106,000 American clean energy jobs were lost in March
The industry lost 3% of its workforce in March, erasing the entire jobs growth of 2019. A report projects that, without taking action, 500,000 more jobs could be lost.
The life of brine
Solar remains an interesting option to power water desalination despite obstacles to its widespread adoption. A recent study has highlighted the processing or dumping of brine waste as an important factor to consider.
Pandemic’s utility impacts are coming into focus
Since the beginning of February, there have been widespread electric load declines of 3% to 11% across the U.S.
Morning Brief: Nation’s last new coal plant proposal denied in Georgia
Also in the brief: Audubon is looking at how to build environmentally friendly energy projects without harming wildlife. And DSIRE is adding energy storage incentives and targets to its database.
Duke warns solar producers it may cut power purchases
In the face of exceptionally low demand linked to the lack of commercial and industrial energy consumption and mild weather, Duke Energy has warned independent power producers and state regulators that the company may stop purchasing power that it’s contracted to buy from solar plants.
University of Pennsylvania signs 220 MW PPA with Community Energy for state’s largest PV project
Leadership on climate action at a competitive price on electricity.
Six-junction III–V solar cell with 47.1% efficiency
A U.S. research group has developed a new solar cell, based on six active photoactive layers, to capture light from a specific part of the solar spectrum. The scientists claim that they could potentially reach a 50% efficiency rate with the new cell.
Morning Brief: Rick Perry bucked Congress’s clean energy mandate
Also in the brief: How a conservative coal county built the biggest community solar energy project in East Kentucky. Why 30M solar rooftops should be in the next relief bill
ClearVue’s luminescent solar concentrators create clear PV windows
The lure of building integrated photovoltaics continues to attract entrepreneurs and startups.
Virginia passes 100% clean power mandate
Gov. Ralph Northam has signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which requires the state’s utilities to switch to 100% clean energy by 2050, while also adding 16 GW of solar and onshore wind, 3 GW of energy storage and the closing of all the state’s coal power plants by 2024.
