Author: solarenergy

With incredible speed, Corning announced in its third-quarter earnings call that it has brought its Michigan silicon ingot and wafer plant online. Plans for the solar factory were first publicly revealed in October 2024. The facility is located on Corning’s Hemlock semiconductor campus and Hemlock polysilicon will be used for Corning’s new wafer factory. Photo of a sun bar from Corning’s earnings report. “Over the past 18 months, we built the largest solar ingot and wafer facility in the United States, co-located with our polysilicon manufacturing facility in Hemlock, Michigan. It was a significant undertaking,” said Wendell Weeks, chairman, president…

Nextracker has launched its Earth Truss foundation technology in Australia, supported by funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), to enable the deployment of solar energy on rocky and hard ground. October 31, 2025 Ev Foley By pv magazine Australia US based Nextracker has launched the NX Earth Truss Foundation solution, powered by ARENA. Designed for rocky and hard ground conditions for large-scale solar development, the Earth Truss can expand potential locations where terrain previously provided a barrier. The company says easing land use restrictions could speed up and boost project turnaround times increased automationremote project sites are becoming…

New molten salt repair process recycles high-performance electric vehicle batteries Researchers from Huazhong University of Science and Technology have developed a molten salt technique that restores the structure and performance of spent lithium-ion battery cathodes with high nickel content. This approach repairs degraded materials found in waste batteries, allowing them to be reused in new batteries. Unlike standard recycling, which recovers metals but destroys the atomic structure, this method regenerates the original crystal order and capacity. The team studied LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811), a cathode material used for its high energy density in electric vehicles. Over time, the NCM811 loses lithium and…

Clean energy investor Excelsior Energy Capital announced its 685.3 MWdirect current The Faraday Solar project in Utah County, Utah, began commercial operations on September 30. Through a PPA, the project will provide clean energy to Meta’s Utah operations. Faraday Solar is one of the largest utility-scale solar investments in the United States. The project is supported by a 20-year PPA with PacifiCorp under Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 34 green energy tariff, allowing major customers to directly support the incremental addition of clean and renewable energy projects to support customers’ clean energy goals. The long-term PPA provides financial stability for the…

Ireland is investing almost €27 million in community-based energy projects that promote climate action, including small-scale solar installations across the country. In an earlier phase of the program, a total of EUR 24 million was allocated to 650 community projects. October 31, 2025 Blathnaid O’Dea Community-based climate action programs in Ireland will share an investment package of almost €27 million from the state’s Climate Action Fund (CAF). The CAF funding is being awarded as part of the Community Climate Action Program which supports projects that encourage climate action through education, engagement and capacity building at the local level. In an…

Light it up: Battery particles tell the true story of a battery’s charge Lithium-ion batteries power our phones, cars and even homes; Ensuring their safe and efficient behavior has become incredibly important. Using a simple optical technique, researchers at Purdue University have observed that a battery’s individual particles light up as they charge, providing a more complete picture of the battery’s overall health and performance. “Lithium-ion batteries — in fact, all batteries — function because of millions of chemical interactions that occur at the particle level,” says Kejie Zhao, professor of mechanical engineering. “Characterizing it becomes a mechanical and electrochemical…

GreenPowerMonitor announced that it has introduced GPM Horizon for Multitech Portfolios, a unified platform designed to integrate solar, wind and now battery energy storage assets into a single solution. This launch aims to simplify sustainable portfolio management and improve performance monitoring for asset managers and owners. The platform’s extensive capabilities, including the recently released GPM Horizon Storage element, address the growing complexity of managing diverse renewable energy portfolios. As the industry shifts to hybrid and multi-technology portfolios, GPM Horizon for multi-tech portfolios provides a streamlined approach to monitoring and financial transparency. GPM Horizon for multi-tech portfolios differentiates itself by integrating…

This week, Women in Solar+ Europe gives voice to Rachel Hayes, head of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) team at Solar Energy UK. She says solar careers often develop laterally, from project development to ESG, from engineering to policy, reflecting how transferable and rewarding these roles are. “The challenge isn’t holding on, it’s getting in,” she says. October 31, 2025 Women in Solar+ Europe The UK’s Clean Energy Mission has taken a major step forward. With the government’s new national plan predicting over 400,000 additional clean energy jobs by 2030, we are entering a defining decade for renewables, one…

Solar energy research team aims for a safer future for solar panels and groundwater Researchers from Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science have received a $254,737 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the stability and long-term environmental impacts of solar cells. The study, led by Assistant Professor Yuxin Wang of the School of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, focuses on the contamination risk of lead used between solar cells – a concern for groundwater safety and public health. “New York State is pursuing unique solar energy production in the future, and we…

The Indian manufacturer said its inverter has six MPPT inputs, allowing a total of 30 module strings. October 31, 2025 Uma Gupta By pv magazine India At the Renewable Energy India (REI) Expo 2025, Waaree Energies introduced a new three-phase inverter designed for utility-scale solar installations. The inverter prioritizes data privacy and supports local data hosting. The real-time monitoring app allows plant operators to continuously monitor power generation performance, the Indian manufacturer said. The inverter has a power of 350 kW and has six maximum power point trackers (MPPTs) that support up to 30 module strings. It operates within an…