China

Also: Despite a rosy forecast, creating energy storage projects with competitive economics has been an elusive endeavor. Plus, rate design innovations are boosting the energy transition and Plug Power raises $1 billion for U.S. green hydrogen infrastructure build-out.

The Chinese photovoltaic manufacturer said the recent invalidation procedure for its patent at the Chinese Patent Office’s examination and invalidity department is only an administrative examination procedure that only examines whether or not the authorized Chinese patent complies with patent law requirements.

As of today, the dumb world of solar module tariffs is currently subjecting imported bifacial modules to a 20% penalty, the same tariff as almost all other crystalline silicon solar modules.

A pilot project in China was brought online this month, combining 10 MW of PV with electrolyzers for hydrogen production and carbon dioxide hydrogenation to synthesize methanol. The methanol is supplied to the chemical industry, or can be converted back into hydrogen for energy use. And the project’s creators say their next goal is scaling the project up to 10 or even 100 times its current size.

If you’re interested in some lightly-used MOCVD and PVD thin-film solar cell production equipment, have we got a deal for you.

Bigger PV module designs are now hitting the market, but the production of larger, more powerful solar panels is challenging. Canadian Solar is launching its new Series 7 modules with pv magazine in a webinar on Oct. 29. Our editorial team recently caught up with Canadian Solar’s chairman and CEO, Shawn Qu, and director of module R&D, Alan Xu, to discuss the company’s latest efforts to shake up the market.

Also in the brief: Time to see how serious industry is about ESG and D&I versus LCOE. Plus Hawaii solar on the rise.

IHS Markit: At 10% market share, Swinerton Renewable Energy maintained its position as the preferred EPC contractor in the U.S. First Solar and Cypress Creek intend on exiting the EPC segment, creating opportunities for established local EPCs and the emerging group of international firms eyeing the growing U.S. utility-scale market.

Proclamation issued Oct. 10 cites impact of imported bifacial panels on U.S. solar manufacturing, while also raising the scheduled fourth-year tariff rate from 15% to 18%. 

Dean Solon of Shoals Technologies Group: “The short version is that it’s been a damned good year.” An interview with Shoals covers the growth of large solar projects in the U.S., high AC/DC ratios and the real costs of using cheap components.