The United States and China formally join the Paris Agreement
The world’s largest emitters have committed to the global agreement, but the voluntary nature of individual national plans leaves many doubts.
Melting backsheets, broken cells, and hotspots
Quality roundtable preparation: A case of compromised quality. An operator claims nearly 17% of the modules in his array displayed significant damage after three years. The EPC company concealed the damage from the investor until the warranty had expired. The module manufacturer responded slowly and only out of goodwill.
USAID to fund solar research projects in India and Morocco
The U.S. Agency for International development (USAID) announced that it will provide USD10 million in funding to a number of projects aimed at addressing critical areas of development, two of the projects center on solar research in India and in Morocco.
PID-related performance drop in a solar farm
Some PV panels or batches of modules are susceptible to potential induced degradation (PID), while others are scarcely affected. Currently, many PV farm operators in Europe are experiencing this reality. The third instalment of our “Bring on the Black Sheep” series describes a case in which a module manufacturer behaved in a close to exemplary manner, but the inverter manufacturer made life difficult.
Change is coming: the pv magazine USA weekly digest
The SunEdison roadshow continues as GCL-Poly move in and TerraForm Power holds on to staff, while the SolarCity-Tesla merger trundles onwards despite a few unexpected bumps in the road.
Poor quality planning: Shifting the blame, passing the buck
An installation company in the Midwest reports how blame was laid at their door for defective PV panels. The actual cause of the defects probably lie elsewhere.
NREL: 30% wind and solar are feasible on the Eastern U.S. grid – without storage
NREL’s latest study looks at 25% wind and 5% solar on the Eastern Power grids, modeling the system in five-minute intervals.
SolarCity excluded from participating in Nevada grandfathering decision
The Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUCN) has denied SolarCity’s request to participate in proceeding on whether existing residential solar customers in Nevada should have their net metering schemes “grandfathered,” after the utility added fees to the scheme at the end of 2015.
Residential Inverter Quality: An O&M Headache
Failures in residential solar systems can be the bane of an installer, who is often paid merely to install the system, not necessarily to back the various component warranties.
SolarCity value miscalculated by $400 million in Tesla merger
A Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing by Tesla on Wednesday revealed that the investment bank that advised SolarCity on its sale to Tesla, Lazard Ltd, double-counted some of the company’s projected indebtedness, resulting in a $400 million undervaluation.
