The US tops 37.9 GW of large scale solar
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.
Goldman Sachs reaches $4 billion in renewable investment potential
Goldman Sachs Renewable Power, a subsidiary of the investment banking giant, has reached an equity pool of $4 billion, which will serve to expand on the hundreds of megawatts in portfolios the company has acquired in the last 12 months alone.
Teaming up on tandem performance
California-based Hanergy subsidiary Miasolé and European perovskite research institute Solliance have combined their thin film expertise to produce a 23% efficient flexible tandem device consisting of a semi-transparent perovskite cell on top of a flexible CIGS counterpart.
Los Angeles says “Yes” to the cheapest solar plus storage in the USA
Los Angeles’ municipal utility has voted 5-0 to approve a 25-year contract with a 400 MWac solar plus 300 MW / 1.2 GWh energy storage facility, with the aggregate price of the electricity from the project at 3.962¢/kWh.
Mini series: Social justice solar expands, trains, empowers
Erica Mackie is the CEO of Grid Alternatives, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that has helped nearly 15,000 low-income families to go solar at no cost. It has also provided more than 42,000 people with solar education and job training. Mackie co-founded Grid Alternatives in 2001 while working as an engineer in the private sector, and since then the organization has become a driving force for access and equity in the PV industry.
Food crops do better in the shade of solar panels
Another study has highlighted the advantages of combining solar with agriculture. According to the paper, growing chiltepin pepper, jalapeno and cherry tomato in dryland areas of the U.S. under the shade of PV modules is not only possible, but can lead to a better harvest.
Coating could lead to commercial lithium-metal batteries
A new coating developed by scientists at Stanford promises to bring lithium metal batteries ‘closer to reality’, by significantly extending their operational lifetime and limiting the occurrence of dendrites at the anode, which can cause short circuiting and fires.
Tuesday webinar: New test for microcracks will ‘push the industry to exceed benchmarks’
A new test design from the University of Central Florida has challenged modules with different cell technologies. The results show advantages for the heterojunction modules tested. Here we discuss the new method with its designer.
Balancing solar with agriculture in the US Midwest
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.
Trump ratchets up tariffs on Chinese products – including batteries
While the damage is largely done for cells, modules and inverters, increased tariffs on U.S. module components and 15% measures on lithium-ion batteries are not good news for either sector.
