Author: solarenergy

First Solar has deployed the Jim Nolan Center for Solar Innovation in Lake Township, Ohio. It includes a high-tech pilot production line for the production of full-scale prototypes of thin-film and tandem PV modules. July 19, 2024 Anne FischerBy pv magazine USAAmerican thin-film solar panel manufacturer First Solar has launched a new R&D innovation center in Lake Township, Ohio. The company said it is the largest facility of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.The Jim Nolan Center for Solar Innovation is dedicated to the late James “Jim” F. Nolan, a former member of First Solar’s board of directors and the…

Sunrun announced that its CalReady power plant has been activated to support California’s electric grid during the recent heat wave. Batteries from the solar and storage systems of more than 16,000 Sunrun customers provided power during peak hours for four consecutive evenings from July 9 to 12. Sunrun customers’ batteries supplied the grid with an average of 48 MW per night, enough to power 48,000 homes – a city the size of Santa Monica – and peaked at 51 MW, exceeding the capacity of several expensive and polluting gas-fired peaker power stations. factories in California. Home solar and battery systems…

A research group has investigated the potential for PV on walls and roofs of buildings across Norway. It says that up to 36% of feasible solar energy, or about 31 GW, could be integrated into the national energy system to align generation and consumption patterns. July 19, 2024 Patrick JowettA new research paper has calculated the technical potential of installing solar energy on walls and roofs of buildings across Norway and the feasibility of integrating the energy into the country’s electricity grid.The article – written by Hassan Gholami, a consultant for Norwegian Multiconsult – examines hourly electricity demand data between…

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed it H.4876, a critical piece of legislation that addresses key challenges facing the Commonwealth’s solar and storage industries. The bill includes provisions to encourage the deployment of new solar and storage, streamline siting and permitting processes at the state and local level, and address project interconnection challenges. The bill now heads to the conference committee where members of the House and Senate will work to finalize a compromise bill. Below is a statement from Valessa Souter-Kline, Northeast Regional Director of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA): “The solar and storage industry is pleased to…

ZNShine Solar says it has applied to list H shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). The company operates three factories in China with a total capacity of approximately 10 GW. July 19, 2024 Vincent Shaw Image: WiNG, Wikimedia CommonsZNShine solar energy said it has applied to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to issue H shares and list them on the HKEX. Founded in 2006, the company operates three factories in China with a total capacity of approximately 10 GW. It plans to expand further in China and Indonesia.GCL SI said it expects revenue of between CNY7.8 billion…

NASA is encouraging the commercial development of news fuel cell technologies NASA’s involvement in fuel cell technology began in the 1960s, a time when fossil fuels dominated energy production. Fuel cells create electricity and heat by combining hydrogen and oxygen through an electrolyte, producing only water as a byproduct, making them an environmentally friendly energy source. NASA’s interest in fuel cells stemmed from the need to power lunar missions. Engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston turned to fuel cells because they offered more energy per pound than batteries during long missions. At the time, fuel cells were a…

The European Court of Auditors says the European Union is unlikely to meet its 2030 renewable hydrogen targets, while the US Department of Energy and Arches have agreed to build a $12.6 billion hydrogen hub in California . July 19, 2024 Sergio Matalucci The European Court of Auditors said the European Union is likely to miss its 2030 renewable hydrogen targets because the bloc’s political ambitions are not backed by solid analysis. “The auditors call for a reality check to ensure that the EU’s objectives are realistic and that its strategic choices for the future will not undermine the competitiveness…

Greenskies announced the completion of a 575-kW roof mount solar system at Belvedere Place, a prominent Class A office complex in Mill Valley, California, located just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. With over 1,000 solar panels installed, the system is expected to meet 95% of the 105,000-square-foot buildings’ electricity demand, with tenants benefiting from a 10% electricity rate discount. Current occupants of the two three-story buildings include Merrill Lynch, UBS, WeWork, Redwood Trust and several private wealth management firms. GTIS Partners, a global real estate investment firm based in New York City, and Graham Street Realty, a San Francisco-based…

Quanta services announced that it has completed the acquisition of Cupertino Electric Inc. (CEI), an electrical contractor and solar energy EPC headquartered in San Jose, California. CEI now joins fellow solar contractors Blattner, Ryan Companies and RPCS under the Quanta banner. File photo of Cupertino Electric “We are pleased to announce the acquisition of CEI, a company we have admired for more than a decade, and we welcome CEI employees to the Quanta family,” said Duke Austin, president and CEO of Quanta. “CEI brings an exceptional management team and a leading artisan-skilled workforce that complements Quanta’s culture and will create…

A team of researchers in Germany has fabricated a non-fullerene acceptor-based organic photovoltaic cell with a two-layer solution-processed hole-transporting layer. It recorded an energy conversion efficiency of 17.1% and retained 93% of its original efficiency after 1,800 hours of continuous use of solar cells at 60 C. July 19, 2024 Patrick JowettA team of scientists from Germany’s Friedrich-Alexander-Universität did just that presented an organic photovoltaic cell based on a hole transport layer (HTL) based on PEDOT:PSS, a polymer known for its low cost and easy preparation properties.In the research article “A polymer double-layer hole-transporting layer architecture for highly efficient and…