News

Who has won contract for Indonesia’s controversial floating PV project?
The government was forced to hold a tender for the 200 MW Cirata Dam scheme after originally awarding the deal to UAE developer Masdar. With August 19 named as the date to announce the auction results, nobody is any the wiser as yet.
Sep 30, 2019 // Floating PV, Masdar, tender, Asia, Indonesia, Marlistya Citraningrum, UAE, Cirata Dam, Perusahaan Listrik Negara, Archandra Tahar
Hanwha Q Cells Dedicates Largest Solar Panel Factory In Western Hemisphere
Hanwha Q Cells officially opened its 300,000 square foot solar panel factory in Dalton, Georgia last week, claiming it is the largest such manufacturing facility in the western hemisphere.
Sep 30, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Tariffs, Policy, USA, Georgia, Jinko Solar, First Solar, Trump, Europe, North America, Hanwha Q Cells, Brian Kemp, Scott Moskowitz, LG
California Now Has More Than 1 Million Rooftop Solar Installations
California has hit a significant milestone this year: more than one million rooftop solar installations on homes, schools, businesses, and farms. With California leading the way, the U.S. reached two million installations this year.
Sep 30, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Residential, Storage, Rooftop PV, California, USA, North America, NeoVolta, Brent Willson, Tesla Powerwall
Solar farm, data center approved for Chesterfield ‘megasite’
The site of two controversial development proposals that never came to pass is now slated to be filled with solar panels and computing storage buildings.
Sep 30, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, California, USA, Cypress Creek Renewables, North America, urban grid, Chesterfield, Mike Uzel, Brennen Keene
Solar-powered sensors show IoT potential
MIT engineers have combined RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags with thin-film perovskite solar cells to create energy-harvesting IoT sensors.
Sep 30, 2019 // Technology, UK, Europe, MIT, Sai Nithin Kantareddy, IoT sensors, Ian Mathews, RFID
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