North America

When Abigail “Abby” Ross Hopper assumes her duties as president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association next week, it signals a new course for the national association and ushers in an era when the five most powerful association positions in the U.S. solar industry will be held by women.

In the past eight years under President Obama, the solar industry has advanced from a tiny niche market to the country’s largest energy employer – though more work remains to be done.

California-based startup Sunflare has unveiled its state-of-the-art solar panels, which are flexible and can be stuck onto almost any surface, which the company believes will see them be adopted in areas where solar panels could not previously be installed.

SunEdison Semiconductor has agreed to allow the transfer of intellectual property to the world’s largest polysilicon and wafer maker, which is seeking to develop FBR polysilicon.

New data from state California Solar Initiative (CSI) program Go Solar California reports that over the first 10 months of 2016, a total of 128,485 Californian families went solar, according to California Citisuns, the solar consumer advocacy based in Sacramento. The total suggests a 2016 total of over 154,000 new solar homes in the state.

The factory is producing lithium-ion batteries both for Tesla’s energy storage products and electric vehicles

The Mayflower Autoship is being developed to sail under solar power from Plymouth, Devon to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 2020 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the pilgrims journey aboard the original Mayflower in 1620. This would be the first Atlantic crossing by an unmanned solar vessel.

SEIA has officially announced that Abby Hopper, will start her duties at SEIA on Jan. 17. Hopper previously served as the head of the Maryland Energy Association and was an energy advisor to Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, during whose administration Maryland developed a progressive solar policy.

Albuquerque-based Array plans to roll out a new services division to accompany its growing tracker business.

The Utility of the Future report decries poor state-level rate-making, mythical cross-subsidies by non-solar customers, and economies of scale as reasons that adding more distributed PV to utilities’ portfolios make little long-term economic sense.