Author: cindy k

The US solar industry will soon be able to take advantage of home-made solar cells. Enel North America, through its subsidiary 3Sun USA, announced its plans to build a silicon solar cell production facility in the United States with an expected minimum production capacity of 3 GW. Credit: Enel “Recent policy tailwinds from the Inflation Reduction Act serve as a catalyst for our US solar manufacturing ambitions, ushering in a new era of American-made energy,” said Enrico Viale, head of Enel North America. “With this announcement, our goal is to build a strong home solar supply chain that accelerates and…

With the anticipated initial decision of the AD/CVD prevention investigation of the Dept. of Commerce pushed to December 1, SEIA and 240 solar companies sent a letter to Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo requesting that she dismiss the original petition. Credit: Namaste Solar The Commerce investigation began in March 2022 after California-based solar panel assembler Auxin Solar petitioned for a review of Chinese solar panel manufacturers moving parts of their manufacturing operations to Southeast Asia as a way to avoid anti-dumping / countervailing duties (AD / CVD) in place against Chinese solar manufacturers since 2012. In particular, Auxin wants a deeper…

Real estate developer Vita Nuova and solar contractor AC Power have partnered to develop PV projects on previously contaminated sites. The collaboration has a shared goal of sustainably redeveloping unused assets and rebuilding communities. Credit: AC Power “Vita Nuova seeks to expand its work on the sustainable reuse of affected and underutilized sites by creating this strategic alliance with AC Power. We appreciate their focus on previously disturbed land rather than greenfields, ” said Michael B. Taylor, president of Vita Nuova. Vita Nuova specializes in site renewal, land reuse planning and community revitalization. It serves public and private entities, rehabilitating…

By means of SPW | November 16, 2022Esdec Solar Group announced today that it has received bronze certification through the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Certification Program from the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA). Obtaining this certification demonstrates Esdec Solar Group’s commitment to creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace and culture in the solar industry. Esdec Solar Group has begun the process of achieving Silver certification, which includes a focused review of its hiring practices, benefits policy, management training and more. “At Esdec Solar Group, we see a strong link between the corporate culture that strongly supports Diversity,…

First Solar has chosen north Alabama as the location for its fourth US solar module manufacturing facility. The new thin-film factory is part of the first announced investment to grow First Solar’s American manufacturing footprint to 10 GW by 2025. The planned factory in the Mallard Fox Industrial Park outside Decatur, Alabama, represents an investment of approximately $ 1.1 billion and is expected to be commissioned in 2025, with a planned annual capacity of 3.5 GW. The new fully vertically integrated facility will join three factories in Ohio, including one scheduled to come online in the first half of 2023.…

Abigail Ross Hopper More than 240 solar and storage companies are pleading with Secretary Gina Raimondo to drop a petition for new anti-circumvention tariffs on solar products as a critical US Department of Commerce deadline approaches, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. (SEIA). The Department of Commerce must make a preliminary determination in the anti-circumvention case of Auxin Solar on December 1, and the companies in this letter explain that an affirmative determination is unreasonable and will once again prevent the America’s ability to deploy clean energy. “President Biden took an important step this…

Eric McAfee Building has begun for the TotalEnergies and Schneider Electrical photo voltaic microgrid system with a 2 MW photovoltaic (PV) array and a 1.25 MW battery power storage system. As soon as development is full, the microgrid can be built-in into the brand new Rockwell/Allen Bradley distributed management system (DCS) at Aemetis Inc.’s Aemetis Superior Fuels biorefinery in Keyes, Calif. The photo voltaic array generates roughly 3.2 million kWh per 12 months. The foundations of the photo voltaic array are actually being constructed, with the undertaking anticipated to be accomplished within the second quarter of 2023. TotalEnergies serves because…

TotalEnergies and Schneider Electric have begun construction of a 2-MW solar microgrid system with a 1.25-MW battery energy storage system in California. Once construction is complete, the solar microgrid will be integrated into the new Rockwell/Allen Bradley distributed control system (DCS) at natural gas producer Aemetis’ Advanced Fuels biorefinery in Keyes. The foundations of the solar array are now being built, with the project expected to be completed in Q2 2023. TotalEnergies serves as the project’s PV supplier as well as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. “The microgrid creates energy stability and helps with off-peak load shedding and…

JinkoSolar announced that it reached 23.86% efficiency for the 182-mm n-type TOPCon module. The result is independently tested and confirmed by TÜV Rheinland. The module adopts JinkoSolar’s latest TOPCon cell technology and advanced welding and packaging technology and achieves a conversion efficiency of 23.86% for the first time for a 2-mm2 over large size solar modules. Advanced welding and packaging technology effectively reduces the internal resistance loss of the module, while greatly improving the conversion efficiency. In addition, this lab result has a practical foundation to be introduced to mass production, and technically sets the direction for mass production of…

Renewable energy developer Longroad Energy has funded and begun construction of the Three Corners Solar project in Kennebec County, Maine. The approximately $200 million project has been in development for five years, and when completed in late 2023 or early 2024, will be the largest solar project in Maine. Credit: Longroad Energy “We are pleased to have reached this important milestone and are grateful for the support of the towns of Benton and Clinton, Kennebec County and the residents of the area,” said Matt Kearns, chief development officer of Longroad Energy and a resident of Scarborough. “Two hundred million dollar…