North America

100% renewables means 95% less water consumption for conventional power generation
According to a new study by Finland’s LUT University, solar PV consumes between 2% and 15% of the water that coal and nuclear power plants use to produce just 1 MWh of output; for wind, this percentage ranges from 0.1% to 14%. Under the researchers’ best policy scenario, water consumption could be reduced by 75.1% by 2030, compared to 2015 levels.
Dec 12, 2019 // Market Research, USA, China, Europe, Asia, North America, Christian Breyer, Finland, LUT University
AI-driven robots are making new materials, improving solar cells and other technologies
Ada, an AI-driven robot, searches for new solar cell designs at the University of British Columbia.
Dec 12, 2019 // Technology, Manufacturing News, USA, Canada, UK, Europe, solar cell, North America, University of British Columbia, Curtis Berlinguette, Benji Maruyama, Apurva Mehta, Kristin Persson, Keith Brown, Joshua Schrier, John Gregoire
US research laboratory rewires solar cell raising efficiency to 27.3%, sees path to greater than 32 percent
NREL has released a paper showing an experimental solar cell, using a unique method for wiring two different solar cells to a single, that raised the cell's efficiency by 4 percent. As well the document provides a respectable review of different technologies being developed.
Dec 11, 2019 // Technology, USA, NREL, solar cell, North America
Innovative Solar introduces two solar projects with total capacity of 425MW
Innovative Solar Systems offers 2 Texas-based utility-scale solar projects for immediate acquisition. The first array is located in Fisher County and has a generation capacity of 125 megawatts. The second project with a 300-megawatt capacity is in Jones County.
Dec 11, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, USA, Texas, Engie, North America, innovative solar systems
The first civil e-plane gets off the ground in Canada
The first civil fully electric airplane in the world was piloted in Vancouver a month ago.
Dec 11, 2019 // Storage, Transport, Canada, North America, electric airplane, Greg McDougall
RPCS has installed 1 gigawatt of solar capacity
RP Construction Services, a Californian solar developer and installer, has completed over 1 gigawatt of photovoltaic projects.
Dec 11, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, California, USA, North America, RP Construction Services, PV pipeline
Canada's Nova Scotia wants solar-and-storage on brownfield sites
The province's Alternative Energy Resource Authority is seeking proposals for three utility scale PV projects varying in generation capacity from 800 kW to 4 MW. Two of these must be combined with large scale batteries with a total storage capacity of around 2.4 MWh
Dec 10, 2019 // Storage, Canada, North America, Nova Scotia, solar-and-storage, AREA
Colorado Springs Utilities launches largest solar field to date
It wasn’t as easy as flipping a switch but, when Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) brought it’s newest and largest solar panel field online, it quadrupled how much energy it generates from the sun.
Dec 10, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Grids, USA, Colorado, North America, Colorado Springs Utilities, Aram Benyamin, Jared Polis
U.S. senators replicate call for ban on Huawei solar inverters
A group of ten bipartisan senators such as Marco Rubio (R-FL), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), calling on it to take action to fight the national security threat introduced by Huawei's entrance to the U.S. solar sector.
Dec 10, 2019 // Inverters, Policy, USA, FERC, Huawei, North America, Marco Rubio, Susan Collins, Joe Manchin
Auction convened to offload PV generators of bankrupt DC Solar
A sizeable batch of DC Solar stock is to go under the hammer this week in a bid to liquidate assets from the now-defunct Californian PV firm, undone by a high-profile FBI investigation.
Dec 9, 2019 // Markets & Finance News, California, USA, North America, bankruptcy, dc solar, legal affairs
BlackRock invests $2.5bn in renewables
BlackRock, the global biggest fund managing company, has closed 1bn USD of a 2.5bn USD fund aimed at wind, solar and storage. However, this is only a small part of the financial giant’s 6.96tn USD balance and nothing in comparison with 17.5bn invested in coal projects.
Dec 9, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, Storage, USA, BlackRock, investment, North America
Marina Energy installs 3.5-MW solar facility in New Jersey resort
Crystal Springs Resort has started commercial operations of the biggest resort-based solar farm in the Northeastern United States. Developed in partnership with New Jersey-based Marina Energy, the 25-acre, 3.5-MW solar area has over 19,000 solar panels.
Dec 6, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, USA, North America, Crystal Springs Resort, Marina Energy
Key Solar finishes 3-MW rooftop project for Massachusetts UPS center
New England solar installer Key Solar has finished a 3-MW solar venture for a UPS hub in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
Dec 6, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Rooftop PV, USA, Massachusetts, North America, Key Solar, Kevin Price
Carlson Electric will install 100-kW solar system at Wisconsin horseradish farm
Huntsinger Farms, the world’s largest grower and processor of horseradish and the parent company of Silver Spring Foods, has won a $28,902.60 Focus on Energy grant to subsidize a new solar power installation on its Eau Claire, Wisconsin farm. Carlson Electric of Hudson will install the solar farm in Spring 2020.
Dec 6, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, USA, Wisconsin, solar modules, North America, Huntsinger Farms, Carlson Electric, PV system, Eric Rygg
BlackRock keen on C&I PV, storage as new renewable fund hits record close
Rooftop solar, energy storage and other less-mainstream green energy technologies are among the targets of a new colossal renewable fund, the creation of the world’s largest asset manager.
Dec 6, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, Storage, Rooftop PV, USA, BlackRock, Europe, BESS, North America