Rhode Island

The request for proposals issued last week by National Grid includes contract terms that are anything but favorable to renewable energy developers, and seeks projects so large that they will be difficult to site.

Conti Solar has signed a five project, 35 MW EPC agreement with Southern Sky Solar in Rhode Island. These projects alone would represent about 30% growth in the state’s total solar capacity, however, the state’s development queue is huge as it aims for 1 GW of renewable energy in 2020.

A judge in Rhode Island has overturned a proposed solar farm in Portsmouth, ruling that modules “manufacture” the electricity they generate.

In this interview with pv magazine, Sungrow USA CEO Steven Chan gives his perspective on the U.S. market in the wake of anticipated global module oversupply, as well as talking about the market dynamics around string versus central inverters.

In late April, daytime net demand fell below overnight power consumption for the first time on the New England grid, thanks to rooftop and other behind-the-meter solar.

Scientists led by Brown University have developed perovskite solar cells, which replace the toxic lead common to many of these material structures with titanium. The researchers say that with further optimization, the material could eventually be ideal for use as a tandem cell layer.

The procurement will put the state closer to Governor Raimondo’s goal to reach 1 GW of renewable energy by the end of 2020.

The phase one report on the grid modernization initiative in the Ocean State looks a lot like New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) process.

Greentech Media’s Solar and Storage Symposium looked at the big picture in terms of policies and markets, in a region where complexity reigns.

Cadmus Group is working to standardize PV installation inspections and is building a database of common installation errors.