solar pv

  • Federal Policies and Incentives Drive Demand for American-Made Solar Power Modules

    The U.S. was one of the world leaders in solar equipment manufacturing a few decades ago, but then the Chinese stole the show. Now, however, American companies are finding a lot of new opportunities as a

  • Grids Brace for Solar Eclipse, Totality Poised to Test Ramping

    Grid operators across the U.S. report they are largely prepared for the total solar eclipse that will pass over a large swath of North America on April 8, though they remain vigilant, monitoring for any unexpected shifts in power generation or demand that could test the power system’s resilience. The much-anticipated solar eclipse will begin […]

  • 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

  • Effects of Evolving NatCat Risks on Reliability and Insurability of Renewable Assets

    News on extreme weather events in the U.S. report an increase in both frequency and size over the last couple of years, including thunderstorms, tornadoes, convective storms, flash floods, hurricanes, and winter storms. This has a massive impact on a renewable energy asset’s reliability and insurability; there have even been cases where lenders won’t approve […]

  • ACWA Power set to enter Indonesia with two floating solar PV projects

    Saguling and Singkarak projects represent a 110MWac combined capacity and US$105million in investment value Facilities are ACWA Power’s first floating solar PV projects in its 60+asset portfolio Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, November 01, 2022:  ACWA Power Company, a leading Saudi developer, investor, and operator of power generation, water desalination and green hydrogen plants, today announced […]

  • Evolving Extreme Weather Risks Posing Unprecedented Insurance Woes for Renewables

    Unexpectedly steep financial losses suffered by the U.S. renewables market owing to a barrage of extreme weather events over the past summer suggest that project hardening strategies aren’t going far enough, a major renewables insurer is warning. GCube, an international insurer for wind, solar, wave, hydro, and tidal projects around the world in an update […]

  • IEA Calls for More Diverse Solar PV Supply Chains

    The International Energy Agency (IEA) is urging the development of more diverse solar PV supply chains, suggesting the sector’s heavy reliance on China has led to imbalances that pose risks to its future growth. A dedicated study of the world’s solar PV supply chain issued by the Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization on July 7 acknowledges that government […]

  • RWE’s U.S. Hickory Park solar project with co-located storage facility in operation

    195.5 megawatt facility located in southwest Georgia Solar PV array coupled with 40 megawatt 2-hour battery energy storage system Project has a 30-year utility contract Power Purchase Agreement with Georgia Power AUSTIN, Texas, June 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Silvia Ortin, CEO RWE Renewables Americas: “Projects like Hickory Park, With its co-located battery storage systems, will […]

  • Ecuador’s Power Grid Gets a Massive Makeover

    Over the past two decades, Ecuador has added a lot of hydroelectric power to its mix. Going forward, natural gas generation is expected to play more of a role in maintaining reliability and adding flexibility

  • Mammoth 1.1 GW/2 GWh Solar+Storage Project Takes Shape in California

    California is set to host one of the world’s largest standalone renewable hybrid projects. Slated to come online in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Edwards & Sanborn project in Kern County will feature 1,118 MW of solar and 2,165 MWh of energy storage.  Renewable developer Terra-Gen on Dec. 10 announced an agreement with engineering […]

  • Projected Development of Renewables in Cuba

    As part of Cuba’s National Economic and Social Development Plan for 2030, the country aspires to increase the share of renewable energy on its electric grid to 24%. To accomplish this objective, the

  • What’s the Cheapest New-Build Power Technology?

    Onshore wind and photovoltaic (PV) solar power are the cheapest forms of new-build power generation for at least two-thirds of the world’s population, according to analysis published by research company BloombergNEF (BNEF). Meanwhile, battery storage has become the lowest-cost new-build technology for peaking purposes in gas-importing regions, such as Europe, China, and Japan. BNEF reported […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE [Infographic]: Solar’s Explosive Growth

    According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) World Energy Outlook 2019, solar photovoltaic (PV) is set to become the largest source of installed electrical capacity in about 2035, if countries pursue policies as planned. By 2040, solar could make up 24% of global installed capacity—up from 7% in 2018—but its share of generation could hover […]

  • Why the 2010s Were a Definitive Decade for Power

    Every one of the 13 decades that POWER magazine has been in print has been definitive for electric generation technology, policy, and business in some significant way, but few have been as transformative as the 2010s. The decade opened just as the global economy began to crawl toward recovery from a historically unprecedented downturn that […]

  • California’s Largest Battery Storage Installation to Be Installed in Mojave Desert

    The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Glendale Water and Power, through the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), on May 16, 2019, received SCPPA’s approval on agreements with 8minute Solar Energy (8mSE) for the installation of a 300-MW/1,200-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) located at 8mSE’s Eland Solar and Storage Center. […]

  • GE Is Banking on Africa’s Burgeoning Power Market

    Sub-Saharan Africa’s power generation capacity is projected to surge 4% annually through 2040, and its current energy mix—which is today dominated by hydro and coal—will likely be more diversified as interest rises in renewables such as solar and wind, General Electric (GE) said in a white paper surveying market opportunities in the region that it […]

  • NV Energy Accelerates Retirement of One of Nevada’s Last Coal Units

    NV Energy plans to retire a 254-MW coal-fired unit in a power-constrained region of Nevada at the end of 2021, four years ahead of schedule. The company will instead purchase 1,001 MW from new solar photovoltaic projects equipped with 100 MW of long-term battery storage, effectively doubling its total renewable generation from 14% in 2017 […]

  • China Sets a New Renewable Portfolio Standard

    China in mid-September increased its renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 35% of electricity consumption by 2030. The country has already heavily invested in wind and solar, and it anticipates more gains will

  • SCE Seeks New Distributed Energy Resources in the Goleta Area

    Request for Offers issued for resources to bolster local grid resiliency. ROSEMEAD, Calif., March 6, 2017 — Southern California Edison has launched a Request for Offers (RFO) to acquire new distributed energy resources to bolster grid resiliency in the Santa Barbara-Goleta area. The RFO is seeking a range of new distributed energy resources including: energy […]

  • New Solar Roads Unveiled

    Solar roadways—roads that incorporate embedded photovoltaic cells—have piqued interest for several years. A few examples are finally being rolled out, though their practical applications are still being evaluated. On December 20, global transport infrastructure group Colas completed installing a solar panel paving system it calls “Wattway” (Figure 5) over 50 square meters (m2) at the […]

  • Jordan Gets 52.5-MW Solar PV Plant

    A 52.5-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant commissioned this October in Jordan will generate about 1% of the Middle Eastern nation’s power (Figure 5). 5. Solar carpet. The 52.5-MW Shams Ma’an Solar Power Plant in Jordan was commissioned this October. Courtesy: Business Wire The plant uses more than 600,000 Series 4 thin-film modules manufactured by Arizona-headquartered […]

  • The State of Solar: New Tech, Outdated Rate Designs

    As installed capacity in the U.S. continues its breakneck growth, the solar photovoltaic sector is poised for another leap forward with a variety of new technologies—if increasingly ill-suited regulations and rate designs can be updated to keep pace. The global solar market has moved beyond its early, uncertain days. The luxury of behaving like start-ups […]

  • Wärtsilä strengthens its energy system integration capabilities – establishes partnership with Greensmith Energy

    Wärtsilä Corporation, Trade press release, 19 July 2016 at 14.00 EET Wärtsilä today announced that it has entered into a cooperation agreement with U.S. -based Greensmith Energy, the aim of which is to further strengthen its energy system integration capabilities. Greensmith Energy, a leading provider of energy storage software and integration services, will provide the […]

  • Solar PV Capacity Factors a Mix of Insolation and Design

    Utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) generation has exploded over the past few years. From nearly nothing in the late 2000s, the U.S. now has more than 10 GW of utility-scale solar PV in operation according to the Energy Information Administration. That figure should continue to grow strongly because of the recent extension of the investment tax […]

  • New Options for Solar PV

    The global market for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels shows no signs of slowing down, with cumulative installed capacity expected to reach 700 GW and annual demand to pass 100 GW by 2020, according to GTM Research. This booming market has spurred manufacturers to introduce a variety of innovations intended to increase panel efficiency and reduce […]

  • The Solar PV Economics Conundrum

    Will rooftop solar photovoltaics be the most economical way to deploy today’s hottest new generating technology, or will central utility solar PV systems be the best economic bet? Is there a third way? The answer appears to be “yes.” Solar photovoltaic (PV) power has emerged as the hottest new trend in renewable energy generation, primarily […]

  • Study: Perovskite-Silicon Tandems Provide Big Boost to Solar Efficiency

    Stacking perovskites, a crystalline material, onto a conventional silicon solar cell may dramatically improve the overall efficiency of the cell, scientists from Stanford University concluded in a new study. “Right now, silicon solar cells dominate the world market, but the power conversion efficiency of silicon photovoltaics has been stuck at 25% for 15 years,” explained […]