United States

Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories in the United States are working to quantify the effects of abundant snowfall on PV systems and to identify cost effective strategies to mitigate energy losses and reliability issues caused by snow and ice.

The GivePower non-profit founded by Tesla subsidiary SolarCity is supplying solar-powered desalination systems to some of the world’s neediest communities, backed by Tesla’s Powerwall battery technology.

The Chinese-Canadian module manufacturer will supply panels to the U.K.-based developer over several years. The modules are destined for projects in the United States and Australia.

The luxury car maker is betting on the timely development of market-ready solid-state batteries. Mercedes will work with the Canadian research institute to quickly integrate new technology into field applications to cut development cycle times.

The U.S. tracker provider has launched NX Navigator, a control system it says offers improved monitoring across a range of weather conditions. The company claims the software enables PV plant operators to schedule maintenance operations such as cleaning and mowing.

Scientists at Rice University in the U.S. have conducted experiments with lithium-ion batteries using silicon as an anode material and made an unexpected discovery regarding an aluminum oxide passivation layer at the cathode. The finding could open up a new pathway toward better performing lithium-ion batteries.

Irish energy-management specialist Eaton and Enico, a Finnish provider of modular storage systems, have agreed to jointly launch xStorage Container, an easily deployable storage solution that minimizes the internal footprint of buildings. The new offering was specifically designed for commercial and industrial self-consumption power projects.

Clean Power Research saw solar generation shift downward from the norm by as much as 10% in many locations across the United States in the first half of 2019.

The internet’s favorite energy company installed 530 megawatt-hours of battery storage in Q4, beating out the previous record, set last quarter, as well as showing continued improvement in solar installations.

US researchers have unvelied a new manufacturing process to produce cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV panels, which they claim is 45% cheaper than current industry standards. The technique relies on the use of a high-pressure Bridgman furnace, which is a kind of industrial furnace utilized for crystal growth and directional solidification of polycrystalline ingots.