End of the line for a U.S. solar giant
SunPower, one of the largest, oldest, and most influential solar businesses in the United States, has closed its doors. Residential solar installers in the United States have struggled as interest rates have risen and cash generation has emerged as an issue.
RE+ 2024: Key takeaways on the U.S. solar industry
The 4.9 earthquake that shook Anaheim on the last day of RE+ 2024 did little to rattle the enthusiasm seen and felt at the largest energy conference in North America.
Paxos Solar unveils glass-glass PV tile with heat pump integration
Paxos Solar has developed a new glass-glass PV tile that integrates with heat pumps, featuring Longi’s back-contact solar cells. The 44 W, 59.5 cm x 48 cm tile can also produce heat for residential systems.
REC Silicon set to restart polysilicon shipments in October
Norway’s REC Silicon says it has completed construction at its restarted Moses Lake factory and will ship its first commercial polysilicon from the site in mid-October.
China urges US to reverse new tariffs on solar, batteries, EVs
China’s Ministry of Commerce has described the Office of the US Trade Representative’s recent decision to raise tariffs on Chinese solar components, batteries, semiconductors, steel, and EVs as “typical unilateralism and protectionism.” It added that the tariff increases will harm US companies and consumers.
Envertech launches microinverters for PV systems with up to 60 modules
Envertech says it has developed microinverters for PV systems supporting up to 60 modules, allowing up to four modules per unit with separate maximum power point tracking.
Eurowind Energy acquires 11 solar projects in Portugal
Denmark’s Eurowind Energy has signed a deal for 65 MW of solar in central Portugal, split equally between 11 projects. Construction is expected to begin before the second quarter of 2025.
France’s 2021-23 PV auctions show price increase despite lower panel costs
The French energy regulator says in a new report that France allocated about 5.55 GW of PV capacity through its auction mechanism for large-scale solar between 2011 and 2013. Despite falling solar module prices, the auction mechanism did not lead to cheaper PV electricity or lower project costs.
New deep learning tech uses electroluminescence images to identify defective PV cells
The novel method uses the YOLOv8 framework, integrating an attention mechanism and a transformer model. It was tested on a dataset of 4,500 electroluminescence images against several other models and its results were up to 17.2% more accurate.
End of net metering not a threat to residential solar profitability
The Netherlands is preparing to end its net-metering scheme, prompting two Dutch research institutes to study the potential impact on PV system profitability. They found that increasing self-consumption rates from 30% to 60% would keep profitability levels stable.
