Energy storage roundup: If solar development was checkers, then storage is three-dimensional chess
Also in the roundup: Preliminary permit for pumped hydro in Nevada, solid-state batteries and a China battery slowdown.
Job moves at DOE, Enel, Trina, FERC, Engie, Sunpower, PG&E
Executive and boardroom moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy finance.
Morning Brief: Rare Utah earthquake knocks out power to 55,000
Rocky Mountain Power must respond to a natural disaster while social distancing. Plus, New York is good, but NIMBY about solar.
Analyst expects recovery for PV and storage supply chains
Analyst Wood Mackenzie expects solar demand to decline but predicts the market will recover, with the prospects for the energy transition remaining intact.
Cheap renewables putting $639 billion of new coal investments at risk
The Carbon Tracker Initiative crunched some numbers and discovered that more than half a trillion dollars worth of coal investments are at serious risk due to the declining cost of renewables.
BNEF lowers 2020 global PV outlook due to coronavirus concerns
Many solar factories in China are starting to resume production, suggesting that concerns about supplies of PV components could soon begin to ease. Nevertheless, the temporary standstill will have an impact on the global solar market, as the implementation of some projects will probably be postponed until next year.
Polysilicon giant Daqo shrugs off COVID-19 fears with positive outlook for 2020
The Chinese polysilicon giant’s net income fell nearly 23% year-on-year to $29.5 million in fiscal 2019, even though it posted a 16% year-on-year jump in revenue to $350 million. It expects its polysilicon output to soar in the year ahead, despite the threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak.
Hanergy subsidiary Solibro Hi-Tech is liquidated
No potential investor could be found to take over the thin-film solar business. Insolvency proceedings started a few days ago and the business operations of the CIGS thin-film company were finally halted.
TOPCon n-type solar cell technology could be a rival to mono PERC
TOPCon cell technology has become one of the two leading next-generation options after mono PERC. But for the n-type architecture to truly become a rival to PERC, high-quality and cost-effective production technologies must become settled.
Trina announces 23.3% efficient PERC cell produced on commercial tools
The Chinese manufacturer claims a record — since the device was manufactured on standard commercial production equipment.
