Reactive power produced on-site increasingly important as solar power and EVs go mainstream
Cutting costs and integrating clean energy with local reactive power generation.
Morning Brief: 160 MW coming to Oregon, Vision Solar Expands to Massachusetts
Also in the brief: an 18 MW community solar portfolio proposed in Oregon, Sunnova partners with Generac and more.
Jinko Solar, China dominate module shipment totals again in 2019
Jinko shipped 14.2 GW of modules in 2019, up 33% from the previous year, the high mark in another year dominated by Chinese manufacturers.
Let the solar games begin — more innovation on the Intersolar show floor
Plenty of innovative hardware at the show that isn’t a module, battery or racking — as well as services and the Solar Games.
Silicon heterojunction solar cell hits 23.5% efficiency with new hole-selective contact
Researchers from Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have used molybdenum oxide as the hole-selective contact in a heterojuction silicon cell. The scientists claim the compound can compete with traditional contacts despite a lower level of optimization.
Explosive growth: BNEF expects California residential battery installations to quadruple this year
As a California installer has said, “I kind of compliment PG&E because they’re our best marketing department when it comes to battery storage. Now the challenge is there’s a very limited number of battery storage systems that are going to meet the reliability threshold.”
Trump budget request boosts nuclear, clean coal – while solar, ARPA-E and energy R&D are cut
Presidential budget requests rarely make it through congress. Nevertheless, this budget reveals the administration’s radical goals. Bad news for ARPA-E , EPA and Energy-Star.
Energy storage innovations and exhibitors at Intersolar San Diego
EMP/solar flare-hardened gear, storage-behind-the-PV-module and Generac made appearances at the Intersolar show in Southern California last week.
Idaho regulators rule that net metering rates belong to the system, not the customer
Idaho regulators have amended an earlier ruling, now stating that the legacy rate given to customers who installed residential solar systems before December 20, 2019 applies to the system, not the customer.
Recycling heat for a ‘385% efficient’ solar desalinator
MIT scientists have developed a solar desalinator which sends heat from the sun through a ten-stage process of evaporation and condensation. The group estimates that a $100 device incorporating their innovation could provide the daily drinking water needs of a family.
