Interview: Inside solar panel decommissioning
The practical matter of taking a dead PV system apart and moving its components to their next destination has received less attention than recycling and second-life applications. In the United States, Decom Solar is offering decommissioning for commercial and industrial (C&I) solar projects. pv magazine spoke to Decom Solar co-founder Stephen Burns for an update.
End of the line for a U.S. solar giant
SunPower, one of the largest, oldest, and most influential solar businesses in the United States, has closed its doors. Residential solar installers in the United States have struggled as interest rates have risen and cash generation has emerged as an issue.
Saving the U.S. solar panel recycling market
Emilie O’Leary specializes in an often-overlooked aspect of the U.S. solar industry – recycling. From her base in Atlanta, Georgia, she told pv magazine why she decided to try and tackle the obscene quantities of waste the industry generates.
Surging electricity demand puts pressure on utility planning
ICF report says retiring legacy fossil fuel plants will be more challenging.
Addressing ESG in an ultra-low-cost environment
Shifting requirements for supply chain traceability and carbon footprint disclosure, along with solar oversupply and unsustainably low module prices, have made 2024 a challenging year for PV manufacturers. Despite these obstacles, the industry remains committed to its crucial role in the global energy transition. pv magazine recently spoke with Haimeng Zhang, chief strategy and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) officer at Longi Green Energy, about how the sector is preparing to meet these challenges.
Sunrise brief: U.S. increases and extends clean energy import tariffs on China
Also on the rise: Demand for large capacity battery storage cells goes strong as prices continue to slide. Chinese solar module prices fall despite price hikes in upstream segment. And more.
In case you missed it: Five big solar stories in the news this week
pv magazine USA spotlights news of the past week including market trends, project updates, policy changes and more.
U.S. increases and extends clean energy import tariffs on China
The U.S. Trade Representative decided that it will expand tariffs on solar components, batteries, semiconductors, steel, and EVs from China.
Demand for large capacity battery storage cells goes strong as prices continue to slide
The analysis from Taipei-based intelligence provider TrendForce finds that the average price for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) energy storage system cells continued to slide in August, reaching CNY 0.35/Wh ($0.049/Wh). Meanwhile, demand for large capacity cells continued to grow at a steady pace.
Using surplus PV power for seasonal underground thermal storage
Scientists have proposed a new system that uses surplus PV energy in the spring and the autumn to charge up underground thermal energy storage for later use in the summer and winter. They have simulated it on a school facility in Seoul, with a few optional configurations for thermal storage. Power savings were up to 39%.
