Morning Brief: EV startup Nikola CEO out after SEC fraud claims, China mulls stronger clean energy goals
Also in the brief: Re-retiring Maui’s 72-year-old, 38-MW oil-fired plant — by adding more solar-plus-storage. Colorado Springs Utilities plans for a 175-MW solar farm to be coupled with a 25 MW battery storage system, all built and installed by Boulder-based juwi.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: 1 GW of distributed solar came online in August
More than 1 GW of subsidized small solar arrays were installed in China last month alone and manufacturer Suntech has announced the start of operations at its 500 MW Indonesian cell and module fab.
MiaSole, dormant thin-film solar company, received more than $5 million in PPP loans
Why is an essentially bankrupt Chinese solar company that had already furloughed most of its staff receiving $5 to $10 million from the U.S. treasury?
Morning Brief: Elon Musk hints at yet another battery breakthrough, CAISO provides details on California blackouts
Also in the brief: A surge of nuclear outages in the U.S. this summer, Japan’s struggle to drive down renewables costs
Jinko unveils new 610 W solar panels
The Chinese manufacturer introduced new PV modules this weekend at the SNEC solar exhibition in Shanghai.
SolarEdge violated Huawei inverter patent, rules Chinese court
Huawei said the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court in China has ruled in its favor in a patent dispute with its Israeli rival.
First Solar posts a strong Q2, global operations to be 100% renewably powered by 2028
Another stalwart of the solar industry was able to take the necessary precautions in order to maintain some sense of normalcy during the pandemic, leading to a quarter of increased sales, net cash and a positive outlook to finish off the year.
Residential solar customers don’t want the cheapest system in a $20K investment – they want the best one
Customers are willing to pay a premium for a brand name with a strong warranty.
Scratching the surface of LeTID
The mechanisms behind light-elevated temperature-induced degradation are still not fully understood, but it is known to cause significant performance losses for modules in the field. Scientists in China are investigating the causes of the phenomenon, and are currently focused on the surface of the materials and the interfaces between the silicon and passivation layers.
Despite revenue growth, Quick Mount PV to let 40 employees go and shutter California manufacturing
Despite strong revenue growth in the U.S., the racking company is abandoning its U.S. manufacturing (and rhetoric) to “create a globally diversified supply chain.” Quick Mount was acquired by Netherlands-based Esdec last year in a roll-up of U.S. racking companies.
