News

Solar Manufactured Homes Concept Wins National Award For Portland Firm
An idea to build solar panels into manufactured homes has given a Portland-based company a big win in a year-long national competition.
Sep 30, 2019 // BIPV, Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Rooftop PV, California, USA, North America, Portland, Phase3 Photovoltaics, Ethan Good, Becca Jones-Albertus
Solar panels bring light to Amazon communities
Residents of the Verde Para Sempre extractivist reserve in the Brazilian Amazon protested as loudly as they could about the Tucuruí transmission line.
Sep 30, 2019 // Plants, Residential, Markets & Finance News, China, Amazon, South america, Brazil, Asia, Jinko, BYD, Trina, Angelo Mallet, José Pancrace, Liane Lima, JÁ Solar, Margarida Ribeiro da Silva
Sherburne County may require solar farms to be pollinator-friendly
New solar farms in Sherburne County may soon have to do more than just produce energy from the sun.
Sep 30, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, USA, North America, Minnesota, Sherburne, Marc Schneider, Rob Davis
How will China’s electricity price reform affect solar?
The nation’s plan for grid-parity solar – brought forward to ease a mounting public PV subsidy debt burden – could be left in ruins by a newly-announced scheme to part liberalize the electricity price, itself motivated by a need to bail out financially stricken state-owned power companies.
Sep 30, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, Policy, China, Asia, China Central Television, NDRC, Song Jie Cao
Longi unveils results of bifacial module test
The exercise, conducted on Longi PERC bifacial modules by Germany’s TÜV SÜD at a test field in China, showed surprisingly higher gains in panels getting light reflection from painted-surface and grassland albedo. It also showed, Longi claimed, bifacial panels operate at lower temperatures than single-sided alternatives.
Sep 30, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Germany, China, Europe, Asia, LONGi, TÜV SÜD, PERC bifacial modules
Macquarie to invest in 20 GW pipeline of renewables
With hundreds of billions of dollars in assets and funds under management, Macquarie Group is seeking to amplify its considerable influence, bringing investment and reporting to bear on accelerating climate mitigation and adaptation.
Sep 30, 2019 // Markets & Finance News, Australia, Oceania, macquarie, Shemara Wikramanayake
New aluminum batteries for renewables storage
The devices, developed by a European research team, are said to have twice the energy density of conventional aluminum devices. The scientists used a cathode made of anthraquinone, instead of one based on graphene, increasing energy density.
Sep 30, 2019 // Technology, Storage, storage, Sweden, Europe, Aluminum, Slovenia, Chlorine, Patrik Johansson
Solar-plus-storage to provide all the daytime electric needs of nation state
A 6 MW solar plant and 5 MW/2.5 MWh storage system are set to increase the share of renewable electricity on the Pacific island of Nauru from 3% to 47%. The $27 million project is being supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Sep 30, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Storage, storage, Skelec, Oceania, Asian Development Bank, Nauru
Saudi Arabia to back clean energy makers, developers via new loan scheme
Saudi Arabia is expanding the reach of its 105 billion riyal (US$28 billion) industrial fund to spur renewables through loans to component manufacturers, to independent power projects and to projects spearheaded by firms in other industries.
Sep 30, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Saudi Arabia, tender, Asia, auction, green loan, Mohammad bin Salman
European PV comeback lures Chinese players to up-and-coming markets
Jetion Solar and Risen Energy have made the latest in a fast-growing series of moves by Chinese operators to service reviving European markets, aided by last year’s scrapping of EU tariffs.
Sep 30, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Tariffs, Italy, Poland, Europe, Risen Energy, jetion
Lightsource BP to power historic Colorado steel mill with 240MW solar plant
Lightsource BP will build and operate a 240MW solar facility that will sell energy to Midwestern utility Xcel Energy to power operations at a historic Colorado steel mill for 20 years.
Sep 30, 2019 // Plants, USA, Colorado, Lightsource BP, North America, Xcel Energy, EVRAZ
Is This The Next Big Thing In Solar?
Solar power installations out in the open are a common sight in many parts of the world, but how about household solar generators? A team of Swedish and Chinese scientists recently reported this might become part of our future after they successfully converted indoor light to electricity using organic photovoltaic cells.
Sep 27, 2019 // Technology, Sweden, China, Europe, Asia, Jianhui Hou, OPV cells, Jonas Bergqvist
Farmers increasingly putting solar panels on their land
Farmers who want to sell electricity to utilities generally lease land to power companies to build the panels.
Sep 27, 2019 // Solar, USA, China, Asia, North America, Kirk Maltais, American Farm Bureau Federation
Zimbabwe commits to 39 solar projects worth $2.3bn
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) has processed 39 solar power projects that have capacity to generate 1,151.87 MW, as the country moves towards renewable energy to increase capacity.
Sep 27, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Africa, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority, Eddington Mazambani, Centragrid
Honda & Nike Secure New Renewable Energy Supplies
Honda has just inked two virtual power plant agreements that will cover more than 60% of its electricity usage in North America.
Sep 27, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, USA, Europe, Africa, North America, honda, Oklahoma, Nike, Eric Sprunk