United States

MIT scientists have developed a class of liquid electrolyte with properties they say could open up new possibilities for improving the performance and stability of lithium batteries and supercapacitors.

The Lone Star State accounted for almost half of the activity witnessed in the world’s biggest corporate clean energy marketplace but analysts are excited about the prospect of Beijing mandating companies to purchase minimum levels of green electricity.

A vision of a decentralized, renewable-powered electricity grid is being brought a step closer by scientists at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Their project, Autonomous Energy Grids, aims to take an overarching look at the solutions that will power this grid of the future, and to fill any gaps that appear between them.

Researchers in the US have published a study that brings 20 years of renewable energy (solar PV and/or wind plus storage) generation into line with historical energy-demand profiles, to ascertain at what storage cost point renewables can cost-effectively consistently meet 100% demand.

A U.S. research team has found the most efficient locations for agrivoltaics include western America, southern Africa and the Middle East. The researchers found crop land, grasslands and wetlands were the best environments for PV projects linked to agriculture. Conditions suitable for crops are ideal for improving solar module efficiency.

Sunrun saw growth in deployments, revenues, cash and funding, as it expands its solar+storage business and pursues capacity sales. But the company and the larger third-party solar space are facing a sticky problem.

Six months after settling claims in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of its U.S. distribution subsidiary, the Chinese PV maker says it has signed more than 500 MW of U.S. module supply contracts.

First Solar has reported the largest quarterly production run and shipment volume in its history, and more than 2 GW of bookings in July alone. And with more factories underway, the thin film PV maker is just getting started.

The e-commerce group will invest an undisclosed sum in a 45 MW solar array in the U.S. state of Virginia. It also plans to invest in a 23.2 MW wind farm in Ireland.

The global power and renewable energy market is expected to remain largely unaffected by the Trump administration’s new wave of tariffs on Chinese goods. Although shipments of Chinese modules into the U.S. market are falling, Chinese manufacturers sent more panels to overseas markets in the first half of this year than they did in the same period of 2018. Analysts from Fitch, meanwhile, claim the U.S. solar market will continue to expand, despite higher project costs.