North America

STI Norland expects 1.2GW of contracted mounting systems orders in 2019
Mounting systems specialist STI Norland said it had surpassed 3GW of cumulative installations with 1.2GW of contracted mounting systems orders expected in 2019.
Sep 8, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Japan, Spain, France, India, pv power plants, Europe, Asia, Mexico, North America, sti norland, pv trackers, pv mounting systems
High power prices, falling PV costs and new regulations behind Brazil’s solar carnival
The nation’s thriving distributed generation market is flying, as was evident at last week’s Intersolar South America trade show. The sector seems unconcerned by mooted changes to net metering incentives in the new year and when even an environmental non-believer like President Bolsonaro is on side, it is difficult to be pessimistic.
Sep 8, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Inverters, Solar, USA, Sungrow, Canadian Solar, China, South america, Latin america, Europe, Brazil, Asia, Fronius, Greener, North America, Intersolar South America, Solar Promotion, Florian Wessendorf, utility scale solar, Marcelo Sousa, Ada Li, Thais Zampieri Bitancourt, Julian Rau, Trina, Álvaro García Maltrás, Apollo Chai, Rodolfo Meyer, Portal Solar, Marcio Takata, Lucas Troia
Urban Grid lands US$100m funding to help support 5GW PV pipeline
US PV developer Urban Grid has closed a senior secured term loan facility for up to US$100 million with New York-based private credit manager and asset-based lender Crayhill Capital Management LP.
Sep 5, 2019 // Markets & Finance News, USA, North America, crayhill, urban grid, funding
Ameren puts forward plans for 30MW of solar-plus-storage in rural Missouri
Utility Ameren Missouri is planning three grid-scale solar facilities with energy storage, marking what is claimed will be the first ever instance of an energy company in the US Mid-West state powering its customers’ homes with batteries.
Sep 5, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Storage, USA, pv power plants, solar pv, solar-plus-storage, BESS, North America, Missouri, ameren, battery energy storage systems
BayWa r.e. bolsters digital firepower with PowerHub buy
Renewables firm BayWa r.e. looks set to bolster its digital technology services offering with the acquisition of Toronto-based PowerHub.
Sep 4, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, Software, Canada, North America, baywa r.e., entech, digitalisation, powerhub, energy technology, asset intelligence software, Toronto
L.A.‘s Record-Low Solar Project Hits Snag in Union Resistance
Developer 8minute’s groundbreaking solar project is caught up in a disagreement over the city’s clean energy transition.
Sep 3, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, USA, North America, 8minute’s groundbreaking, Los Angeles, Jeff McKay, 8minute Solar Energy
The Biggest Batteries Coming Soon to a Grid Near You
The 100-megawatt club is about to get a lot busier. Here are the world’s eight largest battery storage projects.
Sep 3, 2019 // Storage, California, USA, storage, TESLA, South Australia, North America, lithium-ion battery, AES, NextEra, Vistra
Australia National University hits new perovskite efficiency record
Scientists at the institution have achieved 21.6% efficiency with a perovskite cell measuring 1cm². The landmark has been verified as a new world record for perovskites at this size.
Sep 3, 2019 // Technology, USA, South Korea, Australia, Asia, Oceania, Australia National University, North America, Ulsan National Institute of Science, U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Thomas White
Japan’s fourth solar auction concludes with lowest bid of $0.098/kWh
The tender produced lower bids than previous rounds but again allocated less generation capacity than planned. The Japanese government initially accepted bids for a combined 589.9 MW but ended up assigning only 195.8 MW of capacity. The final average price for procured solar power was $0.1222/kWh.
Sep 3, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, USA, First Solar, tender, North America, METI, Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan Asia Group, Ciel et Terre Japan
Coating could lead to commercial lithium-metal batteries
A new coating developed by scientists at Stanford promises to bring lithium metal batteries ‘closer to reality’, by significantly extending their operational lifetime and limiting the occurrence of dendrites at the anode, which can cause short circuiting and fires.
Sep 3, 2019 // Technology, California, USA, battery, North America, Stanford University, SLAC, Lithium metal, Zhiao Yu, Yi Cui
Canadian researchers have done the math on optimizing PV output
Mathematicians at Canada’s University of Waterloo who turned their attention to solar power have developed an algorithm they say offers better control over PV plant output. The researchers estimate the algorithm could improve the output of a 100 MW power plant by almost a million kilowatt-hours per year.
Sep 3, 2019 // Technology, Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Residential, Canada, North America, University of Waterloo’s Department of Applied Mathematics, Milad Farsi
USF completes acquisition, financing of 128MW PV project in Utah
The US Solar Fund (USF) has closed on both the acquisition and financing of 100% of the cash equity interests in the 128MW Milford Solar Project, located in Beaver County, Utah.
Sep 3, 2019 // Markets & Finance News, USA, First Solar, Utah, North America, usf, longroad energy, Gillian Nott, Liam Thomas
Fifth Third Bancorp, SunEnergy1 open 120MW PV project in North Carolina
Fifth Third Bancorp and SunEnergy1 have opened the 120MWdc/80MWac Aulander Holloman Solar Facility in Hertford County, North Carolina. The facility, developed by SunEnergy1, is expected to generate clean power that is more than or equal to the total that Fifth Third uses in a year, which is enough to cut out 143,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases and power 25,000 households.
Sep 1, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, USA, North Carolina, North America, Fifth Third Bancorp, SunEnergy1, Greg D. Carmichael, Amy Davidsen
SEIA: US renewable purchase reform must not entrench utility dominance
The pressure building for the US to water down decades-old federal energy policy risks further tilting the scales in utilities’ favour, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
Sep 1, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Storage, Policy, USA, SEIA, FERC, solar-plus-storage, Jimmy Carter, North America, Abigail Ross Hopper, NARUC
Mini series: The evolution of testing
Tara Doyle started her career in the solar energy industry more than 15 years ago, and today serves as the chief commercial officer at PVEL, which claims to be one of the first testing laboratories to focus on bankability for the downstream PV buyer community. The lab serves developers, financiers, O&M companies, asset owners, and insurers.
Sep 1, 2019 // Storage, Inverters, Opinions, California, USA, storage, Inverters, PV module, North America, pvel, DNV GL, Tara Doyle