July 2017

In the past, I’ve been dragged by friends or family members to see psychics and get my fortune read. Despite the clairvoyants’ promising prophecies, though, I have yet to randomly receive “a very large sum of money,” marry a super model, or become a rock star with my amateur guitar skills. Granted, there’s still time [...]

The U.S. solar industry has experienced massive growth in the past few years, reaching almost 16 GW of new installations in 2016. This was about 60 kW for each of our 260,000 workers. But this year, the U.S. market is expected to shrink. Although many of us are disappointed about President Trump’s actions on the [...]

First, the good news. As solar takes off across the U.S., the industry is enjoying unprecedented jobs growth. In 2016 alone, there were more than 51,000 solar jobs added in the country – a growth rate of 25% – and one out of every 50 new U.S. jobs that year was in solar. That brings [...]

Two buzzwords have come to dominate California energy policy circles: overproduction and the ramp. In the late morning, when solar production is strong and air conditioning has not been called into action, there are periods when the state has more electricity than it needs. Then in the late afternoon, when the sun is going down [...]

The U.S. government has launched an investigation into a controversial trade petition initiated by bankrupt manufacturer Suniva and later joined by SolarWorld Americas. Specifically, the petition seeks new import tariffs on crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) cells and minimum import prices on CSPV modules made anywhere outside the U.S. The two companies, which are the sole [...]

If you’re a designer of ground-mounted PV arrays, you may notice that only rarely will a project with a perfectly rectangular and level site come across your desk. Instead, you are likely seeing many sites with challenges, such as irregular boundaries, varying slopes, wetland zones and utility easements (which inevitably run diagonally through the array [...]

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are inventing and refining more efficient and less expensive ways to turn sunlight into electricity through concentrating solar power (CSP) while also improving energy storage options. Although there are CSP plants in operation already – in California, Nevada, Arizona and throughout the world – current research could make this technology [...]

Despite Slowdown, U.S. Solar Market Had Solid First Quarter As previously predicted, the U.S. solar market slowed down in the first quarter of 2017 (Q1’17) compared to the record-shattering growth it had last year. Nonetheless, the market still added over 2 GW of PV in the quarter and saw record-low prices for utility-scale systems. According [...]

Ameren Completes Multi-Tech Clean Energy Microgrid Ameren Corp. has completed what the energy company is touting as one of the most technologically advanced utility-scale microgrids in North America. The $5 million facility, located at Ameren’s Technology Applications Center adjacent to the University of Illinois campus in Champaign, Ill., includes a 160-foot wind turbine, solar panels, [...]

Nevada Governor Signs Bill To Revive Rooftop Solar Market With broad support from state legislators and solar advocates, Gov. Brian Sandoval, R-Nev., has signed into law a bill to almost fully restore net energy metering (NEM) in Nevada. The legislation, A.B.405, is expected to revive the state’s struggling rooftop solar market. In late 2015, the [...]

Panasonic And Pika Energy Partner On Harbor Smart Battery Panasonic Eco Solutions North America and Maine-based inverter manufacturer Pika Energy Inc. have partnered to offer the Harbor 10P/15P Smart Battery, a DC-coupled energy storage solution. Harbor 10P/15P will begin shipping in late 2017 and is available for pre-order today. The solar-ready Harbor Smart Battery combines [...]