Which solar inverter manufacturers are most financially stable?  Sinovoltaics, in its latest financial stability ranking of inverter manufacturers lists Hoymiles, Eaton and others at the top. 

Biden issues new proclamation on solar cell tariffs  Tariffs on solar cells remain, but volume increases from 5 GW to 12.5 GW.

What happens when solar is installed without homeowner’s permission A Connecticut couple and several companies including Sunrun have been sued by the state’s Attorney General for forging signatures, faking a voices, and unlawfully installing solar panels on a home without the owners’ consent.

Ebon Solar to invest nearly $1 billion in U.S. solar cell factory The solar cell manufacturing facility is to be located in New Mexico and expected to bring over 900 jobs to the area.

IRA 2-year anniversary: A look at its successes and failures David Burton, attorney with Norton Rose Fulbright and specialist in energy tax law, looks at tax credit transfer, domestic content, energy communities, prevailing wage and more.

SunPower goes bankrupt The company, one of the longest running solar companies in the U.S., spun off its manufacturing business in 2020 to focus more squarely on rooftop solar as demand surged. Since then, demand cooled considerably, and, under a high interest rate environment, the strategy proved fatal for the company.

Goldman Sachs invests $440 million in renewable independent power producer  The strategic investment in BrightNight will support the development of utility, commercial, and industrial solar and energy storage projects.

More money is going into solar than all other forms of generation combined, reaching $500 billion in 2024 The International Energy Agency projects that solar will attract more investment than all other electricity generation sources combined. Global energy spending is set to surpass $3 trillion for the first time this year.

Republicans request continuation of IRA post-January Eighteen Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives have urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to preserve the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) if their party takes control of the political reins in January.

Sunrun stock rises on strong cash generation in Q2 earnings The residential solar and energy storage provider increased its battery attachment rates and net subscriber value of its customers.

The evolving art and science of agrivoltaics At Bluewave, integrating solar technology with traditional farming practices isn’t just a concept, it’s the new standard. Jesse Robertson-DuBois, director of sustainable solar development, shares insights on the transformative journey of agrivoltaics within the industry.

Renewables “cheaper and faster” than methane, says nation’s largest utility NextEra’s Q2 2024 quarterly earnings report shows significant growth in the company’s renewable pipeline. However, the group, which is typically exacting, refused to put a hard number on their future demand growth expectations.

Battery fire shuts down California highway A utility-scale battery delivery overturned on a highway after the truck carrying the batteries collided with a car, overcorrected, tipped to the side and dumped its cargo, leading to a fire that lasted more than 24 hours.

Bill aims to cut 45X tax credits for Chinese solar makers While the lucrative tax credits has attracted clean energy manufacturers from around the world to build factories in the U.S., the fact that many of the new manufacturing facilities are from Chinese companies has created a controversy that this new bill aims to solve.

Massive 900 MW solar project designed to preserve agricultural land Brookfield Renewable Partners filed a notice of intent for a 900 MW solar project in Oregon that will be installed in ribbons along the edge of a field to allow for continued agricultural use of the land

Residential solar company SunPower stock crashes 70% The company’s share price fell below $1 as it announced it is halting some operations and ending its lease and power purchase agreement offerings, among other actions.

How long do residential solar panels last? Multiple factors affect the productive lifespan of a residential solar panel. In the first part of this series, we look at the solar panels themselves.

U.S. Senators introduce comprehensive energy permitting reform act Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) released the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, promising to accelerate the permitting processes for energy and mineral projects of all types in the U.S.

WoodMac says global solar tracker shipments grew by 28% in 2023 Global tracker shipments reached 92 GWdc last year, according to WoodMackenzies’ latest report. The US accounted for the majority of the global market, with three US-based manufacturers, Nextracker, Array Technologies and GameChange Solar, ranking as the three largest shippers in the world.

Interview: My experience as a battery energy storage homeowner What is it like being a residential solar and energy storage prosumer living in California? Ahmad Faruqui, economist-at-large, shares his perspective with pv magazine USA .

Elastocalorics could replace heat pumps, air conditioning systems Elastocalorics have the potential to replace current air conditioning and heating systems, offering significant energy savings when paired with technologies such as photovoltaics.

First Solar probes potential infringement of TOPCon patents First Solar says it is evaluating potential infringement of its patents for its TOPCon tech, secured through the acquisition of TetraSun in 2013. The U.S. thin-film solar module manufacturer has not named the companies involved or given a timeline for the investigation.

First Solar, Inc. commissioned its new research and development (R&D) innovation center in Lake Township, Ohio, which the company says 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 architect of the company’s cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor platform.

According to a study by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), in 2023 CdTe represented  about 16% of the U.S. solar market. First Solar is a leader in CdTe technology and differentiates itself not only by the use of the thin film technology, but also by its vertically integrated manufacturing process, domestic production and commitment to responsible solar. At the company’s California Technology Center (CTC) in Santa Clara, First Solar recently achieved a 23.1% efficient CdTe cell, a new world record certified by NREL.

“Thin films are the next technological battleground for the solar industry because they are key to commercializing tandem devices, which are anticipated to be the next disruption in photovoltaics,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar. “While the United States leads the world in thin film PV, China is racing to close the innovation gap. We expect that this crucial investment in R&D infrastructure will help maintain our nation’s strategic advantage in thin film, accelerating the cycles of innovation needed to ensure that the next disruptive, transformative solar technology will be American-made.”

The new research facility covers 1.3 million square feet and includes a high-tech pilot manufacturing line allowing for the production of full-sized prototypes of thin film and tandem PV modules. Prior to the commissioning of the Jim Nolan Center, First Solar was using a manufacturing line at its Perrysburg, Ohio facility for product development efforts. With a dedicated R&D center, First Solar expect to “accelerate innovation cycles.”

The company reports that it will have approximately a half-billion dollars invested in R&D and that building out R&D infrastructure will create approximately 300 new jobs by 2025, the majority of which will be located at the Jim Nolan Center.

First Solar is also involved in perovskite solar development after announcing last year the acquisition of Evolar, the Swedish perovskite specialist. First Solar said in a statement that the acquisition will accelerate the development of next generation PV technology, including high efficiency tandem devices. It aims to integrate Evolar’s know-how with its existing research and development streams, intellectual property portfolio, and expertise in developing and commercially scaling thin-film PV.

In addition to R&D planned at the Jim Nolan Center, the company expects to also commission a perovskite development line at its Perrysburg, Ohio, campus in the second half of 2024.

First Solar reports it has invested almost $2 billion in R&D, operates laboratories in Santa Clara, California, and Perrysburg, Ohio, in the US, and Uppsala in Sweden.

At the end of 2023 First Solar had 16.6 GW of annual global nameplate manufacturing capacity and is expected to achieve over 25 GW of capacity by 2026. First Solar expects to commission new manufacturing facilities in Alabama in the second half of 2024 and Louisiana in the second half of 2025, bringing its total U.S. nameplate capacity to 14 GW by 2026.

Utility-scale agrivoltaic installation in Ohio is now operational Savion developed the 180 MW solar power plant located in Madison County, one of the first operating utility-scale solar sites to integrate soybeans, alfalfa and forage crop production within the array.

Solar trade group sets standards for ethical solar practices The Solar Energy Industries Association seeks public comment on two standards designed to ensure transparent, ethical solar sales practices and to raise the bar for safety and durability of rooftop solar and storage installations.

With acquisition of Lyra, Aurora adds automated permitting to its toolbox Lyra provides permit packaging software that automates permit-ready solar designs.

Trial by fire: Inside Sungrow’s thermal event testing Sungrow says the industry needs to do more to increase public confidence in lithium-ion battery storage.

Solar electricity “a good idea” for 83% of poll respondents Support for solar electricity has declined by 8% since 2013, according to a recent RMI poll.

Solar nears 9% of U.S. total electric generation capacity The monthly energy infrastructure update from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) shows solar accounted for nearly 80% of capacity additions in May, continuing its dominance of new-build generation.

Mission Solar introduces modules for C&I and utility-scale The residential solar panel manufacturer introduced large format bifacial solar modules for larger projects.

Savion, a Shell Group portfolio company, announced that the Madison Fields Solar Project (MFSP) has achieved commercial operation.

The 180 MW solar power plant is located in Madison County, Ohio and is one of the first operating utility-scale solar sites to intentionally integrate soybeans, alfalfa and forage crop production within the array.

Savion developed and built the project and will share ownership equally with InfraRed Capital Partners. Shell is the asset manager of the project.

A local public hearing was conducted online in December 2020, where 13 of the 14 registered witnesses elected to provide testimony. Ten individuals testified in support of the proposed facility, while two people expressed opposition, and one individual requested that the applicant consider specific environmental management practices at the facility.

Savion entered into a long-term power purchase agreement with Amazon as the sole offtaker for electricity generated by MFSP. Over the next 35 to 40 years, the solar plant is expected to produce enough energy to power approximately 38,000 Ohio homes annually. The project will connect to the regional power grid controlled by PJM and is expected to contribute $1.62 million annually to local taxing entities throughout the life of the project, according to Savion.

“Today, we are not only celebrating the commencement of Savion’s first constructed and owned project but also how it contributes to our diverse renewable energy development work across the United States,” said Nick Lincon, president of Savion.

The installation is made up of 420,000 solar modules on single-axis trackers. The agrivoltaic aspect of MFSP was designed by Savion’s wholly owned subsidiary, Between the Rows, a company that Savion said is dedicated to “think like farmers” across all phases of utility-scale projects, including development, construction, operation, and decommissioning.

Between the Rows partnered with The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences in actively testing and growing forage crops, including hay and alfalfa, along with soil health and precision agriculture. Once the crops and grasses come in, the plan is to graze livestock on the site. 

The construction area is 1,696 acres with about 1,280 acres inside the fence, 125 of which are planted with corn and soybeans. The 415 acres outside the fence will be vegetated or returned to farming, Savion reports. During construction trees were cleared from a 4.3-acre area of the site, which represented less than 1% of the total project footprint.

Savion reports that with the operation of Madison Fields it now has 1.8 GW in operation, under contract or under construction.

Ohio-based Toledo Solar, a cadmium telluride thin-film solar panel manufacturer announced it will end all research and development efforts and will wind down operations effective immediately.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to license certain technology needed to manufacture the cadmium telluride panels we were developing for the residential, commercial and industrial markets we were targeting,” said Tom Pratt, interim president, treasurer, and secretary of Toledo Solar.

Toledo had a 100 MW production line of modules for residential, commercial, and community scale solar projects.

Major cadmium telluride thin-film solar panel producer First Solar filed a lawsuit against Toledo Solar in 2023, that led to this business closure. It alleged that Toledo Solar sold Malaysian-made First Solar modules under the Toledo name, claiming they were made in America.

The companies settled out of the lawsuit, and Toledo Solar’s chief executive officer exited the company. Pratt and his group at Applied Business Strategy LLC joined the Toledo team after the CEO exit.

“Once it was determined that we did not have access to the appropriate technology, we pivoted to a different business model, but the hurdles to success were determined to be too high. Ultimately, the Toledo Solar Board determined that there was no viable path to continue the business and they have voted to cease operations,” concluded Pratt.

Origami Solar announced partnerships with three steel fabricators who will domestically produce steel solar module frames. The fabricators include with Welser Profile of Valley City, Ohio; Priefert, of Mt. Pleasant, Texas; and Unimacts of Houston, Texas. Origami expects to be able to ship steel frames to customers in the first quarter of 2025, and by producing regionally says that frames will get from the fabricator to the module manufacturer in one to two days.

“America has one of the world’s strongest steel industries” said Origami Solar CEO Gregg Patterson. “We have the energy efficient steel mills and the world-class fabricators that can produce every solar frame America will ever need.”

Origami Solar, founded in 2019 and based in Bend, Oregon, is a pv magazine 2023 award winner for manufacturing. The company produces patented, steel solar module frames that are said to lower cost and improve module performance. The company reports that the frames are made of “green” recycled steel, thereby reducing greenhouse gases by up to 93%, representing a reduction of 80 kg per module or 200 metric tons per MW.

A recent report by Wood Mackenzie and Origami Solar notes that while the U.S. is working toward building up its domestic module manufacturing, thanks for the IRA, a less well-known problem is U.S. dependence on aluminum module frames. The majority of these are currently imported from East and Southeast Asia, and the report says that they are all made from carbon-intensive aluminum.

Origami sees an opportunity to supply module manufacturers in the U.S. market who are switching from imported aluminum frames to domestically made steel frames. Its use of recycled steel from suppliers in the U.S. and Europe in its frames give it a competitive edge when it comes to greenhouse gas scoring as assessed by Boundless Impact

Patterson points out that by having regional fabrication centers in the U.S., customers will avoid “shipping issues, labor strife, or impoundments delaying the arrival of the frames they need.” He added that by procuring domestically produced steel frames customers won’t have the worry of “geopolitical tensions” or “ever-increasing tariffs.” In light of recent news about fragile solar panels, he noted that steel frames may alleviate the risk of frames failing to support ever-larger solar panels.

Switching to domestically produced products across the solar supply chain has the further benefit of supporting good-paying jobs.

“Thanks to our partnership with Origami, we were able to expand our investments in the solar industry, keep our Benton, Arkansas facility open, keep our current employees hard at work and expand to up to 70 additional skilled workers over the next three years,” said Rocky Christenberry, Priefert’s executive vice president

From pv magazine Global

A research group at the University of Toledo in the United States has designed a four-terminal (4T) tandem solar cell with a top device relying on a perovskite absorber with a tunable wide-bandgap and a bottom cell using a commercially established narrow-bandgap absorber technology made of cadmium telluride (CdTe).

“While a lot of work has been done on perovskite-silicon, perovskite-CIGS, and perovskite-perovskite tandem cells, perovskite-cadmium telluride tandem solar cells are relatively unexplored,” the scientists said. “Although the efficiency potential of CdTe-based tandems is likely lower than CIGS-based tandems due to the higher bandgap of the CdTe bottom cell, the broader commercial success of CdTe solar cells makes them a point of interest in investigating thin-film tandem applications.”

The academics said a key element of the solar cell is the transparent back contact (TBC) technology used for the top tunable wide-bandgap perovskite cell. For the construction of these contacts, they used indium zinc oxide (IZO) as an alternative to well-established indium tin oxide (ITO).

They prepared the IZO films through the radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering technique, which is an approach involving alternating the electrical potential of the current in a vacuum environment at RFs.

They also explained that their efforts were aimed at identifying the ideal IZO thickness, as this plays a crucial role in improving the performance and optical transmittance of the semitransparent perovskite top cell by increasing the perovskite bandgap allowing more long-wavelength photons to transmit and enter the CdSeTe bottom cell. In turn, this compensates for a typical optical loss factor in a 4T tandem configuration.

The top cell was constructed with a substrate made of glass and indium tin oxide (ITO), a hole transport layer (HTL) made of nickel(II) oxide (NiOx), a layer made of a phosphonic acid called methyl-substituted carbazole (Me-4PACz), the perovskite absorber, an electron transport layer (ETL) relying on buckminsterfullerene (C60), a tin oxide (SnOx) buffer layer, and the IZO back contact.

The bottom cell was designed to have a substrate made of glass and ITO, an ETL made of tin oxide (SnO2), a cadmium telluride (CdTe) absorber, a cadmium selenium telluride (CdSeTe) layer, a copper thiocyanate (CuSCN) HTL, and a gold metal contact.

Both cells were covered with an anti-reflecting coating.

The best tandem cell configuration was achieved when the absorber of the top cell was tuned to have an energy bandgap of 1.76 eV. With this value, the device reached an overall power conversion efficiency of 25.1%.

The top cell was found to achieve an efficiency of 17.93%, an open-circuit voltage of 1.315 V, a short-circuit current of density of 17.11 mA cm², and a fill factor of 79.7%. The bottom cell showed an efficiency of 7.13%, an open-circuit voltage of 0.842 V, a short-circuit current of density of 11.15 mA cm², and a fill factor of 76.0%.

“The result proves the concept that 4T perovskite–CdSeTe tandem configuration can be used to improve the efficiency of commercial CdSeTe thin-film solar cells,” the researchers stated, adding they are currently outlining a roadmap to increase the device’s efficiency to 30%. “Our analysis reveals that high-efficiency 4T perovskite–CdSeTe tandem solar cells are feasible with the future advance of both PV cells.”

The details of the new cell design can be found in the study “Four-Terminal Perovskite–CdSeTe Tandem Solar Cells: From 25% toward 30% Power Conversion Efficiency and Beyond,” which was recently published in RRL Solar.

The University of Toledo developed several types of CdTe solar cells over the past years. The devices include, among others, a 20%-efficient cell based on a commercial tin(IV) oxide (SnO₂) buffer layer, a 17.4%-efficient device using a layer of copper-aluminum oxide to the rear side of the CdTe thin film, and a solar cell based on an indium gallium oxide (IGO) emitter layer and a cadmium stannate (CTO) transparent conductor as the front electrode.

A recent report by the International Energy Agency said lithium-ion batteries remain the key storage technology for the energy and transportation sectors. While mining for lithium is keeping pace with increasing demand, lithium refining and production of battery packs is concentrated in China, which causes some concerns in the West over supply chains and market dominance.

Sodium is emerging as a viable material for solid state batteries for many of the same energy storage applications that now favor lithium-ion systems.

Bor Jang, chief science officer and board chairman of Solidion Technology, an Ohio-based developer of solid battery technologies, told pv magazine USA that as many countries become dependent on batteries for important sectors of their economies, they will be prompted to search for alternative formulations to those based on lithium, which is relatively rare.

“Sodium, by contrast, is much more abundant in the Earth’s crust and oceans and is evenly distributed around the world,” he said.

In addition to its abundance, which leads to lower costs and easier supply chains, sodium-ion formulations have advantages in faster recharge rates and improved fire safety over lithium-ion ones, Jang said. The tradeoff is that sodium-ion batteries have less energy density (watts per kilogram), which translates into shorter ranges for electric vehicles and less overall storage capacity for grid operators for the same footprint.

However, Jang said, sodium-ion batteries are perfectly suited to EV uses where a 150-mile range would not be a burden, such as for local utility fleets or commuter driving, and where their faster recharge cycles would be appreciated, as would the projected lower price. Similarly, grid-storage facilities where footprint is not an issue would benefit from recharge rates and fire safety characteristics.

On the manufacturability side, Jang said sodium-ion batteries could be produced in factories that currently make lithium-ion batteries with only minor changes to the equipment.

“Solium-ion batteries have the potential to be useful across a wide range of applications, not just those dominated by lithium-ion technology” Jang said. “They can be used in place of lead-acid batteries, for example. Such demand will bring down prices.”

A materials scientist by education, Jang said he turned his attention to solid-state battery research and development about 20 years ago as the needs of the proposed energy transition from fossil fuels to non-emitting sources clearly would require a dramatic increase in energy storage capacity, particularly with renewable generators such as solar and wind. He founded a number of companies focused on the supply of materials for solid state battery electrolytes, anodes and cathodes.

Earlier this year, he saw the merger of his Honeycomb Battery Co. with Nubia Brand International Corp. which gave Solidion status as a publicly traded company. It joins a number of competitors hoping to commercialize sodium-ion batteries.

Jang said Solidion is working with the U.S. Department of Energy through one of the national laboratories, not announced, and the University of Texas, Austin, to improve the performance of sodium-ion battery technology. In particular, the focus is on improving the energy density electrolyte and replacing expensive cobalt and nickel in battery components.

Adena Power was the winner of the People’s Choice Award, chosen as the “best startup” by the 300 attendees at the 2024 National Renewable Energy Lab’s Industry Growth Forum.

Ohio-based Adena Power was selected out of a field of more than 210 to present its sodium-based energy storage products to investors and industry representatives at the Industry Growth Forum (IGF) held last week in Denver, Colorado.

“Adena team and I are thrilled to be selected to present at IGF this year,”said Nathan Cooley, co-founder and CEO. “Since the end of last year’s event, we have made it a goal to be requested to present at IGF. We see the NREL Industry Growth Forum as the best climate tech startup event on the calendar.”

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) hosts the IGF, now in its 29th year and considered one of the nation’s premier events for cleantech entrepreneurs and other industry experts.

The IGF is an opportunity for cleantech entrepreneurs, investors and experts from industry and the public sector to showcase innovative technologies and identify business solutions and to network. NREL facilitates connections between startups and motivated investors to drive innovation to market for impact. NREL is the only U.S. federal lab dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency research.

“The theme of this year’s IGF is ‘breaking ground,’ and I believe our presenters represent that well in a variety of different ways,” said NREL Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) group manager Katie Richardson. “From batteries to revolutionary software, these presenters will help us all break ground through innovation. There is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ deployment strategy as we continue the global transition to a cleaner energy future, and that’s why it’s crucial to be in the room at IGF 2024 to learn from peers in the industry.”

Adena reports that its technology addresses all the limitations of conventional, molten sodium batteries and combines the energy density and roundtrip efficiency of li-ion batteries with the safety and lifetime of flow batteries.

With manufacturing facilities in Lewis Center, Ohio, Adena Power is in the demonstration phase of its IP-protected energy storage solution.

The company recently completed the successful demonstration of a 1 kWh battery module and reports that the test validates important components within the module and positions Adena for a larger external demonstration with a utility partner early next year.

“This successful module test finishes a very successful year for Adena Power,” said Neil Kidner, president of Adena Power. “We are looking forward to building on this result and continuing to meet our aggressive product development goals in 2023.”

Adena has been in discussions with utilities and renewable developers and is aiming to develop an energy storage solution that is safer than lithium ion, has a flexible duration and a lower installed cost. The company expects to launch our first product early in 2025.

Read about the 2023 NREL Industry Growth Forum.

The Ohio Power Siting Board has approved Savion’s Oak Run solar project, an 800 MW utility-scale solar facility with 300 MW of co-located energy storage. The project was approved despite public opposition, which mostly centered around “not-in-my-backyard” (NIMBY) concerns.

“The Madison County Board of County Commissioners have determined the Oak Run Solar Project’s impacts greatly outweigh the project’s benefits to the community, therefore not satisfying the requirements of public interest, convenience, and necessity for the residents of Madison County,” said Rob Slane, Madison County administrator in a public comment filing.

Local tax revenues for Madison County, Ohio are estimated to range between $242 million and $504 million over the 30 to 35 year life of the solar facility. Building the project is expected to result in the creation of over 3,000 construction jobs. A full economic analysis for public record can be found here. A record of public comments and related documents reviewed by the siting board can be found here.

The massive solar project will be installed on 6,000 acres of land in rural Madison County, Ohio. It is expected to reach commercial operations coming online in phases starting in 2025. Over 63 permanent operations and maintenance jobs are expected to be created when the project is operational.

Oak Run solar’s plans include 300 MW of Tesla battery energy storage, which is expected to have a 20-year lifespan. Design submissions on public record call for the installation of modules supplied by most Tier 1 solar module providers, including Canadian Solar, JA Solar, Jinko Solar, Longi, Maxeon, Titan Vertex/Trina Solar, VSun, and US-based First Solar. Trackers may include single-axis tracking from GameChange Solar, Nextracker, Array Technologies, and FTC Voyager. Sungrow was selected as inverter provider.

As much as $300 million in funding would be generated for local public schools in direct result of the project.

The report included an economic land use analysis regarding the purchase of the agricultural land for the new facility.

“I believe projects like Oak Run will be able to provide more opportunities for long-term investments that will make sure our county has the resources to ensure our school systems are well funded and there are job opportunities,” said resident Gabriel Torres in public comment.

“What a tragedy. Oak run project. 5,000 acres of corn equal 1,100,000 bushels of corn every year. Over 50% Kokomo soil, some of the best in the world. I am not against solar panels. I am against solar panels replacing GOD given soil. No amount of money is worth our soil,” said resident Tim Kronk in public comment.

Using a real-options analysis, the land use dollar value of solar purchasing far exceeds the value for agricultural use in Madison County.

The price of corn would need to rise to $21.31 per bushel or yields for corn would need to rise to 462.6 bushels per acre by the year 2056 for corn farming to generate more income for the landowner and local community than the annualized solar payment. At the time of the report, September 2022, corn was sold for $5.45 per bushel and yields were 210.1 bushels per acre. 

Alternatively, the price of soybeans would need to rise to $62.55 per bushel or yields for soybeans would need to rise to 167.2 bushels per acre by the year 2056 for soybean farming to generate more income than Oak Run. At the time of this report, soybean prices were $13.10 per bushel respectively and yields were 62.2 bushels per acre.

The use of farmland highlights the potential for agrivoltaics. Co-locating crop production with solar energy facilities, is a practice being evaluated worldwide for mutual benefits to both the solar equipment and the yield of crops.

Doral Renewables announced it has secured financing for the Great Bend Solar project, a 48 MW facility to be located in Meigs County, Ohio. The solar project marks Doral’s first in Ohio.

HBSC acted as sole lender, providing $114 million financing, which consisted of a $36 million construction-to-loan facility, $57 million tax equity bridge loan, and a $21 million letter of credit facility.

Once in operation, the project will supply power to the PJM regional transmission operator via a power purchase agreement (PPA), generating enough electricity roughly equivalent to the demand of 9,000 homes. The Great Bend Solar project is located on 370 acres about 100 miles against southeast of Columbus. The single-axis tracker project is expected to provide over $400,000 per year of new annual tax revenues for the county.

“We are thrilled to have collaborated with HSBC to raise this innovative project debt which will enable us to bring Great Bend Solar, our first project in the Buckeye State, to commercial operation around the end of 2025,” said Evan Speece, chief financial officer at Doral Renewables.

PJM

A report from LevelTen Energy said permitting challenges, a lack of construction companies available in the region, and a projected increase to PJM electricity prices over the next 10 to 15 years are driving higher prices. A lack of transmission to deliver clean energy to areas with high demand is also driving congestion and basis risks, thereby driving up prices.

LevelTen said In PJM, solar PPA prices increased 12% in-quarter. PJM’s solar P25 prices have now risen 31% year-over-year.

Analysis by nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) found that PJM grid operator could enable interconnection of 4.8 GW of solar and 0.7 GW of wind capacity by 2027 through 95 deployments of grid-enhancing technologies (GETs). GETs would also enable 1.1 GW of stand-alone storage plus additional storage co-located with new solar.

The GETs would cost $100 million and yield production cost savings of $7 billion over six years, mostly due to the lower cost of operating renewable energy generators enabled by GETs, the report says. That translates to a 70-to-1 benefit-cost ratio.

PJM is the world’s largest wholesale electricity market, the report says, serving 65 million people; its service area is shown on map above. Wind and solar combined provided less than 5% of generation in the PJM region last year. PJM has instituted a pause on new interconnection applications until 2026.

HBSC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a bank that originated in Hong Kong and now headquartered in London with offices, branches and subsidiaries in 62 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America.

In 2023, every segment of solar in the United States saw year-over-year growth in installations. Cumulative solar capacity stood at 177 GW by the end of the year, and utility-scale solar alone added 22.5 GW, a record year.

Solar has been on an upswing across the nation, with more than half the states with 1 GW of total installed solar capacity.

The industry has been lifted in part by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a largest-ever spending package for climate and energy. The legislation contains numerous provisions to support the U.S. solar industry, among other clean energy technologies, including a long-term extension of the federal investment tax credit, significant domestic manufacturing incentives, labor standards, energy production tax credits and more.

Since passage of the IRA, over $240 billion has been invested in clean energy manufacturing and infrastructure projects, according to a White House report. This includes over $86 billion invested in nearly 300 new solar, wind, and battery energy storage projects.

Tracking this growth, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released rankings for the top five states in terms of solar deployment across sectors.

Ohio ranked fifth in solar deployment, increasing its installation totals year-over-year by 1,230%, with 1.3 GW installed. The state has 3 GW across 20 projects in the pipeline for development.

Colorado ranked within the top five for the first time since 2010, with 1.6 GW installed. This is nearly ten times the total installed in 2022.

Florida maintained its spot as number three in solar deployment for the fifth year straight, adding a record 3.2 GW in 2023. Over 50,000 residents installed rooftop solar on their homes last year, and nearly half of Florida’s 220,000 residential solar arrays were installed in the last two years.

California ranked second, adding 6.2 GW of new solar. However, California Public Utilities Commission have significantly damaged California’s rooftop solar sector. In total, the state’s solar market is expected to decline 36% across all market segments in 2024, said SEIA.

Texas has moved to the front for solar installations, adding 6.5 GW in 2023. The 15 GW added since 2021 was more than the entire solar cumulative total installed in the United States in 2019.

“From 2024-2034, Texas will lead the nation with nearly 100 GW of new solar capacity additions, outpacing the next closest state by a two-to-one margin,” said SEIA.

From pv magazine Global

Researchers from the University of Toledo in the United States have developed a flexible cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cell based on an indium gallium oxide (IGO) emitter layer and a cadmium stannate (CTO) transparent conductor as the front electrode.

“A sputtered cadmium selenide (CdSe) layer was employed to incorporate Se into a CdTe absorber that was deposited by close-space sublimation, and copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) was used as a hole transport layer between the CdTe and the back metal electrode,” the research’s corresponding author, Manoj Kumar Jamarkattel, told pv magazine. “This device configuration offers great promise for building integrated photovoltaics, space applications, and higher-rate manufacturing.”

The scientists built the cell with a superstrate based on Corning Willow Glass, which is a flexible, ultra-thin glass manufactured by multinational technology company Corning with its own proprietary fusion draw process. They produced the CTO transparent conductor by sputtering in conjunction with a proximity anneal with CdS. The front buffer layer was comprised of an IGO alloy, prepared by co-sputtering.

Furthermore, they prepared the cell absorber by first depositing CdSe by sputtering followed by CdTe deposited by close-space sublimation. CuSCN was used as a Cu doping source and a hole-transporting back-buffer layer. The cell also relies and a gold (Au) metal contact and an anti-reflecting (AR) coating.

Tested under standard illumination conditions, the cell achieved a power conversion efficiency of 17.2%, an open-circuit voltage of 861 mV, a short-circuit density of 27.8 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 71.7%. Under air mass zero (AM0) illumination for space applications, these values dropped to 14.6%, 861 mV, 32.3 mA/cm2, and 71.2% respectively.

“We used IGO and CuSCN as front emitter and back contact buffer, respectively,” the scientists explained. “This helped to further improve the open-circuit voltage. IGO has favorable band alignment with the absorber, which minimizes carrier recombination at the front, and CuSCN helps to minimize recombination at the back interface.”

The research group added the cell achieved the highest reported device efficiency for flexible CdTe solar cells to date.

The device was presented in the paper “17.2% Efficient CdSe_xTe_1−x solar cell with (In_xGa_1−x)₂O₃ emitter on lightweight and flexible glass,” published in Applied Physics Letters.

The University of Toledo developed several types of CdTe solar cells over the past years. The devices include, among others, a 20%-efficient cell based on a commercial tin(IV) oxide (SnO₂) buffer layer and a 17.4%-efficient device using a layer of copper-aluminum oxide to the rear side of the CdTe thin film.

Solar developers EDF Renewables North America and Enbridge announced that the first phase of its Fox Squirrel Solar complex in Ohio is fully operational and delivering electricity to the PJM grid. The three-phase project is located in Madison County, Ohio. 

Represented in DC capacity ratings, Fox Squirrel’s first phase is a 194 MW project that reached operations in December 2023. Phase two will add another 325 MW, expected to be active by mid-2024, and phase three will add 230 MW, bringing the total capacity added to 749 MW.

Once complete, Fox Squirrel would be the largest solar facility in Ohio, although an 800 MW project was proposed by Savion in early 2023.

The project, among the largest in the United States, secured 20-year power purchase agreements with a “strong investment grade counterparty.” It is large enough to power the equivalent of 118,000 average Ohio homes. 

Fox Squirrel is comprised of 1.4 million solar panels and 159 inverters. During peak construction of the first phase, 650 workers were onsite, installing 10,000 panels per day. 

Enbridge invested in the project’s first phase and announced plans to reach final investment decisions on the following phases through 2024, provided certain conditions are met. 

“The project underscores our energy transition leadership and highlights our rigorous capital allocation process which targets projects that are immediately accretive to [discounted cash flow] per share and complementary to our growth outlook,” said Matthew Akman, executive vice president corporate strategy and president, power, Enbridge. 

Project developer EDF Renewables has 35 years of experience and 16 GW of solar, wind, and storage projects developed. The company is a provider of a wide range of integrated energy solutions from grid-scale power to electric vehicle charging. 

Development challenges 

Public opposition has led to several large solar projects in Ohio to be rejected. In August 2023, the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) revised its guidelines for solar facilities that exceed 50 MWac. These updates include sound regulations that extend to a mile away, modified setbacks – allowing for a 350 foot setback for non-participating neighbors – and a contingency plan in the event of a horizontal directional drilling inadvertent release of drilling fluid. 

Ohio continues to navigate development challenges due to “general opposition by local citizens and governmental bodies.” Various counties in the state have taken steps to prohibit wind and solar projects outright. To date, ten counties have implemented solar bans. Clermont County Commissioners unanimously barred large solar and wind projects in seven townships. 

The state also introduced legislation to create a community solar market. Ohio state representatives James M. Hoops (R-Napoleon) and Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) introduced the legislation, which would carve out a 1.75 GW community solar pilot program. 

Ohio University conducted an economic analysis on the program, finding that it would generate an estimated $5.6 billion in gross output and $409.5 million in local tax revenues.

Lindsay Precast, a designer, integrator and prefabricator of steel and precast structures announced the launch of a new division, Lindsay Renewables, to deliver products to the growing renewable energy market. 

The company has over 20 years of experience in the renewables space, and now has rebranded a division dedicated to renewable energy project needs. 

The company’s product set includes container integration, prefabricated skid mounted solutions, charging platforms for electric vehicles, solar ballasts for landfill applications, and substation equipment foundations within the utility and commercial and industrial (C & I) markets. 

In over 60 years in business, Lindsay Precast has deployed over 15 GW of skid-mounted solutions and hundreds of megawatts of solar ballasts. The company said the new Renewables division will operate as a full-service integrator, offering design and prefabrication support through a project’s entire lifecycle. 

The company was acquired in 2021 by MiddleGround Capital, a private equity firm in making investments in North American middle market business to business industrial and specialty distribution companies.

“As the U.S. moves toward clean energy targets while simultaneously managing aging legacy infrastructure, Lindsay Precast offers highly engineered product solutions that support renewable energy transitions and bolster national infrastructure systems,” says Lauren Mulholland, MiddleGround founding partner.

Lindsay Precast is headquartered in Canal Fulton, Ohio and has over 350 employees across 9 facilities located in Ohio, Colo., Fla, N.C., and S.C.

Toledo Solar Inc. (TSI) reached what it called an agreeable settlement in a lawsuit brought in May by First Solar.

First Solar initially filed a lawsuit against Toledo Solar, a thin-film solar module manufacturer, which, according to court filing  sold Malayasian-made First Solar modules under the Toledo name, claiming they were made in America.

First Solar stated that Toledo falsely claimed that it manufactured the solar modules that Toledo had provided for installation on the Ohio Governor’s mansion in Columbus, that Toledo falsely represent that the modules were made by Toledo in Ohio, and that Toledo advertised on social media that it manufactured certain solar modules in Ohio.

Details of the settlement are confidential; however, Toledo Solar announced a new investor-led independent board of directors and leadership team. The company said the change is to “re-affirm Toledo Solar’s commitment to US energy security by manufacturing high-quality American-made CdTe solar panels in Ohio for the residential, commercial, and industrial markets”.

Lead investor, Sean Fontenot, is the board’s new chairman and he noted that First Solar’s lawsuit came as a surprise.

“The recent First Solar complaint was a very concerning surprise. We are finalizing gathering all of the facts around this and expect to resolve the matter shortly. From our perspective, First Solar and Toledo Solar are critical partners in several critical industry programs that are important to the Government’s US Energy Security policies for American-made solar products, and we are re-dedicating our commitment to making sure this continues.”

Tom Pratt has been appointed interim president, treasurer, and secretary by Toledo Solar’s board of directors.

“I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with the Board of Directors for Toledo Solar and the impressive team, both technical and administrative, that is working hard to bring Toledo Solar’s innovative products to market,” said Pratt.

U.S. could be understating global warming impact of blue hydrogen: IEEFA report This report is the first in a series that the organization is planning, which will include analyses of producing hydrogen from coal and renewable natural gas.

Maxeon to acquire shingled cell solar patents from Complete Solaria  In addition to the solar panel patent portfolio, Maxeon will gain complete Solaria’s dealer channel operations and contracts.

Ohio community solar pilot would unlock 1.75 GW market A bill proposed in Ohio promises to generate $5.6 billion in gross economic output and over $400 million in local tax revenues, said a report from Ohio University.

Advocates are drumming up support for Ohio House Bill 197, a law that would carve out a 1.75 GW community solar program for the state. Ohio state representatives James M. Hoops (R-Napoleon) and Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) introduced the legislation.

Community solar programs involve residential and commercial electricity customers signing up for a portion of an off-site solar facility’s generation, receiving bill credits for the generated electricity. The Department of Energy said community solar customers can typically expect to see 10% to 20% savings on their annual electricity costs.

Ohio University conducted an economic analysis on the program, finding that it would generate an estima9ted $5.6 billion in gross output and $409.5 million in local tax revenues.

“IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) members have been generating and distributing energy to Ohio residents for more than 100 years, and Community Solar could only deepen that relationship, creating opportunities for Ohio workers to lead the transition to a cleaner energy future,” said IBEW International Representative Steve Crum.

House Bill 197 allows for the installation of 1,750 MW of new capacity. This includes 500 MW allocated to brownfield sites like capped landfills, retired coal facilities, and more. An additional 250 MW will be allotted for qualified sites in the Appalachian region, a region that has economically relied on coal.

The 1000 MW of standard capacity additions will be capped at 250 MW of development per year for four years, with project sizes capped at 10 MW each. Brownfield projects are capped at 20 MW and may be eligible for the Inflation Reduction Act energy community tax credit adder.

All projects in the program would be required to be constructed within five years. In total, the 1.75 GW of capacity would contribute an estimated 2% of the state’s electricity retail sales, said Ohio University. Find a recording of an informational session about the pilot program here.

“House Bill 197 isn’t just a leap towards a greener future; it’s a financial boon for our great state,” said Tristan Rader, Ohio director of Solar United Neighbors. “By unleashing billions in economic activity and pumping hundreds of millions into our local tax coffers, this community solar initiative showcases the profound win-win potential of sustainable energy.”

Ohio tightens screws on large solar facilities  The Ohio Power Siting Board has unveiled new regulations after its five year rule review, including 350 foot setbacks, sound regulations, and an underground drilling contingency plan, addressing the state’s extensive network of fracking pipes.

Arizona sues Vision Solar and lead generator Solar Xchange Arizona’s attorney general is suing Vision Solar and Solar Xchange for alleged utility impersonation, Do Not Call breaches, incentive misrepresentation, and misleading finance processes that had customers paying for solar loans before their bills were reduced.

Private investments in clean energy and manufacturing top $270 billion  While the U.S. has the financial capacity, technology and human capital, the question is whether government policy will allow for the clean energy infrastructure to be built out fast enough to achieve clean energy dominance.

California puts multi-meter rooftop solar at risk in proposed decision  The California Public Utilities Commission has returned with another proposed decision to stack the deck against rooftop solar.

GAF Timberline solar shingles recalled for fire hazard  The solar roof provider has recalled the product following property damage from thermal incidents.

The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) revised its guidelines for solar facilities that exceed 50 MWac. These updates include sound regulations that extend to a mile away, modified setbacks – allowing for a 350 foot setback for non-participating neighbors – and a contingency plan in the event of a horizontal directional drilling inadvertent release of drilling fluid.

Updated guidelines now require project developers to conduct two public information sessions prior to submitting their proposal to the OPSB. The second of these meetings must occur a minimum of 90 days before the application is filed to the OPSB. Updated guidelines now require project developers to host two public information sessions before submitting their proposal to the OPSB. The second session must be held at least 90 days prior to the application’s submission. If local authorities modify the solar project’s boundaries, a subsequent public meeting must be convened to discuss the changes, resetting the 90-day window before submission to the OPSB.

Another pivotal change is the introduction of a new noise standard. The OPSB notes that “sensitive receptors” will be positioned within a mile of the project site to ensure noise levels do not surpass the “greater of 40 dBA or the ambient daytime and nighttime average sound level (L50) by more than five dBA.”

Setback adjustments now dictate that solar panels must be a minimum of 50 feet away from non-participating parcel boundaries, at least 300 feet from non-participating homes, and no closer than 150 feet from the edge of pavement of any road inside or adjacent to the project area.

Furthermore, all solar facilities must now submit a “horizontal directional drilling inadvertent release of drilling fluid contingency plan” alongside other mandatory paperwork. This plan is designed to prepare for potential water contamination from the construction process used during boring.

Horizontal Drilling Inadvertent Return Control Plan

This boring technique is typically used to insert conduit and wiring deeper underground to prevent any adverse impact on sensitive areas such as streams and wetlands.

Interestingly, the board opted not to amend a particular rule, despite numerous public requests. The OPSB chose not to clarify the phrase “public interest, convenience, and necessity” within its rule-making terminology, a clause that has been described by the public as contentious.

This matters because the board recently rejected its third solar power project due to “general opposition by local citizens and governmental bodies.” In addition to the board’s decision, various counties in the state have taken steps to prohibit wind and solar projects outright. To date, ten counties have implemented solar bans. Just last month, Clermont County Commissioners unanimously barred large solar and wind projects in seven townships.

Ohio has a complex relationship with energy. While it is home to First Solar, a leading solar power company, the state is currently embroiled in a significant bribery scandal. Allegedly, over $60 million has been funneled to various political groups to endorse H.B. 6. This legislation provided over $1 billion in bailouts to coal and nuclear facilities owned by FirstEnergy.

After securing growth of more than 12 GW of new panel orders from utility-scale solar developers since late 2022, First Solar has signed a multi-year secured debt agreement to procure a $1 billion revolving credit facility from major Wall Street banks.

On June 30, the Tempe, Arizona-based producer of U.S.-made solar panels arranged a new credit facility that includes a sub-limit of $250 million of available letters of credit. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank is lead arranger for the new debt, with participation from Bank of America, Citibank, Credit Agricole CIB, PNC Bank, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Bank, MUFG Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Truist Bank.

“This agreement underscores First Solar’s bankability and is underpinned by the strong fundamentals that drive our business today,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar. “We are focused on exiting this decade in a stronger position than we entered it and liquidity is a crucial differentiator that we intend to maintain. This revolving credit facility provides us the financial headroom and flexibility we need, while also balancing our ability to grow in response to demand for our technology.”

First Solar has seen a period of what the company calls “unprecedented growth,” which will add 8 GW of new production capacity between the second half of 2023 and 2026, when it expects to have a global manufacturing footprint of over 20 GW.

The company disclosed booking more than 12 GW of new orders in its fiscal year 2022, with 4.8 GW since Q422 alone at an average selling price of 32 cents per watt, according to its full year 2022 report.

First Solar is scheduled to commission a new 3.4 GW manufacturing facility in India in the second half of the year while expecting to add a new 3.5 GW factory in Alabama in late 2024 and expanding its existing footprint in Ohio by 900 MW by 2026.

The company is also investing up to $370 million in constructing a new research and development center in Perrysburg, Ohio, which is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

Financial terms

With the revolving debt facility, First Solar will increase its total debt profile to $1.252 billion outstanding leverage.  Based on a market consensus that the company should generate more than $670 million in 2023 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), the solar panel producer will have a 1.87 times net leverage profile (debt to EBITDA), based on the market expectation that the company generates at least $500 million in EBITDA in the second half of 2023.

The new five-year credit agreement includes financial covenants mandating the company to not exceed a net leverage ratio of 3.5x and maintain an interest coverage ratio of at least 3x.

Borrowings under the credit facility bear interest at an annual rate based on the current secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) of 5.06%, plus a credit spread adjustment of 0.10%, plus a margin of 1.75% to 2.25% based on its current net leverage ratio, putting the debt facility’s pricing at about 6.9% to 7.4% per year, SEC filings show.

Guidance

Based in Tempe, Arizona, First Solar is a U.S.-domiciled manufacturer of solar modules, and services the utility solar market. As of December 31, 2022, the company had $2.6 billion in cash and available term debt borrowings, compared to $1.8 billion in liquidity in 2021.

The company reiterated prior guidance given in late 2022 during its April 27 full year report. The domestic solar manufacturer expects 2023 net sales in the range of $3.4 billion to $3.6 billion, with sales volume of 11.6 GW to 12.3 GW for the year.

First Solar announced Edmonton-based wholesale power producer Capital Power has ordered 1 GW of its Series 6 Plus solar modules. The modules are expected to be delivered between 2026 and 2028, as demand for First Solar’s technology pushes its orders further into the future.

“Capital Power joins a growing group of project developers that partner with First Solar as a reliable module technology provider that can help de-risk their project pipelines by delivering long-term pricing and supply certainty,” said Georges Antoun, chief commercial officer, First Solar. “We are pleased that Capital Power selected Responsible Solar technology to power its assets reliably, affordably and sustainably.”

Capital Power, committed to net zero emissions by 2045, operates 7.5 GW of capacity across 29 facilities in North America. The company has a mixed asset base of solar, wind, gas, energy storage, and waste heat facilities. It has a U.S. solar pipeline of about 2.4 GWdc.

During Q1 2023, First Solar executed 9.9 GW of contracts and recognized 1.9 GW of volume sold, resulting in a total backlog of 69.4 GW, with an aggregate value sold of $20.4 billion, which implies approximately $0.293 per watt, an increase of approximately half a penny per watt from Q4 2022. During the quarter, First Solar produced 2.36 GW of Series 6 panels, which had an average Watts per module of 467 W.

First Solar’s cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film modules have among the lowest carbon and water footprint of any commercially available PV module today. The company’s CdTe technology certified a new record in Q1 2023 with a conversion efficiency of 22.3%.

The modules are included in the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) registry for sustainable electronics, signifying strong performance on metrics evaluating the management of substances in the product, manufacturing energy and water use, product packaging, end-of-life recycling and corporate responsibility.

“Credible life cycle-based ecolabels like EPEAT make it easier for solar developers, investors, and end-users to identify environmentally leading products from socially responsible companies,” said Samantha Sloan, vice president of policy, sustainability and marketing at First Solar.

The module provider is investing $1.3 billion in expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint from over 6.5 GW of annual nameplate capacity today, to approximately 10.9 GW by 2026. About $1.1 billion was invested in the company’s new 3.5 GW facility in Alabama, and $185 million was directed to improve and expand its original facility in Ohio.

The company also announced an investment of up to $370 million in a research and development innovation center that is slated to begin operating in 2024.

First Solar also recently showcased fully functional, pre-commercial, bifacial thin-film PV modules at Intersolar Europe in Munich, Germany. First Solar’s research and development teams have reportedly developed a transparent back contact for the module. This innovative feature allows infrared wavelengths of light to pass through the back of the module instead of being absorbed as heat. It also enables bifacial energy generation. The manufacturer said that this technology will reduce the operational temperature of the module and increase its specific energy yield.

Almost 200,000 job-years could be created by the 167 GW of large-scale solar, wind and storage projects awaiting interconnection studies by PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid operator, said the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) in its report Power Up PJM.

A lack of transmission capacity due to “insufficient” transmission planning is a “root cause of the unprecedented backlog” of interconnection requests across grid operators nationwide, the report says.

Virginia, Illinois, Ohio and Indiana have the greatest number of job-years awaiting PJM action, as shown in the nearby bar chart from the report, which also shows the states fully or partly served by PJM. ACORE counted only direct and indirect construction, operation and maintenance jobs, not induced jobs due to increased economic activity in the region.

The 167 GW of pending renewables and storage projects are “eligible for PJM’s transition cycle,” the report says, referring to PJM’s plan, approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), to expedite interconnection studies for pending requests through early 2026, while closing its interconnection queue to new requests in the meantime.

ACORE pointed to a sharp decline in renewables projects in the PJM region reaching commercial operation, falling from 20.3% of renewable capacity entering PJM’s queue between 2011 and 2016, to 2.7% of renewable capacity entering PJM’s queue in the fifteen months starting January 1, 2017, citing data from Berkeley Lab.

The recent low success rate for renewables projects in PJM is largely due to “low spending on large-scale, high-voltage transmission” within the PJM region, said Noah Strand, an ACORE policy associate and the report’s author, on an ACORE webinar, citing a study from the nonprofit group RMI.

“It’s good to see PJM going in the right direction” said Brendan Casey, deputy director for economic analysis at the American Clean Power Association, in an apparent reference to PJM’s announced transition to cluster studies, which are more efficient than first-come, first-served studies, speaking on the webinar.

Yet he added that as the industry is currently building about 30 GW of renewables and storage capacity per year, “if we want to have a net-zero grid by 2035, we need to be building more like 90 to 100 gigawatts. And this means speeding up the interconnection processes, not just in PJM but across the country.”

The ACORE report recommended that PJM speed interconnection through transmission planning, accelerating transmission upgrades, additional staffing and automation.

ACORE also recommended that FERC require grid operators to consider grid-enhancing technologies and advanced conductors in the interconnection study process, and set “a more just framework” for allocating transmission upgrade costs associated with interconnection.

Rising energy prices from the Russia-Ukraine War have created a fertile ground for renewable energy development around the globe. Industry stakeholders continue to see the pace of energy storage systems not keeping pace with rapid industry growth.

In a survey put out by global manufacturer Jabil and consulting group SIS International Research, 88% of respondents said they are struggling to scale up production of energy storage systems to keep pace with heightened demand in the energy transition.

Out of 204 industry stakeholders surveyed in commercial and industrial segments, the group found that 87% of the respondents are considering manufacturing their own battery systems, with an evenly distributed survey group of end users (33%), assembly companies (33%) and module producers (25%).

About two-thirds of the survey group reported interest in making C&I battery solutions of 200 kWh to 1 MWh in power dispatch, while a 62% percentile also favored a slightly smaller 20 kWh to 199 kWh product group.

In a regional survey, the group reported North America (70%) as its preferred market, with California (43%), the Northeast U.S. (42%) and the Midwest (41%) showing the highest distribution rates of deliveries for energy storage systems.

Technology preference

About 78% of the Jabil/SIS survey group manages operates their own battery systems internally, while a 63% demographic procures distributed energy from storage under an energy-as-a-service contract through third-party providers.

More than 90% of the survey group uses lithium-ion battery systems, and 75% of the group plans to continue using the same battery systems.

A stark contrast emerged in the survey group around safer battery systems, with a 45% percentile concerned to find a safer solution and 55% not concerned to use alternative solutions to lithium batteries.

Challenges

Nearly 90% of respondents cited an inability to manufacture at scale needed to meet global demand as their number one challenge in energy storage right now.

About 58% of respondents said they could see expansion opportunities into another energy storage market such as C&I, residential or utility solutions in the next three to five years.

Those who said they are not expanding generally noted that expansion does not align with the larger company strategy and focus, and the opportunity costs for doing so would outweigh the benefits. One respondent explained, “We are satisfied with our current energy storage solutions; the opportunity costs for changing them are very high.”

Respondents cited modularity of storage deployments as a common theme for an increased energy storage rate.

Battery reuse

Sustainability is a key issue for energy storage companies in the years ahead, particularly as lithium batteries reach the end of their lives. However, the useful lives of batteries can often be extended in new applications.

Three-quarters (75%) of respondents said they plan to reuse their batteries in new storage systems or other products. A smaller grouping of 64% of respondents said they plan to use a direct recycling or metallurgical process to recycle batteries.

A bit of a contradiction was revealed when respondents were asked how they would integrate second-life batteries in their value stack. Despite high numbers indicating they would like to reuse their batteries, only 39% of the survey group said they expect to integrate second-use batteries originally used for a different purpose in their energy storage systems over the next decade. Instead, an 84% majority said they plan to use batteries that use recycled materials.

Non-lithium alternatives

Despite respondents saying they plan to continue to use lithium-ion batteries for the next decade, the survey did show some margin for adding non-lithium battery alternatives.

Hydrogen fuel cells (20%) nearly replaced lead-acid batteries as the next generation alternative to lithium-ion batteries, while flow battery technologies (12%), thermal batteries (19%), compressed air storage (7%) and supercapacitors (13%) are some additional technologies over the next decade.

For the construction of the Big Plain Solar project, a 196 MW utility solar project, Clark State College and Solar Energy International (SEI) have teamed up to offer paid training and internship programs for students interested in a career in solar energy. The project, located in Ohio, is under development  by Leeward Renewable Energy.

Construction on the 1,500 acre solar project has been underway since August 2022, with initial plans by the developer calling for 400 construction jobs during peak construction of the Madison County, Ohio solar facility.

Now, a portion of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work will serve a training program. Local companies have been invited to participate in Clark State’s Solar Training Electric Design and Installation, a “train-the-trainer” program in partnership with SEI.

“Train-the-trainer is an opportunity to train instructors or subject-matter experts to prepare them to train others,” said Crystal Jones, vice president of marketing, diversity, and community impact at Clark State.

Big Plain Solar project participants can learn skills in carpentry, construction, and electrical programs, supporting career growth options for local employees.

“Clark State strives to provide training for the jobs of the future and this partnership with Big Plain Solar demonstrates our commitment to the industry,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State College.

Clark State’s solar training course is an introductory-level course. Students learn solar fundamentals and gain an understanding of various components, system architectures, and applications. The course focuses on grid-connected solar projects, but also covers material critical to understanding various other solar project types.

On-site training includes site analysis, system sizing, array configuration, and performance estimation and electrical design characteristics such as wiring, overcurrent protection, and grounding.

Students will be provided with a detailed look at module and inverter configurations, specifications and characteristics; mounting methods for various roof structures and ground-mounts; and an introduction to safely and effectively commissioning grid-scale solar.

Internships

Clark State also partnered with the Bright Future Program, an internship opportunity to onboard solar professionals who can learn more about the solar industry through SOLV Energy, a solar engineering, procurement and construction company.

The solar internship program features include:

• College students that are 18 years and older;
• Average hourly pay is between $20-$22;
• Housing is included and a monthly per diem of $1,500 is provided for those who live more than 75 miles from the employment site;
• Teams tour opportunity to learn about the solar business;
• Internships are not just project-based (i.e. construction) roles, but can also include human resources (HR), government affairs, etc.
• Internship programs take place during summer and last 8 to 10 weeks.

“We are honored to provide an opportunity for students to take solar training,” said Jones. “Ohio instructors can learn how to incorporate solar components into their current programming and create awareness on the solar industry by partnering with BFP.”

In addition to employing a local workforce, Big Plain Solar will be installed using U.S.-made First Solar thin-film solar modules. The project site will incorporate a soil health monitoring program and curate a 70-acre pollinator habitat.

Upon completion, Verizon will purchase the power from the Big Plain project under a long-term power purchase agreement.

Ohio state representatives James M. Hoops (R-Napoleon) and Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) introduced legislation HB 197, a bill that will kickstart the community solar market in Ohio under a pilot program.

HB 197 and other Ohio solar initiatives have gained momentum in part due to Governor Mike DeWine administration’s support of the economic benefits that in-state manufactured solar panels can bring to the Midwestern state. 

“Our state is primed for community solar and all its economic benefits,” said Representative Hoops. “This new bill will ensure that projects across the state can generate clean energy, ratepayer savings, and local jobs in a fast-growing solar manufacturing industry right here in Ohio.” 

Community solar projects are small generation installations of solar arrays typically below 5 MW of capacity, sited on brownfields, industrial sites, and other preferred areas in proximity to electric customers they’re intended to serve, including households, small businesses, and public institutions.   

“Ohioans want jobs and the power to choose where their energy comes from. This bill brings both of those things plus more to our state,” said Representative Ray. 

HB 197 is expected to advance Ohio’s energy security goals while increasing economic revenue.  

First, the bill establishes a pilot program that will consist of 1.5 GW of community solar, enough energy to power almost 300,000 homes. Subscribers to any community solar program will be eligible for a bill credit, usually equal to 10% to 20% savings, from their utility provider for their proportional amount of energy generated from the community solar facility.  

Second, the bill would make community solar developed on brownfield sites eligible to receive grants to help cover costs associated with site preparation and construction. A working group will bring electric distribution utilities, consumers, and community solar industry representatives together to engage in proactive conversation to ensure the pilot program operates smoothly.

“Ohio has the potential to lead the region in community solar, but past legislation did not create ample opportunities,” said Carlo Cavallaro, Midwest regional director at the Coalition for Community Solar Association. “This bill, in its establishment of a pilot program, would generate energy across the entire state — bringing residents bill savings and the state billions in economic development and millions in local tax revenue.” 

To date, 23 states and the District of Columbia have established community solar platforms from pilot stage to statewide implementation. Most recently, Maryland passed community solar legislation HB 908, making it the 23rd community solar market.  

Additional states that currently have bipartisan or Republican-sponsored community solar bills that could become law include New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  

A cumulative 5.6 GW of community solar generation capacity has been installed in the U.S., and Wood Mackenzie’s most recent community solar market outlook predicts that there will be 6.2 GW power installed across the country by the end of the year. 

Ohio currently has over 927 MW of solar installed, ranking 26^th in the country, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Solar provides 0.9% of Ohio’s electricity, but that is expected to change, as SEIA’s projection is that 8.25 GW of solar will be installed over the next five years.

In addition to a growing solar industry, the Buckeye State is home to several manufacturers of solar products including thin-film manufacturer First Solar, racking manufacturer Applied Energy Technologies (AET) and glass supplier Glasstech.

Just as Oberlin College students were leaving campus this past week to enjoy their summer recess, a new group was entering campus by farm truck. On May 24, a class of 70 ewes from the Old Slate Farm in Knox County, Ohio, showed up on campus to begin chomping away at weeds, grass and other edible vegetation at the college’s 2.3 MW solar field.

Some 70 Katahdin breed sheep were dropped off on campus this week at Oberlin’s 10-acre fenced-in North Field. There they will graze through mid-June, stomping grass and weeding the solar field in a move aimed at alleviating the need for costly operations and maintenance involved with a commercial lawnmowing crew, according to a report by the school’s Conservatory institute.

Additional sheep drops this summer will bring the total number of grazers at Oberlin’s on-site solar facility to between 150 and 200 heads of sheep.

The sheep will be delivered to the college’s solar field three times per year over the spring, summer, and fall season. A form of agrivoltaics, where land is used for both agriculture and energy generation, the sheep’s handiwork will reduce Oberlin’s emissions from fossil fuel. It is also expected to reduce regular damage to equipment that results from mowing a rough terrain.

Oberlin signed an agreement with Old Slate Farm in April to begin deploying the sheep grazers before summer.

The college reportedly has spent $15,000 to $30,000 per year on mowing expenses on the 2.3 MW solar field, while the use of up to 200 sheep will reduce its O&M costs on the solar field to about $6,600 per year, Oberlin campus energy and resource manager Joel Baetens told the Oberlin Review.

The solar grazing approach will aid the college in achieving goals of becoming carbon neutral by 2025, a goal the school set in 2006. The college was one of the first U.S. university systems to come out with a campus-wide environmental and sustainability framework under the Carbon Commitment program (formerly the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment).

Over the following years, the college installed additional solar arrays as well, with a 59 kW rooftop array on the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies and a 101 kW car canopy system on a parking garage.

The Midwest college didn’t stop at just shy of 2.5 MW of solar installations though. In the Spring of 2021, the college announced a $140 million geothermal energy project aimed at drilling 1,100 geothermal wells at its South Campus buildings. The geothermal wells will reduce energy, heating and cooling costs, including decades-old cooling infrastructure that costs the school about $1 million per year in excess energy costs.

The project will convert the college’s decades-old boiler plant with geothermal energy, using thermal energy equipment as a natural gas backup system, in addition to the geothermal wells across the campus. The geothermal installations are expected to be deployed by 2025 under partnership with Ever-Green Energy, a St. Paul, Minn.-based district energy company.

“Obies care deeply about our collective impact on the environment,” said Meghan Riesterer, assistant vice president for campus energy and sustainability, about the geothermal project. “This is a collaborative solution developed by representatives from across our community, together with experts.”

Old Slate Farm is a cut flower and Katahdin sheep farm in Mount Vernon, Ohio. In addition to flower arrangements and raising sheep, the midwestern farm also hosts weddings on its large farmstead in central Ohio.

First Solar filed a lawsuit today against Toledo Solar, a thin-film solar module manufacturer, which—like First Solar–is based in Ohio.

According to the court filing, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division, Toledo Solar sold Malayasian-made First Solar solar modules under the Toledo name, claiming they were made in America. The filing states that the action is in violation of the Lanham Act and the Ohio Deceptive Trade Practices Act “for false designation of origin and passing off goods of another.”

First Solar claims that Toledo Solar falsely represented that Toledo Solar manufactured solar modules that in fact were manufactured by First Solar. The filing states Toledo falsely claimed that it manufactured the solar modules that Toledo had provided for installation on the Ohio Governor’s mansion in Columbus; that Toledo falsely represent that the modules were made by Toledo in Ohio, and that Toledo advertised on social media that it manufactured certain solar modules in Ohio.

The reportedly nefarious practice was discovered in the summer of 2022 when First Solar employees went to the Ohio Governor’s mansion to remove 20-year old solar modules for decommissioning. There the employee saw modules in Toledo Solar boxes that had the familiar First Solar imprint and serial numbers on the side. Toledo Solar and new serial numbers had also been etched into the modules. First Solar’s junction boxes had also been changed.

First Solar reports that the solar modules were actually manufactured by First Solar at its manufacturing facility in Malaysia, and that by these actions put First Solar at liability and reputational risk. The filing also notes that past customers of Toledo Solar may also have been deceived.

On a conference call, a First Solar spokesperson stated:

We were disappointed to learn that Toledo Solar has modified, marketed, and sold First Solar’s CadTel (Cadmium Telluride) solar panels as its own, and have filed a complaint against the company for deceptive trade practices. Given our role as a solar industry leader with a track record in championing domestic solar manufacturing, we have taken this action after careful consideration of the seriousness of the matter. Our intent is to address and ultimately resolve the issue by having Toledo Solar notify all purchasers of any First Solar panels that it has sold as its own, and to prevent it from making further false claims and selling any additional First Solar panels it may have in stock.

Prior to filing the lawsuit, First Solar did some of its own investigating by ordering 200 Toledo solar modules from a retail distributor. The modules were delivered in February 2023, and included a label indicating that they were manufactured by Toledo Solar and Made in the USA. Toledo Solar provided a notarized certificate of origin verifying that the modules it consigned to the distributor for sale were “the products of the United States of America.” What they found was that, like the modules provided by Toledo Solar for the Governor’s mansion, the modules included First Solar’s manufacturing serial numbers showing they were manufactured by First Solar in Malaysia. In addition, they included First Solar’s junction boxes.

According to the filing, First Solar is seeking:

• A preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Toledo Solar from continuing to falsely represent in commerce, promotion and commercial advertising that Toledo Solar manufactured solar modules that in fact were manufactured by First Solar;
• An injunction requiring Toledo Solar to notify every customer who purchased First Solar manufactured solar modules from Toledo Solar of the actual origin of the solar modules and of any alterations made by Toledo Solar to the modules;
• The disgorgement of any profits made by Toledo Solar from the sale of solar modules it falsely represented it manufactured, but in fact were manufactured by First Solar;
• The recovery of First Solar’s reasonable attorney fees and costs pursuing this action;
• Such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.

In the meantime, First Solar said it will replace the modules on the Governor’s mansion with its own product at no charge to the State of Ohio.

First Solar is represented by Squire Patton Boggs LLP of Cleveland, Ohio.

pv magazine USA reached out to Toledo Solar for comment, but at press time had not received a response.

Gotion, a leading lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) battery manufacturer, announced that its energy storage division has shipped over 1 GWh of energy storage products to the U.S. market. The company says it also recently completed UL 1973 and UL 9540A certification for its next generation 300 Ah cell, module, rack, and system developed for ESS applications in the U.S.

In addition to manufacturing LFP batteries, Gotion promotes energy storage products such as battery cells, modules, packs, racks, and DC battery containers globally and is growing its U.S. customer base. For the utility-scale market in the US, Gotion’s most popular offerings are fully integrated 20-foot DC battery container solutions that are factory assembled and directly shipped to be deployed at a customer’s site. These DC battery containers are paired with industry leading energy storage inverters to support energy storage applications between two and eight hours.

Gotion offers two variants of its battery containers, with the rated capacities for the air-cooled version being 2.7 MWh and the rated capacity of the liquid cooled version being 3.38 MWh. The products are designed specifically for the U.S. market, completing UL 1973 and UL 9540A certification and meeting NFPA requirements.

The batteries also come fully pre-integrated at the Gotion production facilities, significantly reducing installation and commissioning time on the field. For its batteries, Gotion provides a 5-year standard product warranty that can be extended to a 20-year performance guarantee based on application scenarios.

According to BloombergNEF, the U.S. energy storage market is projected to grow 15-fold by 2030. Gotion vice president Energy Storage Systems Vikash Venkataramana says, “With a growing customer base and planned ESS production in the U.S., Gotion is well positioned to support the growing demand we see for ESS systems.”

Gotion has also invested in R&D and product development in the United States. In 2017, Gotion acquired BASF’s electrolyte division in Independence, Ohio, and has since grown its R&D capabilities both there and at its U.S. headquarters in Fremont. Gotion is also actively looking at expanding manufacturing facilities in the country to localize production for the U.S. market.

As a frontrunner in large-scale LFP battery manufacturing, Gotion has developed material and product expertise in battery recycling as well as with raw materials such as precursors, positive electrodes, negative electrodes, copper foils, separators, and electrolytes.

First Solar, a manufacturer of U.S.-made solar panels, posted $548 million in Q1 2023 revenue, about 26% lower than the market consensus of $743 million for its first quarter.

During Q1 2023, First Solar executed 9.9 GW of contracts and recognized 1.9 GW of volume sold, resulting in a total backlog of 69.4 GW, with an aggregate value sold of $20.4 billion, which implies approximately $0.293 per watt, an increase of approximately half a penny per watt from Q4 2022.

During the quarter, First Solar produced 2.36 GW of Series 6 panels, whose average watts per module was 467 W.

Production of Series 7 modules began in January 2023 with 170 MW of modules produced. The company said it recently demonstrated high-volume manufacturing production capable of up to 10,000 modules per day at its third Ohio facility, which houses Series 7 module production.  The demo rate is 60% of nameplate throughput capacity, with panels achieving top bin production at 535 W.

Shipments of Series 7 modules, which used all-U.S. glass and steel components, are on track to begin as early as June 2023, Widmer said in prepared remarks.  Outside of the U.S., First Solar is also expected to begin production in Chennai, India at a 3.54 GW nameplate facility in the second half of 2023 as well.

The company’s Cadmium-telluride (CadTel) technology certified a new record in Q1 2023 with a conversion efficiency of 22.3%.

First Solar’s common stock traded at $176.80 per share this morning, down about 11.5% after the company missed market estimates for Q1 sales. The company has a $19.5 billion market capitalization and has long-term total bookings opportunities of 113 GW for modules.

Guidance

First Solar’s guidance is unchanged from prior quarters, with an expectation of generating $3.4 billion to $3.6 billion in revenue this year, a $1 billion increase over the $2.6 billion of annual sales for 2022. The company’s production guidance of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion gross margin also factors in a $110 million to $130 million boost from the Series 7 module ramp up activity and some benefits from the Section 45X tax credit of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Financial guidance includes a huge contribution of $660 million to $710 million from Section 45X tax benefits factored into the company’s operating income expectation of $745 million to $870 million.

Section 45X, the advanced manufacturing production tax credit, is a per-unit tax credit for each clean energy component domestically produced and sold by a manufacturer and is claimed on federal corporate income taxes. The credit varies by eligible component and is multiplied by the number of units produced by the company sold that year. In First Solar’s case, its U.S.-made solar modules can receive a credit of $0.07 per watt.

“We anticipate our earnings profile will be higher in 2H 2023 due to contractual delivery schedules, timing of first sales of our Series 7 products and the timing of recognition of Section 45X benefits, driven by both the timing of volumes sold as well as the inventory lag where our product sold in the early part of 2023 may have been manufactured in 2022,” Widmer said.

“From a Section 45X perspective, based on the aforementioned factors, we expect to recognize approximately 25% of our full year guidance in the first half of the year and approximately 75% in the second half,” he added.

During the earnings call, Widmer said the company continues to await guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department related to the domestic content bonus provision of the Inflation Reduction Act.

At the end of Q1 2023, First Solar had a cash balance of $922 million.

Production ramp

In Alabama, First Solar’s fourth U.S. factory received environmental permits, with the foundation of early factory construction underway. Tooling equipment has been ordered and the facility remains on schedule for completion by the end of 2024, with commercial operations ramping through 2025, Widmer said in prepared remarks.

When Alabama becomes fully operational, facility expansions in Ohio and Alabama are expected to increase First Solar’s annual nameplate capacity in the U.S. to over 10 GW.

New booking

First Solar kicked off Q2 2023 by separately announcing a 2 GW, two-year order from utility solar developer Leeward Renewable Energy, bringing the developer’s total orders to date of First Solar modules to 6 GW for projects to be developed through 2028.

Deliveries for the modules will take place in 2026 and 2027 for the Dallas, Texas-based developer.

Leeward, a portfolio company of OMERS Infrastructure, a Canadian investment firm, is a renewable energy development company that owns and operates 25 projects across nine U.S. states with about 2.7 GW of generating capacity.

Google and EDPR NA Distributed Generation (EDPR NA DG), the distributed generation business unit of EDP Renewables North America, signed a framework agreement supporting more than 80 distributed solar PV projects totaling 500 MW_AC. According to data from S&P Global and BloombergNEF, this is the largest corporate sponsorship of distributed solar development in the U.S.

The deal aligns with an environmental justice program benefiting over 25,000 families in low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities. The initial focus will be on projects in the PJM Interconnection service area, which stretches from New Jersey to Ohio. The first projects will be built in Ohio, where Google operates a data center campus in New Albany and Google Cloud region in Columbus.

Google said at least 35% of the projects are planned to be built directly in LMI communities. Additionally, the company said at least 10% of the portfolio’s revenues will be redirected annually for up to 15 years as utility bill credits to more than 25,000 households facing a high energy burden. Google also plans to contribute Nest thermostats to select participating homes to further cut back on energy costs and encourage participation in demand response programs.

The initiative, named the Clean Energy Financial Benefit Sharing Program, will be funded, in part, through Google’s purchase of a novel renewable energy credit (REC) called the ImpactREC.

The ImpactREC leverages the landmark tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, and will provide direct investment into communities throughout the Midwest and Northeast, enabling economic benefits for LMI communities. Developed by the EDPR NA DG team in collaboration with Google, like other traditional RECs, the ImpactREC is generated in and eligible for the applicable compliance market. However, unlike traditional RECs it requires direct community involvement and LMI benefits.

“What we heard through interviews with local community leaders and Environmental Justice advocates was that the disproportionate impact of high energy burden remains a primary barrier to an equitable energy transition,” said Sana Ouji, energy lead, Google.

In addition to the ImpactREC purchase, the program includes the creation of a community impact fund valued at $12 million that will support initiatives reducing energy poverty in the communities where the projects are built.

“We are appreciative to Google for anchoring the ImpactREC and are looking forward to increasing participation throughout the compliance procurement community as our industry expands this product,” said Gustavo Monteiro, chief executive officer of EDPR NA DG.

Over the coming weeks EDPR NA DG plans to release blueprints that “will help make the ImpactREC the defining incentive methodology to enable localized renewable development linked with environmental justice,” according to Richard Dovere, chief investment officer of EDPR NA DG.

EDP Renewables is a global renewable energy producer, and its subsidiary EDP Renewables North America currently operates 475 MW of solar projects with 1.6 GW of solar projects under construction. The company also operates more than 200 distributed generation solar sites throughout North America.

In 2007, Google announced that its operations were carbon neutral and the company reports that in 2017 it became the first of its size to match 100% of its global, annual electricity consumption with renewable energy. Google  plans to decarbonize its electricity supply and operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy globally by 2030.

Demand for First Solar modules continues to be hot as Lightsource bp has signed on to purchase 4 GW of the U.S.-made thin-film modules. Delivery is expected to take place between 2026 and 2028. The order adds on to a 4.3 GW purchase made in 2021.

The deal includes both Series 6 Plus and Series 7 solar modules. The modules are designed and developed at First Solar’s research centers in Ohio and California.

“We are seizing the opportunity by not just growing our 20 GW development pipeline across the United States, but also creating sizeable demand for our U.S.-based partner First Solar, which, in turn, is investing in innovation and manufacturing, and supporting thousands of direct and indirect American jobs,” said Kevin Smith, chief executive officer, Lightsource bp.

As part of the supply agreement, Lightsource bp has also committed to using First Solar’s module recycling program. The company is a market leader in PV recycling, operating a program that provides closed-loop semiconductor recovery for use in new modules, while also recovering other materials including aluminum, glass, and laminates.

First Solar is also the first PV manufacturer to have its product included in the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) global registry for sustainable electronics.

“This is another sizeable commitment by Lightsource bp and a reflection of their trust in First Solar and our technology,” said Georges Antoun, chief commercial officer, First Solar. “Our relationship with Lightsource bp is a partnership in growth. We enable their growth with certainty through long-term pricing and supply commitments, and advanced technology, while they enable ours by providing the certainty of demand we need to invest in manufacturing.”

First Solar is expanding its manufacturing capacity across the U.S. to meet this demand. The company expects to bring a third factory in Ohio in the first half of 2023, and a fourth factory in Alabama is currently under construction and expected to come online in 2025. Both factories are planned to produce the Series 7 modules.

The module producer’s $1.1 billion Alabama factory and $185 million expansion of its existing facilities in Ohio are expected to bring its total investment in American manufacturing to over $4 billion. The company’s annual U.S. nameplate manufacturing capacity is forecast to expand to 10.6 GW by 2026. It expects to add at least 850 new manufacturing jobs and over 100 new R&D jobs, taking its total number of direct jobs in the US to over 3,000 people in four states by 2025.

The purchase by Lightsource bp came in just days after an announcement that Silicon Ranch, a Nashville-based independent power producer, has procured an additional 1.5 GW of First Solar modules. The deal expands upon the master supply agreement between the two solar businesses that includes a 4 GW transaction announced in April 2022 and, more recently, a 700 MW commitment announced in October 2022.

Over the last year, U.S. module supplier First Solar has procured additional multi-year orders from Intersect Power (7.3 GW), Arevon Energy (2 GW), Swift Current Energy (2 GW) and National Grid Renewables (1.6 GW) and Origis Energy (750 MW).

Last year, First Solar joined the S&P 500 Index of public companies, becoming the third clean energy systems manufacturer to join the index of large-cap companies. Fellow solar technology suppliers Enphase Energy and SolarEdge Technologies are also on the S&P 500 Index.

Freedom Solar Power, a  residential and commercial solar installer, recently completed a 120.3 kW rooftop solar array for Parkway Auto Group’s Dover, Ohio dealership.  The dealership location utilizes a 7,038 square foot solar system consisting of 248 panels, producing 120.3 kW of on-site power, creating $378,000 of energy savings over the next two decades. Each year, Parkway Honda will reduce its carbon footprint by over 91.9 metric tons of CO2, the equivalent of 1,516 trees planted and 20 cars taken off the road.

This solar initiative by Parkway Honda clears the way for future solar installments at Parkway dealerships as the company strives to become 75% sustainable energy powered in the near future with on-site clean energy.

“Parkway Honda’s partnership with Freedom Solar is making waves as one of Ohio’s premier solar installations in the automotive industry,” said Bret Biggart, chief executive officer of Freedom Solar. “We are proud to partner with them in making their business more energy-efficient and helping them become one step closer to their sustainable goals.”

“We are one of the first dealerships in the county to go solar and we are proud to be leading the way within Dover and Tuscarawas County (Ohio),” said Mark C. Mears, partner, Parkway Honda. “By diminishing our carbon footprint, we are achieving advantages never seen before rather than just reducing our electricity bill.”

The decision to go solar impacts a wide range of components beyond electricity bills, the car dealership said. Mears pointed to several factors in the company’s decision to move forward with the conversion to on-site power generation. Some of the factors included:

• financial local and federal incentives.
• testimony of fellow dealers in other parts of the state who have already transitioned to clean energy solutions.
• ample roof space to accommodate solar arrays to offset a large percentage of energy costs.
• Solar contractor referral from Honda Green Dealer, an initiative designed by Honda to aid independently owned and operated Honda dealers in reducing their environmental footprint.

As a participant in the Honda Green Dealer Program, Parkway Honda strives to implement green initiatives within the dealership network, including battery storage. Parkway Honda is working to reduce its energy usage while upgrading its operations to become more sustainable.

“Installing solar has become a cost-reduction strategy for entrepreneurial automotive dealers and is growing rapidly amongst dealerships nationwide,” said Biggart.

Since 2020, the solar investment tax credit (ITC) has been a major driver for U.S. organization’s decision to go solar.

Freedom Solar’s commercial installation group includes automotive dealerships, providing turn-key solar generation systems for U.S. dealerships.

According to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), energy costs can be a dealership’s third-highest overhead operating expense due to long operating hours and energy-intensive showrooms and car lots. With rising energy costs over the last year, many dealerships are turning to solar power to mitigate their high energy expenditures and ensure electricity reliability.

“From a financial standpoint, going solar was an extremely smart investment,” said Mears. “Switching to solar power also demonstrates our commitment to environmental sustainability, which is an integral aspect of our company that we consistently strive towards.”

Ohio currently has over 916 MW of solar installed, ranking 26^th in the country, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Solar provides 0.9% of Ohio’s electricity, but that is expected to change, as SEIA’s projection is that nearly 8.8 GW of solar will be installed over the next five years, making Ohio one of the top five solar states in the country.

Founded in 2007, Freedom Solar is an Austin, Texas-based licensed installer of SunPower modules and Tesla Powerwall battery systems, and has installed over 154 MW of assets to date. The company has operations in Texas, Colorado, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio. The company has installed solar arrays for auto dealerships including Honda, BMW, Subaru and Toyota.

Duke Energy reported a $531 million loss in Q4 2022 as it wrote down the value of its commercial renewable energy business currently on the auction block. The utility also announced plans to cut $300 million in expenses in 2023, partly through layoffs out of its Charlotte, N.C. headquarters.

During its Q4 2022 earnings call, chief financial officer Brian Savoy did not say how many jobs are being cut, but said the measure includes a “modest” number of staff as well as external contractors and consultants.

The investor-owned utility reported FY22 earnings per share of $3.33, considerably lower than reported EPS of $4.94 in FY21. Its reported earnings per share (EPS) is down based on the impairment on the sale of the commercial renewable energy business.

“Our path forward is clear and underpinned by the strength of our regulated businesses, a disciplined approach to cost management and a robust (five-year) $65 billion capital plan,” said Lynn Good, chief executive office of Duke. “We’re well positioned to earn solidly within our 5% to 7% growth rate through 2027.”

In November 2022, Duke Energy launched an auction for its commercial renewable energy platform, which is expected to close in the second half of 2023. Good said the utility is “on track to exit both the utility scale and the distributed energy businesses” this year.

Duke’s five-year capital plan of $65 billion is focused on energy transition investments, which Savoy said was considerable increase over previous multi-year budgets, while its current budget removes almost $3 billion of capital it would have invested in the utility solar and distributed generation business. In other words, the utility is increasing its regulated business spending by $5 billion, for which Duke says will result in a 7.1% earnings-based CAGR growth rate through 2027.

Savoy defended the company’s book value of the commercial renewables portfolio platform at $3 billion, despite the utility writing down a $1.3 billion impairment charge since the sale process launched in Q3 2022.  This led analysts to deduce the renewables platform will see proceeds of less than $1.7 billion.

Duke’s Q4 2022 results was marred by severe weather from winter storms hitting the southeast region, which forced its primary utility business Duke Energy Carolinas to issue a curtailment and power conservation notice during the Christmas week. Earlier in the month, up to 45,000 residents were in the dark in Moore County, N.C., due to a reported shooting incident at two sub-stations that were under investigation by the FBI, regional and local law enforcement.

Duke Energy initiated a sale process for its commercial renewables business, which includes a 3.5 GW wind and solar portfolio, in September 2022. In November the company said the value for the renewables business could exceed a book value of $4 billion. Media outlets including Infralogic reported the utility is being advised by Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Securities for the review of its renewables platform.

Duke’s common shares traded at $97.55 per share today, up 4.65% from $93.22 per share on Nov. 2, when it reported Q3 2022 earnings. The utility has a $75.1 billion market capitalization and provides electric services to 8.2 million customers in six states, and gas services to 1.6 million customers in five states.

The utility has a 2030 goal of achieving net zero natural gas fleet emissions and a 50% reduction in gas emissions from its electric business, with full net zero emissions by 2050. The company continues to invest in grid enhancements including energy storage, hydrogen and advanced nuclear technologies.

Last week, the utility completed construction on a 2 MW solar and 4.4 MWh storage project in Hot Springs, N.C., an Appalachian town with population of just 500.  The microgrid uses lithium batteries from Wärtsilä Energy and provides grid reliability services to the electric grid, such as frequency and voltage regulation and ramping support and capacity during system peak power usage.

“Duke Energy has numerous smaller microgrids on our system, but this is our first microgrid that can power an entire small town if its main power line experiences an outage,” said Jason Handley, general manager of Duke Energy’s Distributed Energy Group.

Desert Quartzite solar-plus-storage plant gets greenlight from BLM The utility solar project will result in capital investment of $1 billion and supply clean power to roughly 120,000 homes. The facility is expected to create more than 900 construction jobs and is expected to reach commercial scale operations by December 2024.

Biden celebrates 100,000 jobs and near half-trillion dollar investment in clean energy  More than $60 billion in private investments in clean energy have been announced since the landmark Inflation Reduction Act was passed in August. The Act includes $370 billion in climate and energy spending.

Battery supply chain state of health  As the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act demonstrated, companies preparing to spend big on batteries are at risk of being blindsided by supply-chain-related legislation. Here are some tips on how US developers can anticipate policy curveballs.

People on the Move: Qcells, Complete Solaria, Innagreen Investments and more  Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities, and energy transition finance.

50 states of solar incentives: Ohio  Solar currently provides less than 1% of Ohio’s electrical needs. That is expected to change, however, as nearly 8.8 GW of mostly utility-scale solar is expected to be installed over the next five years, making Ohio one of the top five solar states in the country.

Linton Crystal to move PV equipment manufacturing back to the U.S. Linton said its initial investment of $10M will be used to add a new facility, establish a demonstration line, and build 1 to 2 gigawatts of production capacity, all by the end of year one.

Reactivate Illinois community solar program enrollment begins The Illinois projects provide benefits to income-qualified and energy transition communities and will deliver enough clean energy to power about 1,200 homes, providing customers a combined projected savings of $12 million over 20 years.

Sodium aluminum battery for renewables storage U.S. researchers have designed a molten salt battery that uses an aluminum cathode that charges quickly and reportedly enables longer-duration discharge.

EV battery has 50% more energy density than traditional lithium-ion, 10-minute charge A $32 million series B fund will support the buildout of a novel silicon anode electric vehicle battery.

The midwestern state of Ohio, nicknamed the Buckeye State, is the 34^th largest by area and the seventh most populous. Ohio’s electric rates are still relatively low, currently at 9.76 cents/kWh, and petroleum and natural gas dominate the energy mix (77.8%), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Solar energy did not factor much in the energy mix until 2021, when the tide turned a bit, and utility-scale and commercial installations began to dot the landscape.

Changing landscape

Ohio currently has over 916 MW of solar installed, ranking 26^th in the country, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Solar provides 0.9% of Ohio’s electricity, but that is expected to change, as SEIA’s projection is that nearly 8.8 GW of solar will be installed over the next five years, making Ohio one of the top five solar states in the country.

In addition to a growing solar industry, the Buckeye State is home to several manufacturers of solar products including thin-film manufacturers First Solar and Toledo Solar, racking manufacturer Applied Energy Technologies (AET), glass supplier Glasstech, and more.

Incentives

Like other Americans, Ohio residents who want to go solar can take advantage of the federal investment tax credit, plus the many potential adders offered in the Inflation Reduction Act. As far as state incentives go, the state has some catching up to do.

The state’s first net metering law was passed in 1999, according to DSIRE. At the time, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) required the utilities to credit excess generation to customers at the full retail rate. However, the Ohio Supreme Court declared this illegal in 2002, and the credit was dropped to the utility’s unbundled generation rate. In 2017, PUCO amended the net metering rules, setting a maximum size limit of 120% of a customer’s average yearly usage.

The state has an alternative energy portfolio standard (AEPS) that requires 25% of the state’s annual energy supply to come from alternate energy sources, half of which must come from renewables. In 2014 the state legislature passed a bill that made Ohio the first state to freeze its renewable portfolio standard, however, that ended in 2017 and the AEPS was scaled back in 2019. The AEPS includes a solar carve-out, which states that 0.5% of the state’s electricity must come from solar by 2026.

Ohio currently does not have community solar legislation.

County opposition

In 2021 the Ohio Senate passed senate bill 52, legislation granting county commissions the power to stop new wind and solar development projects in their tracks. After passage, ten rural Ohio jurisdictions banned large “single interconnection” wind or solar facilities in unincorporated areas. Clark County, however, rejected the ban. And while there are currently no utility-scale solar or wind facilities in Clark County, the door is now open for new development opportunities. Landowners in unincorporated areas of the county can lease or sell land for solar and wind development following the ban’s rejection.

Landmark installations

Hillcrest Solar in Mt. Orab at 265 MW is the largest operational solar project in Ohio. Developed by Innergex, the plant is powered by 606,480 made-in-Ohio First Solar Series 6 thin film photovoltaic solar modules. Hillcrest came online in 2021 and produces enough electricity to power 32,648 homes. It was one of six solar installations tied to Ohio’s controversial HB 6, which passed in July, 2021, and provided a bailout for uneconomic coal and nuclear power plants.

Stay tuned because what may be the largest solar installation in the United States is before the Ohio Power Siting Board. The Oak Run solar project developed by Savion would create over 3,000 construction jobs and generate up to $504 million in tax revenue over its lifespan, 60% of which would fund local school districts. If approved, it will be installed on 6,000 acres of land in rural Madison County, and construction would begin in 2023, with commercial operations coming online in phases starting in 2025.

Up next

The last stop on the pv magazine USA tour of solar incentives was in Indiana, and next we’ll head to North Dakota.

The 5-year forecast was amended from 9.9 MW to 8.8 GW, from SEIA’s Q3 2022 data.

Solar microgrid to support critical water infrastructure  An Ohio water station will enhance its ability to deliver safe and clean water during extended grid outages.

World’s largest used EV battery power facility in California  The largest UL-certified facility was expanded by 1,300 former Honda Clarity EV batteries, bringing its total storage capacity to 25 MWh.

New lithium iron phosphate battery for residential, off-grid PV  Discovery Battery’s new lithium iron phosphate battery system has a nominal voltage of 51.2 V and a capacity of 100 Ah. Up to six 5.12 kWh battery modules can be stacked in a single enclosure, and up to four enclosures can be connected in parallel for a total capacity of 120 kWh.

Enel adds 2 GW of North America renewable capacity in 2022 Utility-scale solar and wind projects developed by Enel totaled 1.98 GW last year, while power purchase agreements reached 630 MW. The company added three major North American businesses last year.

Dronebase rebrands as Zeitview to scale aerial solar scanning Zeitview issues real-time ratings from A to D for operational solar projects of 1 MW and larger.

Multi-unit housing EV chargers participate in demand response program  The partnership between AutoGrid and SWTCH Energy marks the first demand response program in North America to incorporate EV chargers in multi-unit residential buildings

California coalition calls for RTO in the West “Lights On California” believes it’s time for California to consider clean energy solutions both within and beyond its borders to prevent blackouts, reduce energy costs, and transition to 100% clean energy.

With a rise of extreme weather events and an aging centralized electric grid, extended power outages are a rising threat to community resilience. Aware of these threats, AEP Ohio contracted Eaton to help construct a solar microgrid dedicated to supporting its Tussing water booster station.

A microgrid can operate fully independently, or on “island” mode, providing continuous power through long-term outages. The water booster station’s microgrid includes 100 kW of onsite solar generation and 440 kWh of battery energy storage. The Eaton project is fully commissioned and expected to achieve operations this quarter.

The microgrid supports the City of Columbus climate action plan to reduce emissions by 45% and implement five microgrid pilot projects by 2030 on the path to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. It was funded partially through AEP Ohio’s Smart City program.

“Climate change is already impacting quality of life in central Ohio, and the challenges stemming from its very existence will only continue to grow more frequent and more common in the years ahead,” said Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “We have an obligation to strengthen the resiliency of our infrastructure and to meet these challenges head on.”

The EPA said as much as 40% of operational costs for drinking water is tied to energy use. The new microgrid is an example of supporting this critical infrastructure more sustainably while remaining cost-effective.

Microgrid adoption

Microgrids are increasingly being adopted by critical infrastructure and transportation providers to ensure long-term resilience of operations under a changing climate and grid. According to Wood Mackenzie data, the U.S. microgrid market saw a 47% increase in solar and storage capacity additions in 2022 compared to 2017 levels.

Moreover, the data shows that more than 175 solar projects and solar-plus-storage microgrids have been in active development and were scheduled to come online by the end of 2022. The U.S. microgrid market reached 10 GW in the third quarter of 2022, with more than 7 GW in operation and the rest in planning or construction stages.

Military microgrid installations will likely grow as a result of the U.S. Army’s resiliency goal to install a microgrid on every base by 2035. These will include renewable generation and large-scale battery storage, with the goal being able to “self-sustain its critical missions” on all Army installations by 2040.

Pittsburgh International Airport became the first major US airport to be powered entirely by a microgrid using natural gas and solar energy. In its first year of operation, carbon dioxide emissions were cut by about 8.2 million pounds, said Tom Woodrow, Pittsburgh Airport’s senior vice president of engineering and infrastructure intelligence. It is estimated that the airport saved $1 million in energy costs.

The 20 MW microgrid powers the entire airport and hotel and remains connected to the grid as an option for emergency or backup power if needed. Due to the cost savings, the airport is considering doubling the number of solar panels from over 9,000 to over 18,000.

In a remote community in Alaska, residents of the village of Shungnak, Alaska have become accustomed to burning diesel fuel for its electricity. As oil prices soared in early 2022, the village paid $8.25 or more to keep its smelly, loud diesel power plants running.

A solar plus battery energy storage project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Northwest Arctic Borough fundamentally changed how the village sources its electricity. A 225 kW solar array offsets much of the village’s energy needs, which generally ranges between 200kW and a peak of 300kW. LG 405 W NeON 2 Bifacial solar modules were selected for the array.

The microgrid is intelligently designed to operate and supply power in times where diesel generation would be most expensive. Diesel fuel transportation and maintenance costs are particularly high in remote, cold climates in freezing temperatures, and the microgrid can respond and dispatch power at those times of highest cost.

“Thanks to the energy storage system, we can turn the diesels off but keep the lights on in the community. It also gives the local utility the ability to run on 100% clean energy for hours at a time,” said Rob Roys, CIO, Launch Alaska.

Over $500 million in tax revenue expected from 800 MW Ohio solar project  The Oak Run solar project developed by Savion would create over 3,000 construction jobs and generate up to $504 million in tax revenue over its lifespan, 60% of which would fund local school districts.

Thin, lightweight coating protects perovskite solar in space An ultrathin coating protects a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and hardens it against environmental factors on Earth, according to a study by researchers at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Town recoups $2.3 million in back taxes with solar on a landfill  CEP Renewables installs nearly 60,000 solar panels on former municipal landfill, transitioning previously unusable land into revenue-generating, clean energy asset.

Non-profit group to deploy 2.2 MW rooftop solar on D.C. houses  When complete, the non-profit, Enterprise Community Partners, will have more than 3,000 housing units with installed solar systems.

Bipartisan group files to repeal solar tariff moratorium  The tariff reaches as high as 250% of the cost of solar components shipped from four Southeast Asian countries responsible for 80% of the supply of solar in the US.

LG Energy Solution sees record profit in Q4  One of the leading global battery manufacturers, LG Energy Solution, announced an increase of 43% in revenue and nearly 60% in operating profit as it seeks to expand in North America.

Trade policy, supply chain murk waters for utility solar growth  A recent Wood Mackenzie report looks at trade, supply chain constraints, and equipment prices that curbed utility-scale solar installations.

The Ohio Power Siting Board is opening a public hearing for comment on the approval of what would be the largest solar facility in the nation, 800 MW, overtaking the 690 MW Gemini Solar project in Nevada. The project represents an investment of at least $1 billion, said developer Savion.

Tax revenues for Ohio are estimated to range between $242 million and $504 million over the 30 to 35 year life of the solar facility. Building the project would result in the creation of over 3,000 construction jobs. A full economic analysis for public record can be found here.

A record of public comments and related documents under review by the siting board can be found here. Over 200 comments have been submitted. A public hearing was scheduled for 5 p.m. on April 11 at Jonathan Alder High School in Plain City, Ohio.

“As a resident of Plain City I am always thrilled with new opportunities for our county to grow. Approving the Oak Run Solar project will bring a lot of potential for growth through the millions of dollars it will bring the county’s tax base along with investments in education. I enthusiastically support Oak Run,” said resident David Quinones in a public comment.

The massive solar project would be installed on 6,000 acres of land in rural Madison County, Ohio. If approved, construction would begin in 2023, with commercial operations coming online in phases starting in 2025.

A comprehensive study of the economic effects on the local and state economy was submitted to the siting board as part of the publicly available review process. Nearly 1,500 Madison County construction jobs would be created, and over 3,000 for the state. Over 63 permanent operations and maintenance jobs would be supported by Oak Run.

Oak Run solar would also include 300 MW of Tesla battery energy storage, which is expected to have a 20-year lifespan. Design submissions on public record call for the installation of modules supplied by most Tier 1 solar module providers, including Canadian Solar, JA Solar, Jinko Solar, Longi, Maxeon, Titan Vertex/Trina Solar, VSun, and US-based First Solar. Trackers may include single-axis tracking from GameChange Solar, Nextracker, Array Technologies, and FTC Voyager. Sungrow was selected as inverter provider.

The report included an economic land use analysis regarding the purchase of the agricultural land for the new facility.

Using a real-options analysis, the land use value of solar purchasing far exceeds the value for agricultural use in Madison County.

The price of corn would need to rise to $21.31 per bushel or yields for corn would need to rise to 462.6 bushels per acre by the year 2056 for corn farming to generate more income for the landowner and local community than the annualized solar payment. At the time of the report, September 2022, corn was sold for $5.45 per bushel and yields were 210.1 bushels per acre. 

Alternatively, the price of soybeans would need to rise to $62.55 per bushel or yields for soybeans would need to rise to 167.2 bushels per acre by the year 2056 for soybean farming to generate more income than Oak Run. At the time of this report, soybean prices were $13.10 per bushel respectively and yields were 62.2 bushels per acre.

“What a tragedy. Oak run project. 5,000 acres of corn equal 1,100,000 bushels of corn every year. Over 50% Kokomo soil, some of the best in the world. I am not against solar panels. I am against solar panels replacing GOD given soil. No amount of money is worth our soil,” said resident Tim Kronk in public comment.

Agrivoltaics, or the practice of co-locating crop production with solar energy facilities, is a practice being evaluated worldwide for mutual benefits to both the solar equipment and the yield of crops.

As much as $300 million in funding would be generated for local public schools in direct result of the project.

“I believe projects like Oak Run will be able to provide more opportunities for long-term investments that will make sure our county has the resources to ensure our school systems are well funded and there are job opportunities,” said resident Gabriel Torres in public comment.

From pv magazine global

Researchers at the University of Toledo in the United States have developed a flexible CdTe solar cell through a water-assisted lift-off approach, including an additional cadmium chloride treatment for the cell’s cadmium sulfide (CdS) film.

“These are lightweight and flexible solar cells that can especially install on any curve surface or electric device and, most importantly, they are good for space applications,” researcher Sandip Singh told pv magazine.

The scientists described the water-assisted lift-off method as a low-cost fabrication process to offer advantages such as lower stress in CdTe films and ambient operation temperature. The lift-off approach consists of different photolithography techniques for creating a photoresist profile that ensures separation between the thin film coating in desired and undesired areas of a give pattern. It includes washing away the photoresist to leave behind the film in the patterned area.

They used cleaved mica sheets as a mediator substrate for the solar cell and a CdS buffer layer with thickness of 100 nm. They also applied a cadmium chloride (CdCl2) vapor treatment to the cadmium sulfide (CdS) film before CdTe deposition and a second CdCl2 treatment after CdTe deposition.

“A 3.5 μm CdTe absorber layer was deposited by the closed space sublimation method with a source temperature of 580 C and a substrate temperature of 520 C in a 1% oxygen and 99% argon environment,” they explained.

The academics dried the peeled film with a nitrogen jet and deposited a transparent conduction oxide indium zinc oxide (IZO) layer as a front contact.

“In this process, the mica sheet serves only to grow CdS and CdTe films, after the delamination mica sheet is not a part of the solar cell,” they said.

They said the process results in a higher cristallinity of the films. They found that the average grain size of the CdS film without additional CdCl2 treatment is much smaller than that with additional CdCl2 treatment. This means that the CdS film has a higher conductivity.

Tested under standard illumination conditions, the cell achieved a power conversion efficiency of 12.60%, an open-circuit voltage of 0.829 V, a short-circuit current density of 23.64 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 64.30%. The group described this efficiency value as highest reported among all flexible CdTe solar cells fabricated by the lift-off technique.

“The additional CdCl2 treatment on the CdS layer significantly improves the open-circuit voltage and fill while the improvement of short-circuit current density is negligible,” the researchers said. They described the novel cell technology in “Water-Assisted Lift-Off Process for Flexible CdTe Solar Cells,” which was recently published in ACS Publications.

New York grid operator advances 3 GW of solar, storage projects  After 3 GW of solar and storage projects have advanced, about 27 GW of solar and storage projects remain in New York’s interconnection queue. The grid operator also advanced 3 GW of wind projects and a 1.25 GW transmission line.

Sustainability at FISU World University Games includes solar-powered off-grid generators  Lion Energy is supporting the Games’ “Save Winter” sustainability efforts by providing 70 Lion Safari ME generators.

Model law protects brownfield solar development  Liability exemptions seek to reduce uncertainty, and fears of potential financial liability for renewable energy developers allowing for expedited siting on contaminated sites across the United States.

Soiling – a multibillion-dollar issue for the solar industry  A new report by the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS) estimates that lost revenue from PV module soiling amounts to more than $3.2 billion per year, an amount that is only set to increase as PV systems grow larger and more efficient.

Upswing in PJM interconnection costs amid energy transition, report says Huge growth in interconnection requests along with lengthy reviews and high project withdrawal rates motivated PJM to create a “first-ready, first-served” approach in 2022, Berkeley Lab notes.

$10 Million prize to accelerate community solar in underrepresented communities  The U.S. Department of Energy launched the Community Power Accelerator to help deploy more community solar including support and best practices for developers. A Connect the Dots program will provides a resource hub to help teach the public about the benefits of solar energy.

Ohio watershed authority evaluating bids for modules and hardware for 13 solar facilities  IMC Solar, a local engineering contractor, will install the watershed preservation district’s solar systems at six or more office locations.

Anglers of the Ohio River’s eastern tributaries will see its conservation corps powering its stations with solar over the coming years.  The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) announced plans to install 13 solar systems this year with EPC contractor IMC Solar deploying its systems. Solar power generated from the projects will help offset approximately 73% of energy used by the district and lower its carbon footprint by 656 tons of CO2 emissions.

Adria Bergeron, director of marketing and communications at MWCD, told pv magazine USA that the water district is evaluating bids for solar modules and hardware to be used across the 13 waterway sites, where the facilities could utilize ground-mounted, rooftop systems or parking canopy solar arrays, or a combination of the three systems.  The spokeswoman said once the district evaluates bids from potential suppliers, the authority and IMC Solar will provide more clarity on the overall power output from the 13-site portfolio, adding that the preference is to go with Ohio or at least U.S.-made components.

The district’s board of directors recently approved an agreement with IMC Solar to install solar projects at the conservancy’s Atwood, Clendening, Piedmont, Seneca, and Tappan Lakes facilities, in addition to its main office located in New Philadelphia, Ohio.

“MWCD’s mission is to be a good steward of our natural resources,” said Craig Butler, executive director. “Ohio has excellent opportunities for solar power, and we expect to grow this program to expand in the future.  We are fortunate to partner with IMC Solar and welcome them as part of our team to help us manage our long-term energy management needs.”

“We really want to create a visible presence for our visitors because there really isn’t all that much solar in our part of the state,” said Bergeron.

“The solar program will also provide better economics for the district’s energy expenditures,” said Rick Frio, managing partner of IMC Solar.

The district’s clean power analysis began in 2022 with IMC Solar assessing solar potential. This included evaluating electricity usage, determining potential locations, and cost savings.

IMC Solar will assist during the construction phase as well as the negotiations of a purchase power agreement, including providing financial modeling of the potential projects.

The district was formed in 1933 to develop and implement a plan to reduce flooding and conserve water for beneficial public uses in the Muskingum River Watershed, the largest watershed in Ohio which covers about 20% of the state’s land area.

Since construction, the district’s 16 reservoirs and dams have been credited to saving more than $8 billion worth of potential property damage from flooding, as well as providing popular recreational opportunities including campgrounds, fishing and boating access, hiking and walking trails that bolster the region’s economy. The district is partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for operations and management of the system of dams and reservoirs. The Army Corps operates the dams for flood reduction and the district manages most of the reservoir areas behind the dams.

American Electric Power, the utility that services the eastern Ohio region, will retire 50% of its U.S. coal fleet or approximately 5.3 GW of coal-fired power plants through 2028.  In December 2015, AEP demolished a 1.5 GW coal plant located along the Muskingum River in Beverly, Ohio.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Ohio ranks 26th in the U.S. for solar development, with 916 MW deployed through Sept. 30, 2022, though the Buckeye State is home to 7,411 workers in the solar industry. Ohio is home to First Solar, Yellowlite and Toledo Solar manufacturing facilities.

RMI launches virtual power plant partnership with Google Nest and GM  VP3 Initiative will help catalyze potential for the rapid growth of virtual power plants.

The largest solar project in South Dakota begins construction  National Grid is developing the 128 MW facility and has secured a power purchase agreement with Basin Electric Cooperative.

BP to construct 134 MW Ohio project for Meta Arche Solar is the first of BP’s fully-owned solar projects   o begin construction, while previous projects were developed by 50:50 joint venture Lightsource BP.

Silicon cost per watt down 96% over last two decades  Since 2004, the volume of polysilicon per watt is down by 87%, and the inflation adjusted price for polysilicon is also down by 76%.

Women of clean energy honored with C3E Awards  By raising the visibility of role models for women in clean energy, the C3E Initiative is helping to attract more women to the field. Read about this year’s winners of the CE3 Awards.

Waste-to-hydrogen facility to fuel transportation in California  Chevron New Energies, Raven and Hyzon Motors team up to commercialize green waste-to-hydrogen production.

Energy major BP will install its first utility solar project developed entirely on its own, not through its lightsource bp 50:50 joint venture development arm. The project, Arche Solar, is a 134 MWdc solar facility in Fulton County, Ohio, which has secured a corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) with social media company Meta for a data center in New Albany, Ohio.

The project uses ultra-low carbon thin-film modules supplied by First Solar, which holds a multi-year agreement with BP.  At the time of its 2021 supply agreement, the companies agreed to lightsource bp suppling clean energy to the solar module manufacturer’s Ohio operations. Arche Solar is located on 650 acres of private land in Gorham Township, Ohio, 50 miles due west of First Solar’s Perrysburg, Ohio facilities. Energy generated at the Arche Solar plant will be delivered to an existing substation located adjacent to a 138 kilovolt transmission line.

Arche Solar was part of a pipeline of projects BP purchased through its June 2021 acquisition of an 7X Energy project portfolio for $220 million.  As part of the deal, BP acquired a 9 GW project development pipeline which expanded its renewable energy pipeline from 14GW to 23GW.

During Arche Solar’s construction, the project will employ 200 workers for installation, while the project provides enough power to supply 20,000 homes with clean energy, the equivalent of 155,900 metric tons of greenhouse gases avoided per year.

The Ohio Power Siting Board approved 7X Energy’s site permit for the project in April 2021. The project is projected to generate $30 million in tax revenue over its anticipated lifespan of 35+ years.

The project is part of BP’s plans to develop 20 GW of net renewable generating capacity by 2025 and 50GW by 2030.

“This agreement shows how companies can create jobs, invest in the US economy, and at the same time support net zero ambitions and help the world reduce carbon emissions,” said David Lawler, chairman and president of BP America. “It’s another example of bp partnering to accelerate change and becoming an integrated energy company – one that can help corporations, countries and cities decarbonize.”

McCarthy Building Companies was retained as the main contractor for Arche Solar.

The project will use solar trackers from Nextracker.

In November 2021, BP and Lightsource bp and placed multi-year orders for up to 5.4 GWdc combined of First Solar solar modules.  Under the deal, Lightsource bp bought up to 4.3 GWdc of modules for its project portfolio share, while BP agreed to buy 1.1 GWdc of modules for its respective projects owned.

The framework agreements provide modules for delivery between 2023 and 2025. Under the BP agreement, First Solar has firm orders for 1.55 GWdc of modules in 2023, 1.3 GWdc in 2024, and 1.55 GWdc in 2025.

With 916 MW of solar installations, Ohio ranks 26^th in the nation for solar, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. The Buckeye State has an aggressive five-year development pipeline of 8.83 GW, which, like PJM states like Indiana and Pennsylvania, could push the Ohio up into the teens in SEIA rankings.

Electric vehicle battery manufacturing capacity in North America is projected to increase to 1,000 GWh/year by 2030, representing a 20 times increase from 55 GWh/year of manufacturing capacity in 2021, thanks primarily to stimulus funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

The majority of new EV battery plants are scheduled to begin production between 2025 and 2030. By then, production capacity will be capable of supporting the manufacture of roughly 10 to 13 million fully electric vehicles per year.

In a report by the Department of Energy in conjunction with Argonne National Laboratory, planned battery capacity production is seeing the highest penetration rate in the Midwest and Southeast, with historic Rust Belt states across the Midwest having facilities devoted to battery production.  To optimize supply chain logistics, many battery facilities will be co-located within existing automotive plants.

Michigan, Kentucky and Georgia have the highest estimated battery production capacity through 2030, at 97 GW per year to 136 GW/y, followed by Ohio, Kansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and California, with 46 GW/y to 97 GW/y of estimated battery production.

By existing vehicle production locations, the Midwest has a good number of existing facilities for battery use, at 25 facilities, while surprisingly Ontario has nine facilities and Mexico has 30 facilities that are flagged for planned EV battery capacity.

In addition to vehicle facility co-locations for EV battery production, the concentration of 2030 battery plant announcements broadly correlates to states in the same region seeing the highest rate of new EV registrations. Southeast states like Georgia and Florida, which tallied 128,000 new EV registrations, are seeing a manufacturing uptick across the historic manufacturing hub of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. West Coast states of California (878,000) and Washington  (91,000) seeing a high EV registration are broadly seeing production capacity coming online in the next few years in California, Arizona and Nevada.

A few states with existing vehicle assembly plants such as Illinois, Missouri, and Mississippi, have not telegraphed plans for additional 2030 goal EV battery production capacity, despite having five existing vehicle assembly locations.

Since the landmark Inflation Reduction Act passed in August, auto makers and battery companies have announced $11 billion in new investments into the North American EV battery supply chain. Panasonic opened a $4 billion factory in Kansas and is now eyeing Oklahoma,  Toyota increased its commitment to a North Carolina battery production facility from $1.3 billion to $3.8 billion, and Statevolt intends to spend $4 billion on a factory in California.

Through late 2021, 2.3 million vehicles or just over 4% of North American vehicles on the road were EVs or plug-in hybrid EVs, with 630,000 EVs sold in 2021 alone, representing sales growth of 92% compared to 457,000 of sales in 2020.

Since 2010, 65% of EVs sold in the U.S. have been assembled here, and over 110 GWh of lithium-ion batteries have been installed in those vehicles to date.  The average range for EVs reached 290 miles in 2021, with 2.5 billion gallons of gasoline cumulatively saved since 2010, reducing consumer fuel costs by $1.3 billion in 2021. EVs drove 19.1 billion miles in 2021 using 6,100 GWh of electricity, saving 700 million gallons of gasoline.

As of December 2021, Tesla (42.9%), General Motors (11.6%), Toyota (8%), Ford (6.8%) and Nissan (7.1%) generated more than 75% of total EV sales in North America, with four Tesla models, the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Bolt/Volt, Ford Fusion Energi and Toyota Prius making up some of the 14 most popular EV models by sales of over 30,000 units apiece in 2021.

California, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Vermont and Colorado all have total EV shares above 1% relative to total cars on the road, with California holding more than 3% ratio of EVs to conventional vehicles on the road for late 2021, with Hawaii and West Coast states to Colorado following the Sunshine State.

The rate of electric vehicle adoption will likely increase substantially in coming years as states issue EV mandates.

Additional data and reports can be accessed from the DOE here. The research report was authored by Argonne’s David Gohlke, Yan Zhou, Xinyi Wu and Calista Courtney.