North America

Seoul-headquartered solar supplier Hanwha charges rivals in the United States, Germany and Australia with having violated its patent. In U.S., Jinko Solar – together with REC and Longi – have requested an intermediate review by USITC. Today, Jinko is expecting the judge to decide in its favor.

Ørsted has commenced construction on the company’s first utility-scale solar plus battery storage project, the 460-MWAC Permian Energy Center. The facility is located in Andrews County, Texas, and will come online in mid-2021.

The Chinese-Canadian manufacturer reported a 1% decrease in sales in the third quarter, with net profit falling 19%, to US$55.2 million. Quarterly shipments were up significantly year on year, from 1.59 GW in July-to-September last year to 2,387 MW this time around. The company expects to ship up to 8.5 GW of panels and achieve turnover of up to US$3.16 billion this year.

Coolidge-based Planning and Zoning Commission has supported sPower's 100-megawatt photovoltaic project as well as a 472-ha solution implemented by Saint Solar.

The latest study published by the International Renewable Energy Agency says the average solar electricity cost of $0.085/kWh produced by projects commissioned last year is set to fall to $0.048 next year, and $0.02-0.08 by 2030.

United States-based solar energy corporation SunPower is spinning off the majority of its manufacture into a separate company, Maxeon Solar. The latter is going to include Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor, the Chinese silicon wafer supplier, as an investor.

The American subsidiary of Hanergy Holding has set up a new efficiency record for large-scale thin-film PV module. The recorded figure is 18.64 per cent on a unit with a 1.08 sq m opening. The achievement has been registered by German Fraunhofer ISE.

A U.S. research group has developed a metal-carbon-nanotube composite – MetZilla – which can be embedded in commercial, screen-printable silver pastes and is said to reduce the formation of hotspots in solar modules and to prolong panel lifespan. The composite metal contacts are also ‘self-healing’ as they are able to regain electrical continuity after cycles of complete electrical failure caused by extreme strain.

Last Wednesday, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk stated concluding a 30-year-long purchase agreement to supply solar power generated at the 195MW Broken Spoke solar station to Georgia Power.

Next year, NASA is planning to forward a Ben-Gurion-created photovoltaic prototype to International Space Station, which is supposed to become a huge move toward nongovernmental individual space operations, as was stated in Tazpit Press Service.

McDonald’s signed two purchase agreements for 380 megawatts of renewable energy total capacity. The fast-food company is going to buy power produced by Aviator Wind as well as a large-scale solar project. Both facilities are located in Texas.

LA is rushing to renewable energy. The city has just approved a contract with a 25 year term to get powered by a solar plant in Kern County. The project is being implemented in the framework of the Global Green New Deal.

U.S. Argonne National Laboratory researchers have tested a group of electrolytes which are supposed to maximize the Li-S batts performance. The team has established a selection approach to help choosing the best electrolyte for a certain battery cell.

EDP Renewables, a Spain-based energy company, via the subsidiary in North America along with Shell Energy signed an agreement, with a term of fifteen years, for a 200-megawatt power system – Sandrini Solar Park.

Walmart has stopped a court accusation it started against Tesla in August, when it associated a string of store fires to the Musk’s alleged carelessness with solar installs.