North America

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has opened a Section 337 investigation into tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cells, modules, panels, and related products following a complaint by First Solar, naming 47 entities across 11 countries as respondents.

Only weeks after announcing the world’s largest project to support a Google data center in Minnesota, the US iron air battery specialist has entered another mega deal, bringing its project pipeline under agreement to more than 75 GWh.

Industrial battery manufacturer EnerSys is closing its legacy lead-acid facility in Tijuana, Mexico, consolidating production at its Springfield, Missouri plant, where it makes a new type of lead-acid battery it says is better suited to the demands of modern data centers.

A new California bill, SB 913, would require state regulators to integrate customer-owned batteries and electric vehicles into the official Resource Adequacy market to bolster grid reliability.

The all-new Solar Permitting Scorecard grades all 50 states on how well they support straightforward residential solar permitting. The report finds that bureaucratic barriers significantly increase costs in all states, with only two states managing to earn a “B” grade.

Researchers in Canada found that semi-transparent cadmium telluride and low-transparency crystalline silicon solar panels can boost turnip root and leaf yields in agrivoltaic systems by optimizing light quality, distribution, and heat stress. Their study highlights that PV module type, transparency, and spectral transmission must be carefully matched to plant physiology to maximize both crop productivity and renewable energy generation.

The Connecticut-based company secured an additional $250 million, reaching $550 million total, led by Global Infrastructure Partners to accelerate the deployment of solar and energy efficiency upgrades across the U.S. commercial mid-market.

The solar industry continues to innovate as demand reaches new sales levels, yet outdated transaction models remain a significant barrier to growth.

The race for more computing power per square meter has put solid-state transformers (SST) high on the agenda for AI data center developers, who see full-DC as the system architecture that will maximize efficiency. Dafna Granot, senior manager strategy and innovation at SolarEdge, explains what the switch means and why it matters, as the inverter and energy storage manufacturer prepares to launch its own transformer product in time for the next generation of AI chips.

Crusoe and Redwood Energy are scaling a microgrid in Sparks, Nevada, by using repurposed electric vehicle batteries and solar to supply additional modular data centers.