United States

Major solar panel suppliers have announced the construction of three new factories, collectively adding 15 GW of manufacturing capacity. In 2021, there was only 7 GW of module manufacturing capacity in the United States.

Hoymiles has developed new hybrid inverters for residential solar and storage applications. They support 120 V/240 V backup power without the need for an external transformer.

A British research group has aggregated information from seven field studies on heat pumps from around the world and has found air-source devices have an average coefficient of performance (COP) of 2.74 when temperatures are above −10 C. Below that, COP is between 1.5 and 2.

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning has developed a residential dual fuel heat pump system that combines an air source heat pump and a gas furnace. The manufacturer says the furnace is designed to ensure there is no compromise in heating performance, even when temperatures are extremely low.

US-based Sage Geosystems has presented field results showing that its Earthstore underground storage system can provide 18 hours or more of storage capacity, in addition to short-duration power. The solution is said to be cost-competitive with lithium-ion batteries and natural gas peaker plants.

Stryten Energy is planning to begin commercializing its vanadium redox flow batteries in January 2025. Meanwhile it has deployed a 20 kW/120 kWh pilot-sized version of the storage system at a facility operated by Snapping Shoals EMC, an electricity cooperative in Georgia, United States.

Tesla has launched the Powerwall 3 battery with an energy capacity of 13.5 kWh and continuous on-grid power of 11.5 kW, featuring dimensions of 110 cm x 61 cm x 19.3 cm and a weight of 130 kg.

Trina Solar has revealed plans to build a new factory in Wilmer, Texas. It will source polysilicon from unspecified locations in Europe and the United States.

BloombergNEF Senior Analyst Jenny Chase and Aurora Energy Research Renewables Lead Rebecca McManus speak with pv magazine about financial market trends for solar companies and the role of overcapacity as a driver of turbulence in the industry.

The i50 optimizer supports the largest utility-scale solar projects.