Minnesota

Scientists conducting a five-year research project in southern Minnesota have observed a tripling of insect numbers near two solar facilities built on rehabilitated agricultural land. They say the findings show how habitat-friendly solar could help protect insect populations and improve pollination in nearby agricultural fields.

Heliene has invested about $10 million to expand its manufacturing and assembly line in the US state of Minnesota.

A British research group has aggregated information from seven field studies on heat pumps from around the world and has found air-source devices have an average coefficient of performance (COP) of 2.74 when temperatures are above −10 C. Below that, COP is between 1.5 and 2.

Canadian-based Heliene plans a new factory in Minnesota that will begin producing modules in 2024 and cells in 2025.

NREL and Berkeley Lab have proposed efficiency and stability best practices for solar water-splitting to make hydrogen, while a team of researchers from Malaysia and Pakistan have revealed their findings on the feasibility of hydrogen-based incineration.

With electric vehicles starting to gain traction, the International Energy Agency’s updated, ten-year e-mobility forecast has suggested geopolitical and economic concerns will trump environmental niceties when it comes to encouraging recycling. But what price ever-cheaper batteries?

The U.S. residential solar market – and 15 states – are at record highs according to analyst WoodMac’s ‘don’t call it a comeback’ Q3 report, driven by new market forces. The research firm held its 2019 U.S. solar forecast at 13 GW.

The Shanghai-based project developer – which will soon relocate to the U.S. – says the profit margins are not high enough in those markets and has cancelled its project pipeline in the nations. The company has also changed its CEO after less than five months and is on a drive to reduce capital costs.

That record figure of utility scale PV was under contract at the end of June with 8.7 GWdc under construction. However, installation levels fell slightly, year-over-year.

Today we have heard of farmers in Australia unhappy at the approval given for three solar projects on agricultural land and also learned the benefits PV can bring for fish and shrimp farmers. In this op-ed for pv magazine USA, Stoel Rives LLP attorneys Sara Bergan and Thomas Braun discuss the balancing act to be made between solar and agriculture in the emerging Midwestern PV market.