Hanwha Q-Cells sues to keep Jinko, Longi and REC Group out of the U.S. market
The Korean/German solar manufacturer has filed patent infringement lawsuits against the three companies in the United States, and is seeking to bar them from importing solar products for the U.S. market. Hanwha Q Cells claims its three rivals have used its patented solar cell passivation technology to increase the performance of their products.
Like peanut butter and jelly, wind+solar in a 1.2 GW deal
NextEra and KKR have partnered on a portfolio of ten operational wind+solar assets, totaling 860 MW of wind and 328 MWac of solar, in a $900 million convertible equity finance deal.
SunPower brings its A game to high efficiency
The company has rolled out its new A-Series modules as the first product using SunPower’s NGT solar cells, based on larger wafers and a streamlined manufacturing process. But will this be enough to get SunPower back to the black in its finances?
U.S. energy storage deployed grows 80% despite shortages
Wood Mackenzie reports that the United States deployed 311 MW / 777 MWh of grid connected energy storage in 2018, growing 44% and 80%, respectively. The company also noted industry headwinds as market shortages clipped demand, and slowed pricing decreases.
The next big thing: grid-tied batteries. How to maximize value
In this op-ed for pv magazine, Mike Mendelsohn & Dr. Allison Weis of Ascend Analytics break down the value of battery storage and the profitability of this tech.
Midwestern and Northern Tier contractors put up 250 MW of small-scale solar
Contractors in Indiana, Washington, Illinois and Iowa put up half of that total, while groups work to expand opportunities state by state. “Snapshot stories” included.
The solar will rise again
Louisiana utility Cleco Power may issue a request for proposals for up to 400 MW of solar capacity some time this year.
Nukes not included: 100% renewable energy proposed in Illinois
Senator Cristina Castro and Representative Ann Williams have introduced The Clean Energy Jobs Act, which would raise the state’s RPS to 45% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% renewable energy by 2050.
Fossils going hard after solar in Spotsylvania
Large scale solar power development is under attack by fossil fuel interests, with the Spotsylvania, Virginia project by sPower being focused on by right wing news websites and “think tanks”.
Inertia, frequency regulation and the grid
The old system of regulating frequency on electricity grids with the help of the inertia provided by large spinning masses is under threat by the rise of wind, solar, and batteries. But what will replace inertia-based control, and how will the transition work?
