Amount of silver needed in solar cells to be more than halved by 2028
The Silver Institute finds the amount of silver loading may fall from 130 mg per cell in 2016 to roughly 65 mg by 2028. Alternative and cheaper raw materials, such as copper and aluminum, are not expected to replace silver in commercial cell production, at least in the next decade.
APS seeks 106 MW of batteries to pair with large-scale solar
The Arizona utility has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for battery projects to allow its utility-scale solar fleet to meet evening demand, as part of a plan to add up to 500 MW of storage over the next 15 years.
From the editor: Pruitt’s departure is a win for clean energy
The resignation of Scott Pruitt is welcome news to renewable energy advocates. And while his replacement is a coal lobbyist who could be more effective, the momentum of change may be the most important factor.
Schletter acquisition could save North Carolina factory
The company’s U.S. subsidiary is part of the purchasing agreement, which appears to come just in time as the factory in Shelby was running out of funds to operate.
Florida’s distributed solar market doubled in 2017
State regulators have released a report showing that 6,283 new distributed generation systems connected to the power grid in 2017, nearly double the volume deployed in 2016.
Hawaii opens up existing solar installations to energy storage
A ruling by state regulators will allow the more than 60,000 Hawaiian homeowners and businesses that have PV systems installed under previous net metering rules to add energy storage without violating their agreement.
Powerhouse solar shingle seeks 17.1% panel efficiency
In an pre-UL Certification specification page of the Powerhouse 3.0 Solar Shingle, RGS Energy notes a 55W, 15.6% efficiency shingle and a 60W, 17.1% efficiency shingle.
Nearly 2/3 of Americans support a solar mandate for new homes
A new poll by Morning Consult found surprisingly strong support for a California-style mandate across the political spectrum, although Liberals were more likely to favor the measure than Conservatives.
From the editor: Energy independence
This July 4, it is more important – and possible – than ever to gain our independence from the conventional power industry, and to a degree, the utilities.
California 100% renewable energy bill heads to Assembly
The bill to set California on a path to 100% renewables and “zero-carbon” sources in electricity by 2045 has passed out of an Assembly committee, following a groundswell of support.
