power than with it.
