North America

US energy regulator moves to limit mandatory renewable purchases
Solar representatives have cautioned against a move to overhaul US rules that have guided utilities' mandatory renewable purchases for decades, setting the scene for a policy clash.
Sep 23, 2019 // Markets & Finance News, USA, SEIA, FERC, PURPA, North America, big sun
AT&T inks virtual deal with Invenergy for 800MW wind and solar pipeline
US telecoms and entertainment giant AT&T has inked a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Chicago-based developer Invenergy for 800MW of solar and wind.
Sep 23, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, USA, Duke Energy, Invenergy, North America, at&t, vppa, Oklahoma
Upstream ROUND-UP: Q CELLS toasts 1.7GW plant; Sungrow debuts line; Risen & Arctech milestones.
Hanwha Q CELLS has celebrated the grand opening of what it bills as the “largest” solar panel factory in the western hemisphere, a US$200 million facility in Dalton, Georgia, meant to supply 1.7GW to the US market every year.
Sep 23, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, USA, Sungrow, India, Ukraine, Europe, Asia, Risen Energy, North America, Hanwha Q Cells, kazakhstan, downstream, arctech solar, Brian Kemp
Can Solar Offer Better Returns than the Stock Market?
While the cost of installing solar panels has fallen dramatically (more than 70% since 2010, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association ) and continues to decline, cost is still—understandably—a major consideration for customers.
Sep 23, 2019 // Solar, USA, North America, Stock Market
Open PV Project goes offline
The US Department of Energy has shut down the site for its Open PV Project, which supplied cost and installation data. Is this the winding down of a project whose time had come, or is the administration of President Donald Trump closing off another data source on renewable energy?
Sep 20, 2019 // Markets & Finance News, Policy, USA, SEIA, Donald Trump, North America, Open PV Project, Dr. Christopher Clack, Vibrant Clean Energy
Amazon pledges zero emissions by 2040
Amazon unveiled a number of new climate initiatives this week, including 80% renewables by 2024, zero emissions by 2040, a fleet of 100,000 electric vans and a $100 million investment in reforestation measures.
Sep 20, 2019 // Solar, USA, Amazon, North America, Jeff Bezos, Sally Jewell, The Nature Conservancy
Google bets on cheap solar via ‘biggest’ clean energy buy to date
Tumbling solar costs have spurred Google on to a dramatic boost of its exposure to the technology, acting to line up supply from projects worldwide as part of a major clean energy push.
Sep 20, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, USA, Amazon, Chile, solar pv, South america, Europe, North America, Facebook, Google, Denmark, corporate ppa, Sundar Pichai
A common language for bifacial PV
This week pv magazine was in Amsterdam for the sixth edition of the BifiPV workshop, where the discussion focused on the impressive achievements made by bifacial solar modules and the challenges the technology faces as it moves toward mainstream adoption.
Sep 19, 2019 // Technology, USA, Canadian Solar, Europe, Netherlands, Amsterdam, LONGi, PERC, North America, BifiPV, Jolywood, Jenya Meydbray, Joshua Stein, Netherlands Energy Center, U.K. National Physics Laboratory
The blackest black for more efficient solar cells
MIT scientists claim to have created a material 10 times more black than anything witnessed to date. It is said to be able to absorb more than 99.96% of incoming light and reflect 10 times less light than other superblack materials. The invention may be interesting for the development of black silicon PV technology and carbon nanotube-based solar cells.
Sep 19, 2019 // Technology, USA, Canadian Solar, Massachusetts, solar cells, MIT, North America, Brian Wardle
Safety is paramount
When Sony first commercially introduced lithium-ion batteries in 1991, the industry recognized their potential to revolutionize portable electronics. Ever since, there have been countless efforts to improve the technology, with many researchers focusing on energy density and longevity, in line with demand from emerging applications such as electric vehicles (EVs) and on-grid energy storage. Julian Jansen and Youmin Rong of IHS Markit discuss the effect of safety concerns on this rapidly growing global market.
Sep 19, 2019 // Storage, Opinions, USA, China, Li-ion batteries, Asia, North America, Sony, Julian Jansen, Youmin Rong
NextEra Energy Partners offering US$500 million of senior unsecured notes
NextEra Energy Partners has announced a private offering of US$500 million in senior unsecured notes due 2026 by its subsidiary company NextEra Energy Operating Partners (NEP OpCo).
Sep 19, 2019 // Markets & Finance News, USA, North America, NextEra, senior notes
Constellation secures three customers for 175MW of solar power in Virginia
Baltimore-based power provider Constellation has inked a deal to sell power from a 175MW solar facility in Virginia to Johns Hopkins University, spice and seasoning mix company McCormick & Company and department store corporation TJX Companies.
Sep 19, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, USA, Virginia, North America, constellation, exelon, johns hopkins university, mccormick & company, tjx companies, renewable energy certificates, baltimore
Minister: Mexico’s postponed auction will come when time is right
Mexico’s state-run utility and fossil fuel infrastructure need more time before the country can re-arrange the renewable auction it cancelled this year, a top official has said.
Sep 19, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, Grids, solar pv, Latin america, auctions, Mexico, North America, AMLO, esslatam, tenders, cfe, Marco Nieto-Vázquez
Commercial and residential PV installer SIRC acquires Montross
Solar Integrated Roofing Corporation (SIRC) has completed the acquisition of The Montross Companies, an establishing roofing company in San Diego.
Sep 19, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Residential, California, USA, North America, sirc, montross, roofing, David Massey
Solar Frontier Americas acquires 50MW PV project from Samsung Solar Energy
Solar Frontier Americas has acquired a 50.5MW PV project purchased from CS Solar, a JV company of Samsung Solar Energy. The installation is located in Stanislaus County, California, just a few hours southeast of San Jose.
Sep 19, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, California, USA, North America, solar frontier americas, Charles Pimentel, samsung, Seung-gul Lee