IKEA completes first MW-scale solar carport in US market
Distributed Solar Development has built a solar carport for IKEA in Baltimore. It will also handle the furniture giant’s other projects in Maryland and California.
First Solar signs 2.4 GW deal, reports results from a “challenging” 2020
The thin-film module manufacturer achieved a turnover of $2.7 billion and a profit of $400 million last year. The company also revealed that it is evaluating further U.S. manufacturing expansion, “contingent on the right policy environment.”
NREL looks at opportunities in lithium-ion battery recycling
U.S. scientists assessed the reuse and recycling of large-format lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems and found there is plenty of room for improvement.
MIT scientists develop perovskite solar cell with 25.2% efficiency
The US researchers claim to have achieved the remarkable result by adding a special conductive layer of tin dioxide bonded between the conductive layer and the perovskite material. They also improved the perovskite layer special additives that do not alter the material’s bandgap.
These 3 technologies could deliver more solar and wind to the US grid
In a U.S. study of the added renewables capacity made possible by grid-enhancing technologies, Brattle Group found that both solar and wind power would benefit in Kansas and Oklahoma through 2025.
Enphase to issue $1bn senior notes
The inverter business will use some of the proceeds to buy back notes due to mature in 2024 and 2025.
Improving algorithms to help solar project developers avoid the NIMBY effect
A research group in the United States is proposing to add social variables in GIS-MCDA algorithms for PV project planning as a solution to avoid opposition to large scale solar from local communities. Although some efforts have already been made in this direction, there is still much to be done to understand the degree to which measuring these variables proactively could help mitigate public opposition down the line, on individual projects.
The US added 16.5 GW of PV in 2020
Solar and wind power installations hit all-time highs and became a larger part of the country’s energy mix in 2020, according to a new report from BloombergNEF.
SunPower posts solid Q4 results as storage drives growth
SunPower’s distributed-generation services platform, as well as storage and digital solutions, will be key to its long-term growth, CEO Tom Werner said in an earnings call this week.
China’s cheap electricity crowds out foreign polysilicon
Imports from South Korea and the U.S. dwindled, year-on-year, ensuring Germany’s Wacker and the Malysian unit of Korean company OCI will supply the bulk of the world’s non-Chinese solar polysilicon this year.
