United States

Also on the rise: First Solar announces $270 Million investment in R&D innovation center. Nearly 4% of U.S. homes have solar panels installed. And more.

In 2020, 3.7% of U.S. homes generated electricity from small-scale solar arrays, as did 1.6% of commercial buildings, reports the Energy Information Administration.

Despite a less than stellar earnings report, First Solar continues to expand with new manufacturing planned along with dedicated R&D facility to increase learning and reduce downtime on commercial production lines.

Mango Power has developed a 3.5 kWh battery system that can be expanded up to 14 kWh. The product features LFP battery cells from CATL and can be charged through AC wall outlets, with solar panels, or via electric-vehicle chargers.

Also on the rise: U.S. Army builds further resilience with flow battery pilot project at Fort Carson. Cooling down solar modules by increasing space between panel rows. And more.

The company announced the acquisition of projects across the ERCOT, PJM, MISO, and WECC territories.

The redox flow battery dubbed GridStar Flow is intended to help protect the installation during emergency situations.

A U.S. research team claims to have demonstrated that increasing the spacing of solar panels between rows improves PV system efficiency and economics by allowing airflow to cool down the modules. The method could improve a project’s LCOE by as much as 2.15% in certain climates.

As part of Aurora Solar’s Empower 2022 online solar summit, Bernadette Del Chiaro, from the California Solar & Storage Association, will moderate a talk about electric utilities and how they have abused their monopoly position to discriminate against solar in the U.S. Here, she gives pv magazine a taste of the presentation.

Also on the rise: A globalized supply chain is key to cutting costs in solar module manufacturing. Enphase to open several U.S. manufacturing lines. And more.