Solar

  • Solar-Powered EV Chargers Supporting California Vineyard

    Companies in the agriculture sector are increasingly relying on distributed power generation to support their operations, particularly those wanting to use make their energy use cleaner and their supply of electricity more reliable. A vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley in California provides an example of an agricultural property benefiting from off-grid energy. The Kaerskov […]

  • Solar Farm at a Landfill Site Brings New Meaning for Waste to Energy

    The Mount Olive project in New Jersey is a model for turning a brownfield site into a “brightfield,” supporting cleaner power generation and providing a wealth of benefits for the local community. The U.S

  • AusNet Embraces Data-Driven Storm Impact Modeling

    Power companies must respond to outages caused by extreme weather events. Having accurate predictions concerning the severity of impending storms can ensure companies are prepared with the right resources on

  • Arizona Site Will Host Long-Duration Energy Storage Project

    An innovative battery energy storage project, using a non-lithium technology, will be deployed at a research center in Arizona. Salt River Project (SRP), the state’s community-based, not-for-profit public power utility, and Germany’s CMBlu Energy, which designs and manufactures energy storage systems, on August 31 announced a pilot project for a 5-MW, 10-hour, long duration energy […]

  • NERC Identifies Energy Policy as Key Risk to Grid Reliability Amid Evolving Challenges

    The North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) will for the first time consider “energy policy” among five significant evolving and interdependent risks to grid reliability. In its latest biennial ERO Reliability Risk Priorities Report, the designated North American Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) identifies energy policy as a new risk priority alongside grid transformation, resilience to extreme […]

  • Sustainable Solutions for Residential Homes and Solar’s Increasingly Popular Adoption

    As the global push toward sustainable energy gains momentum, solar power stands at the forefront of this transformative movement. There are many sustainable solutions presented by solar energy, the comparative economics against traditional grid power, and the bright future that lies ahead. In just 10 years, renewable energy’s share of U.S. electricity generation has doubled—from […]

  • Understanding the Impact of Net Metering Changes on Solar Adoption in California

    California has long been a leader in the U.S. solar industry, largely due to lucrative financial incentives encouraging adoption. Recently, the California Public Utilities Commission announced it will not be holding another hearing on net energy metering (NEM), confirming that recent changes made to the rules are permanent. In this question and answer article, Amir […]

  • FERC Adopts ‘Historic’ Reforms to Ease Nationwide Generation Interconnection Backlog

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved key transmission reforms aimed at clearing a staggering backlog of more than 10,000 generation and storage projects—more than 2,000 GW—stalled in interconnection queues across the country. Order 2023, a final rule unanimously adopted by FERC’s four commissioners at a July 27 open meeting and posted in full […]

  • POWER Digest [August 2023]

    Colombian Dam Site of Major Floating Solar Project. A new solar power system that will float on the reservoir at the Urrá Dam in Colombia is designed to demonstrate that hydroelectric stations dealing with

  • Marnie Surfaceblow: A Desert Solar Farm’s Muddy Problem

    Sometimes fixing one problem causes another or leads to a chain of failures that can be difficult to diagnose. Consider all of the upstream and downstream impacts when changing equipment and/or operations

  • Investors Announce Nearly $75 Million in Funding for Community Solar

    Investors are continuing to pour money into community solar projects, with groups on July 31 announcing nearly $75 million in funding for multiple installations. Renewable Properties, which develops and invests in small-scale utility and community solar installations, on July 31 said it has closed its Fund 9 portfolio. The company said the $53.5 million portfolio […]

  • Kentucky’s Largest Solar Farm Sited at Former Appalachia Coal Mine

    A group that includes Rivian, the California-based electric vehicle manufacturer, said it will turn the site of a former coal mine in Kentucky into that state’s largest solar farm. The Starfire Mine, located in Breathitt, Knott, and Perry counties in Kentucky, for years operated as one of the largest coal mines in Appalachia, producing as […]

  • Transmission for Transition: Solving the South African Energy Crisis Through Logistics

    South Africa is in the midst of an energy crisis characterized by electricity shortages, blackouts, and lack of new infrastructure investment. Eskom, the state-owned utility supplying more than 90% of the nation’s electricity, has suffered from operational failures, maintenance issues, and breakdowns at aging, poorly maintained power stations, leading to steady declines in the energy […]

  • Analysis of Performance Degradation of PV Modules

    Solar energy is a clean and environmentally friendly source of energy. It can also help in reducing the global carbon footprint and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Due to the positive aspects of solar energy, its demand is growing exponentially. Photovoltaic (PV) modules are undoubtedly the most significant component of a solar power system. […]

  • The Power of Solar Panel Recycling

    Solar power is the most efficient, renewable, and cost-effective source of electricity available today. The industry has consistently and rapidly grown over the past decade, and solar adoption is projected to accelerate over the next 10 years, increasing from 150 GWp installed in 2021, to 650 GWp installed per year in 2030. COMMENTARY Solar also […]

  • World premiere: CMBlu delivers first Organic SolidFlow energy storage to one of the biggest solar parks in Austria

    Eisenstadt, Austria, 19 July 2023 – The first operational Organic SolidFlow Battery of the world has successfully been delivered. CMBlu Energy, the manufacturer of this secure, sustainable and affordable battery storage system and Burgenland Energie, the hosting electric utility, have held a ceremony with prestigious guests covering politics, economics and science. The world premiere took […]

  • First Solar, Israeli Group Announce Major Solar Equipment Deal

    Global solar power equipment provider First Solar announced a massive deal with Israel-based Energix Renewables, an agreement in which First Solar will deliver more than 5 GW of ultra-low carbon thin film solar modules for projects in Israel, the U.S., and Poland. Energix, among the largest renewable energy companies in Israel and with more than […]

  • POWER and Enverus Partner on New Power Industry Data and Insights Tool

    Power industry professionals searching for valuable data and insights on U.S. power plants will find a wealth of information in the POWER Plant ID (Intelligence Database) research tool. Data available includes plant locations, capacities, generation types, ownership breakdown, production history, emissions data, and more.   HOUSTON/AUSTIN, Texas (July 18, 2023) — POWER, the leading power […]

  • The POWER Interview: Harnessing the Energy Potential of American Agriculture

    Much of the innovation in the power generation and energy sectors revolves around efficiency, with companies working to ensure a reliable and resilient supply of electricity while also reducing emissions. Those efficiency measures also include technologies to enhance sustainability, including recycling, cleaner fuels, and providing alternative modes of electric power. Companies such as Clean Energy […]

  • Leveraging the Digital Transformation in Solar O&M

    We are currently witnessing the most dizzying pace of technological innovation in our lifetimes, if not ever. Our lives are becoming increasingly more digital, cutting out archaic and inefficient processes and saving time and resources in an impressive fashion. COMMENTARY In solar photovoltaic (PV), this digital shift is also occurring, albeit in a less obvious […]

  • Space Solar Power Prototype Beams First Power to Earth

    California Institute of Technology’s (Caltech’s) first space-borne prototype launched into orbit has demonstrated the ability to wirelessly transmit power in space and beam detectable power to Earth. The

  • Clean Energy Transition Continues Despite Reliability, Supply Chain, and Financial Uncertainty

    Although there is a risk of energy shortfalls in parts of the U.S. if extreme summer temperatures materialize, there is no stopping the clean energy transition that is sweeping the nation. Energy storage

  • Digitalization Is Now a Power Sector Imperative: Takeaways from Connected Plant Conference 2023

    Digitalization is now so firmly embedded in the power sector that if participants haven’t yet begun their digital journey, they’ve inherently fallen behind. That was a message repeated at the three-day 7th annual Connected Plant Conference (CPC), which took place this week in New Orleans, Louisiana. POWER magazine and Chemical Engineering magazine’s conference this year […]

  • First Phase of 100-GW China Hydro/Solar Project Enters Service

    Chinese officials on June 25 said the first phase of what is considered the world’s largest combined hydro and solar power plant has entered commercial operation. The Kela hydro/solar plant, part of an ambitious project anchored by the Lianghekou Hydropower Station on the Yalong River, is located in Yaijiang County in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. […]

  • ERCOT’s Energy Emergency Risk Has Shifted from Late Afternoon to Early Evening

    Modeling from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) suggests an 11% probability of having a load shed issue on a peak day this summer, an official said during a reliability committee meeting on June 19. The Texas grid, which was tested this week by a record-breaking heat wave, issued a weather watch and a […]

  • German Group Plans ‘Green Baseload’ Installation at Major Coal Generation Complex

    A leading German energy group has announced plans to create a clean energy hub at what today is an area of coal mines and coal-fired power stations in the eastern part of the country. The strategy from LEAG (Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG) envisions what the company calls a “pure green baseload” complex. LEAG on June […]

  • Duke Energy to Shed 3.4-GW Unregulated Renewable Business Segment in $2.8B Deal

    In a bid to transition to a fully regulated business, Duke Energy will sell its unregulated utility-scale solar and wind group—a portfolio of 3.4 GW—for an enterprise value of $2.8 billion to pure-play renewable power platform Brookfield Renewable. The companies announced the transaction for a portion of Duke Energy’s Commercial Renewables business segment on June […]

  • JONSOL Partners with Ampt to Offer Flexible PV plus DC-coupled Storage Solution

    FORT COLLINS, Colo. & BOBLINGEN, Germany (June 13, 2023) — In partnership with Ampt, the world’s #1 DC optimizer company for large-scale PV systems, JONSOL, the German manufacturer of high-quality and high-performance photovoltaic (PV) modules, announced today that it is the first module and system supplier worldwide to offer an optimized PV plus DC-coupled energy […]

  • TerrePower Accelerates Solar Panel Reuse Industry with Fully Operational Tennessee Facility

    SPARTA, TN, June 8, 2023 ––TerrePower, the innovative solar panel and EV battery lifecycle management division of BBB Industries, announced today that solar remanufacturing at its Sparta, Tennessee, facility is fully operational. The plant is dedicated to extending the life and improving the performance of solar panels through sustainable manufacturing for reuse, significantly reducing costs […]

  • Avantus Completes Sale of Nation’s Largest Permitted Solar and Integrated Storage Project to AES

    LOS ANGELES and SAN FRANCISCO, Calif — June 7, 2023 — Avantus (formerly 8minute) today announced the sale of the Bellefield project, the nation’s largest permitted solar project with integrated storage, to The AES Corporation. Located in Kern County, California, Bellefield will feature a total of one-gigawatt of solar and up to one-gigawatt of energy storage […]