General Motors (GM) announced it has entered a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA), signing on to purchase electricity generated by a 180 MW solar project.

The agreement with solar developer NorthStar Clean Energy will enable GM to power three of its assembly plants with clean energy. The project in Newport, Arkansas, will support the electricity needs of GM’s Lansing Delta Township Assembly and Lansing Grand River Assembly in Michigan, and the Wentzville Assembly site in Missouri.

The Newport Solar project is expected to generate enough electricity to power over 30,000 homes per year.

“By expanding our renewable electricity portfolio, we are taking a major step forward in reducing our carbon footprint and advancing our broader sustainability goals,” said Rob Threlkeld, GM director of global energy strategy. “This facility not only supports our renewable electricity strategy, but also demonstrates our dedication to a sustainable future for all.”

The project won’t directly power GM plants, but rather will provide GM with renewable energy certificates (REC) that help the company achieve its state environmental, social, and governance goals. Such REC contracts are often facilitated by Southeast U.S. states, where the grid has some of the worst carbon pollution in the nation.

While RECs help attract investment and development in these regions, critics have warned that they are misleading in the purported environmental benefits. Projects often sell electricity and RECs as two separate assets.

GM now has sourcing agreements with 17 renewable energy projects across 11 states. BloombergNEF lists GM as the automotive industry’s largest buyer of renewable power capacity.

California advances flexible demand that can absorb renewable power  With flexible demand appliance standards for pool controls set to take effect in California next year, the state is now developing standards for electric storage water heaters, to be followed by standards for five more types of appliances.

PV systems can now support grid as fossil fuels decline A new report by the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaics  Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS) says that existing PV systems have the technical capabilities to provide various frequency-related grid services.

Google invests in 800 MW solar project in Illinois The Double Black Diamond Solar project may be the largest solar installation east of the Mississippi when complete in 2025.

The Hydrogen Stream: U.S. companies, institutions present hydrogen plans As the hydrogen project in Appalachia moves on, American Airlines confirms its commitment to hydrogen aircrafts. Meanwhile, a Scottish distillery might soon run on hydrogen for whisky production.

Startup Enteligent secures $6 million to scale solar EV charging The company offers a DC-to-DC electric bidirectional electric vehicle charger that allows EVs to charge directly from solar panels without the need to convert to AC.

Natron Energy announces $1.4 billion sodium ion battery factory in North Carolina The company will open a 24 GW annual production facility, creating over 1,000 jobs.

Swift Current Energy reported that it has closed on a tax equity investment from Google for its 800 MWdc Double Black Diamond Solar project in southern Illinois. The amount of funding by Google was not disclosed, but previous reporting by pv magazine USA stated that over $779 million in project financing was closed for this project, making it among the largest solar project financings in U.S. history.

Located 30 miles west of Springfield, Illinois, the Project is currently under construction and is expected to reach commercial operations by early 2025. Once operational, according to Swift Current Energy, Double Black Diamond Solar is expected to be the largest solar project east of the Mississippi River.

The tax equity financing makes use of energy communities and domestic content adders, provided in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Energy communities are those that are expected to face challenges in the transition away from fossil fuels, such as certain metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) and non-metropolitan statistical areas based on unemployment rates. The domestic content adder is a 10% tax credit bonus for solar, wind, and battery energy storage developers that install projects using U.S.-made components, adding to the 30% base investment tax credit.

“As we work to responsibly grow our infrastructure, we need to partner with companies like Swift Current who understand the nuances of the energy markets where we operate and can help unlock new clean energy at a rate that matches the pace and scale of demand growth on electric grids today,” said Amanda Peterson Corio, global head of data center energy at Google.

The project uses First Solar modules, a majority of which are being manufactured in the US, as well as solar trackers from U.S.-based Nextracker. At peak construction, the project employed approximately 500 construction workers. Swift Current is the project developer and will be the long-term owner and operator, and McCarthy Building Companies is the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) partner.

Swift Current Energy said that Double Black Diamond Solar will contribute to communities in Sangamon and Morgan counties. The Project, capable of powering 100,000 homes annually, is expected to reduce regional carbon dioxide emissions by approximately one million tons per year.

“We are proud to be home to one of the largest clean energy projects in the nation,” said Andy Van Meter, Sangamon County board chairman. “The Double Black Diamond Solar project brings significant economic benefits to our community, contributing $100 million in tax revenue and supporting hundreds of jobs. This project is a win for both our community and the environment.”

Energy producer Constellation NewEnergy reportedly will purchase a portion of the energy and renewable energy credits (RECs) generated by Double Black Diamond Solar to serve the seven customers that have been announced. The City of Chicago will source renewable energy produced by the Project to power several energy-intensive facilities, including Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport. Additionally, Cook County Illinois, CVS Health, Loyola University of Chicago, PPG, State Farm, and TransUnion have agreements to purchase power from the Project via Constellation.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Societe Generale, Truist and ING provided construction financing for the Project. Vinson & Elkins LLP and Husch Blackwell LLP represented Swift Current in the transaction. Milbank LLP and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP represented Google.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. connected 20.2 GWac of utility-scale power plants to the grid during the first half of 2024. This capacity includes 12 GW from solar power, which represents 59% of the total additions. Additionally, 4.2 GW of this new capacity was attributed to energy storage.

Florida and Texas led the nation in utility-scale solar development, contributing 38% of the new solar capacity. Notable projects include the 690 MW Gemini Solar facility in Nevada, which integrates solar and storage, and the 653 MW Lumina Solar Project in Texas.

Energy storage was the second most significant technology by capacity with a total deployment of 4.2 GW. California led the charge, contributing 37% of the total energy storage capacity, followed by Texas (21%), Arizona (19%), and Nevada (13%). Together, these states accounted for 90% of the energy storage capacity added, with the 380 MW battery at the Gemini facility being the largest of the period.

Fossil fuel retirements far outpaced new fossil capacity deployments. The EIA noted that 5.1 GW of capacity was retired, with 53% from methane (2.7 GW) and 41% from coal (2 GW). In contrast, only 0.4 GW of new gas capacity was deployed.

The U.S. energy sector’s growth trajectory is expected to continue its upward trend. For the second half of the year, the EIA forecasts an additional 42.6 GW from new capacity deployments, including 25 GW from solar and an additional 10.8 GW of energy storage. Combined with the first-half capacity of 12 and 4 GW, the nation could finish 2024 with 37 GW of new utility-scale solar and 15 GW of new energy storage facilities.

Is 37 GW real or a mirage?

Whether we can actually reach the projected record capacities of solar will be dependent on politics. The nation is currently debating the imposition of new AD/CVD tariffs, which if implemented at the rates suggested by the filers, would lead to the United States paying three times the international price for solar panels. Historically, similar AD/CVD tariffs led to delays and cancellations for about 20% of utility-scale solar capacity in 2022.

Solar industry analyst Roth MKM has suggested that developers are proceeding cautiously, potentially deferring some 2024 projects to 2025 due to these tariff risks. Just last week, U.S. module manufacturers filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce seeking critical retroactive tariffs.

In 2023, the U.S. added just over 18 GW of utility-scale solar, according to the EIA. Including all capacities, from residential to utility-scale, Wood Mackenzie significantly adjusted their capacity estimations upward to just over 40 GWdc of solar power deployed in 2023. At the start of 2024, the EIA projected about 36 GWac of new utility-scale solar capacity. Combined with small-scale solar projections from various groups, it was suggested that nearly 53 GWdc of new solar capacity might be deployed in the United States in 2024. The EIA indicated that if the current pace continues, then 37 GW of utility-scale solar will be deployed in 2024, more than doubling last year’s record capacity.

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.

Houston-based Sage Geosystems has started construction on a 3 MW geo-pressurized geothermal energy storage system in Christine, Texas. The announcement follows a land-use agreement signed with the San Miguel Electric Cooperative Inc. (SMECI) enabling the location of the facility near an existing coal-fueled power plant. Sage will serve as merchant, buying and selling electricity to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid.

The storage system, dubbed EarthStore, is based on Sage’s dry rock geothermal technology, which consists of a drilled well into which water is pumped and kept at ambient heat and pressure in subsurface rock formations. When electricity is needed, the naturally heated and pressurized water is released to run a Pelton-type hydroelectric turbine generator. The storage facility is expected to have six to 10 hours of capacity.

The SMECI project will be the company’s first commercial storage facility. Sage CEO Cindy Taff said the coal plant will not have any bearing on storage operations, except as a source of water, and that the idea is to buy electricity from ERCOT to run pumps when demand and prices are low. When ERCOT experiences high demand Sage will run its turbine and sell the power.

“We’ll be drilling the well in September and building the facility,” Taff told pv magazine USA. “We’ll have everything done by the end of December this year.”

Ideally, Taff says, the EarthStore system would serve as a long duration energy storage companion to solar and wind generation, where surplus energy is used to run the pumps. The amount of storage depends on the number of wells available: more may be drilled to increase capacity on site. The pumped water may be stored indefinitely and when released delivers a round-trip efficiency of 70-75% with a water loss of less than 2%, she said.

The EarthStore system is one of family of geothermal storage and baseload energy systems Sage is developing. A more ambitious geothermal generation technology drills a series of wells to depths of 9,000 to 20,000 feel, where ambient temperatures range from 218- to 485-degrees Fahrenheit. In such systems, pressurized steam is liberated to run Rankin-cycle turbines to generate electricity. A more advanced version will heat pressurized, supercritical CO2 to drive a specialized turbine with greater efficiency.

Sage has contracts with the Department of Defense to develop geothermal baseload generators and microgrids for its facilities. It is conducting feasibility studies at the Army’s Ft. Bliss and Air Force’s Ellington Field bases, both in Texas. A prototype geothermal plant is under construction at the latter site. In addition, Sage has a test site of its own in Starr County.

According to Taff, the primary advantage of Sage’s approach to geothermal storage and generation is that it uses existing drilling techniques from the oil and gas industry to produce renewable energy from rock formations that exist essentially everywhere. All of the 16 GW of existent geothermal energy is produced from hydrothermal locations linked to volcanic activity – relatively rare occurrences.

“If you look at the continental U.S., we can put storage even in the East, where the geothermal potential is a little bit more challenge,” Taff said. “We can do it in the West, where you have good geothermal potential. So, we can pair with wind or solar just about anywhere. We are actually looking at pairing with solar to provide off-grid, 24/7 power for data centers and other customers who need tons of power.”

A recent headline in this publication stated that “community solar increases energy equity.” It is true that incentives and legislation ensure that community solar projects are built to include low- to middle-income (LMI) communities in a meaningful way.  And undoubtedly, the “middle income” part of “LMI” are benefitting from access to clean, low-cost solar power.

I do believe that the growth statistic referenced in the article – from two to 10% participation by LMI subscribers – is the result of a carrot and stick approach that has made it either a requirement or a bonus for community solar project developers to actively include traditionally underserved communities.

While this growth metric is significant, it may not be indicative of the reality for low–income households. When looking at the data, the question remains – how many of these LMI subscribers are actually middle income, rather than low income – the truly underserved?

Today, a host of frictions exist that make it really challenging to include low income households in a meaningful way. In fact, because of these frictions, it was surprising to read another statistic in the article; that the cost of acquiring LMI customers for community solar projects had declined by 30% between 2022 and 2023.

Our experience shows that engaging LMI households often requires significantly more handholding, which can translate to higher costs. This need for a higher touch isn’t surprising as these communities have historically been taken advantage of, so they approach a new service with great skepticism. Then, they often encounter a host of requirements that solidify this point of view, and make enrolling and keeping them as subscribers difficult.

Billing challenges

In many states, low-income households who enroll in community solar programs receive two bills: one from their community solar provider to pay for the community solar credits applied to their utility account; and one from their utility reflecting any remaining usage/bill spend not offset by the community solar credits. We’ve already introduced complexity – and from their perspective, the possibility of paying more – simply by introducing a second bill.

However, the issues do not stop there. Community solar credits applied to a bill in June might not be invoiced until August when the utility actually shares required data. Subscribers, understandably, can be confused since credits don’t reconcile with their most recent bill.

Some states, like New York, have instituted net crediting, a streamlined method for implementing community solar credits where savings are applied directly to the subscribers’ bill.  In this scenario, a subscriber who receives a $100 community solar credit would realize the $20 (or 20%) savings on their primary utility bill. The $20 would simply be applied to the subscriber’s bill as savings and the $80 would be paid by the utility to the project owner. From the subscriber’s perspective, nothing changes and the savings are easy to see.

Unfortunately, net crediting is still the exception, not the norm. In New York, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) have worked with community solar project managers like PowerMarket to advocate for approaches, like net crediting, that make the process easier for the LMI households who would most benefit from credits and discounts.  States including Maryland, New Jersey, and Illinois are in the process of implementing net crediting. I am hopeful that more states follow suit.

Misguided consumer protections

In many cases, a number of states have had to react to bad actors in the retail supply and rooftop solar industries. These states have developed community solar programs with well-intended but inherently flawed consumer protection rules that have also created unnecessary roadblocks for subscribers. In llinois, for example, regulations require interested consumers to navigate a disjointed, digital-only enrollment process. For seniors who may not have an email address, or LMI households without reliable access to internet service, this creates friction from the start.

Illinois requires interested subscribers to first execute a unique, online-only Disclosure Form (DF). This DF creation process presents material barriers to households without computer access or technical savvy. In fact, if you are a subscriber who doesn’t have an email address, like many seniors, you need to sign an additional form representing as much.

In other states, including Massachusetts and Maine, the utilities, citing consumer protection and privacy, do not share critical subscriber usage and bill spend data with community solar managers, resulting in allocations that do not accurately match subscriber’s usage. In some cases, this translates into subscribers paying for credits that then expire. Or in other cases, consumers miss out on additional savings they could be enjoying if only their allocation could be increased. Without the data, however, community solar managers are simply relying on historical usage, and have no ability to adjust allocations as usage naturally fluctuates.

Reducing friction and increasing profitability

Community solar availability is absolutely increasing – not just for LMI households but for many other residential and corporate users. Tax incentives, regulatory requirements, and adders are certainly increasing access and usage.

However, real momentum will come when two things are addressed: reducing challenges for low income subscribers; and increasing profitability for developers.

The industry should unite in a call to action to regulators and legislators: reduce frictions that are hampering growth in equitable community solar access. A host of positive developments in different markets can serve as lessons-learned for the industry as a whole. There are states where regulators have instituted net crediting, enhanced data sharing between utilities and subscriber management organizations, and carved multiple avenues for humanely proving eligibility for LMI discounts. In these states, underserved households and individuals are finding it easier and more attractive to access the benefits of community solar.

Real change ultimately will be driven by looking at and learning from how community solar programs are administered in a creative and effective way. As these smart approaches to our industry proliferate nationally, we should begin to see real, explosive growth around community solar. Let’s work together to ensure that developers and underserved communities both benefit.

Jason Kaplan is president and general counsel at PowerMarket, a provider of acquisition, management, billing and support services to the solar energy industry. In his role, Kaplan works with a broad range of developers, municipalities, businesses and other stakeholders to make clean energy accessible to all.

In the late 1970s Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia, became the first American president to champion solar energy as a key to energy independence. His bold initiatives set the stage for the future of renewable energy in the United States.

At the age of 92, President Carter’s dedication to solar energy came full circle when his family decided to convert 10 acres of their peanut farm into a 1.3 MW solar farm. Florida-based J&B Solar was chosen to build this impressive array.

The story of this collaboration began on February 8th, 2017, when President Carter and his family attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new solar project. Developed under a lease agreement with Atlanta-based SolAmerica, the project covered 10 acres and promised to produce over 55 million kWh of energy over the next 25 years. J&B Solar installed 200 concrete foundations, assembling aluminum racking, and positioning 3,852 polycrystalline solar panels. This setup was designed to generate more than half of the power needs for the residents of Plains, a small town with a population of 683.

Reflecting on this milestone, Carter, the soft-spoken 39th president, expressed his hope: “I hope that we’ll see a realization that one of the best ways to provide new jobs — good-paying and productive and innovative jobs — is through the search for renewable sources of energy.”

Carter’s presidency laid the groundwork for the solar industry. A former nuclear submarine officer with a background in science, he understood the potential of advanced technology. In 1977, amidst an energy crisis, he established the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) in Golden, Colorado, and set an ambitious goal to install solar energy in over two and a half million homes by 1985. He even installed solar panels on the White House, a symbolic act of “walking the talk.”

Today, the photovoltaic industry thrives on a global scale, driven by more than just government incentives. The collaboration on the Carter family farm is a testament to the enduring impact of these trailblazers, showing how far we’ve come and how much potential lies ahead.

Josh Bessette is president and CEO of J&B Solar.

People on the move: Green Lantern, FTC Solar, Perch Energy and more Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

PNNL unveils Grid Storage Launchpad to bring together researchers to tackle energy storage tech A new building at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory aims to unite researchers and stakeholders to push forward advancements in grid storage technologies.

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.

Aurora Solar introduces solar models powered by EagleView EagleView brings its geospatial data and imagery library to Aurora’s solar modeling function, helping installers to design, plan and validate solar projects.

Pivot Energy partners with Microsoft to develop up to 500 MW of community solar  The portfolio is planned to be developed in locations across the United States from 2025 through 2029.

Community solar developer Pivot Energy announced it has entered a five-year agreement with Microsoft to deploy up to 500 MW of community solar projects. The projects are planned to be developed in locations across the United States between 2025 and 2029.

Over 20 years, the 500 MWac is expected to produce more than 1 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually, which is enough energy to power approximately 90,000 homes a year. This is equivalent to removing approximately 165,000 gas-powered passenger vehicles off the road each year, said Pivot Energy.

The agreement is Pivot’s largest renewable energy credit (REC) agreement to date. It also marks Microsoft’s first major distributed generation portfolio investment. Microsoft will purchase RECs generated by the projects for a 20-year term. By matching customer electricity usage with new renewable electricity generation, Microsoft supports its goal of reducing Scope 3 emissions by more than half by 2030.

Pivot will develop approximately 150 solar projects in 100 communities across 20 states, including Colorado, Maryland, Illinois, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The first projects are expected to come online this year.

“We believe the clean energy transition can and should benefit communities across the United States that have been historically excluded from economic opportunity,” said Adrian Anderson, general manager, renewables, Microsoft. “Through our work with Pivot Energy and with its commitments to driving community impact, this collaboration helps to build more inclusive, local economic growth across 100 communities while addressing the sustainability needs and opportunities within those communities.”

The agreement outlines four overarching community-centric initiatives that Pivot said it will prioritize:

1) Increasing the diversity of its subcontractors.

2) Partnering with workforce development organizations and subcontractors to train and hire local diverse talent.

3) Partnering with Sustain Our Future Foundation to invest in equitable community initiatives.

4) Increasing the energy bill savings of the community solar projects directed to low-income subscribers.

“An economy fueled by clean, distributed energy can do more than provide power at low cost; it drives growth and success in communities across the nation,” said Tom Hunt, chief executive officer, Pivot Energy.

Tariffs on solar cells remain, volume increased The Biden administration issued a proclamation stating that the tariff rate quota of 14.25% on solar cells will remain but volume increases from 5 GW to 12.5 GW.

Agrivoltaics for corn Researchers have created a novel model that can help developers asses corn growth in agrivoltaic facilities. They also proposed to use spatiotemporal shadow distribution (SSD) to optimize crop yield and power production.

World’s highways could host 52.3 billion solar panels, say researchers Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Geosciences, and Columbia University have concluded that solar-covered highways could meet more than 60% of the world’s annual energy needs.

ChargePoint introduces Omni Port universal EV charger The connector is compatible with all major electric vehicle brands, including Tesla and non-Tesla vehicles.

From pv magazine Global

A research group led by scientists from Purdue University has created a novel model for assessing the growth of corn in agrivoltaic facilities and has proposed to use a spatiotemporal shadow distribution (SSD) model to optimize crop yield and power production.

The new method is based on the agricultural production systems simulator (APSIM) plant model, which is based on finer temporal resolution, with literature reportedly supporting its validity. The SSD model, which accounts for the shadow cast by the PV panels, was used in conjunction with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) radiation data. These combined data were then calibrated and validated with the results from their field measurements.

The field experiment was conducted at an agrivoltaic farm at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. There, PV panels were deployed in two arrangements, either 300 W modules placed adjacent to each other or 100 W modules arranged in an alternate checkerboard pattern. They all used single-axis trackers and are 6.1 meters high. The set-up was tested between April and October of 2020.

“For validation, 12 plots are considered,” the academics said. “Corn ears of three representative plants from each of these plots were hand-collected. Overall, 570 corn plants from the without-PV region and 36 corn plants from the with-PV region, respectively, were used in the analysis. The ears were cleaned, imaged, and processed using a DuPont pioneer ear photometer.”

The field measurement showed that the corn yield from the area without PV was measured to be 10,955 kg/ha, compared with the yield of 10,182 kg/ha of the PV area. That was in reported agreement with the novel model, which predicted 10,856 kg/ha for the no-PV area and 10,102 kg/ha for the agri-PV field.

The researchers then used the model to test the impact of the tracker height, distance between arrays, panel angle, and the activation of the tracking system on yield. They first found that designs that lower the tracker height without impeding the movement of plant machinery should be envisioned as the overall average corn yield is a weak function of the tracker height up to 2.44 m.

“However, the variability from one corn row to another increases as the tracker height is reduced,” they further explained. “Another interesting finding is that for our PV module sizes, increasing the distance between the adjacent PV rows beyond 9.1 m, while keeping the total power over the entire land constant, does not lead to an increase in corn yield based on the total land area.”

They also found that anti-tracking (AT) around solar noon provided the most significant increase in the corn yield. “However, this increase in corn yield of 5.6% is quite modest and should be weighed against a substantial decline in solar power,” the group emphasized.

The proposed model was presented in “Optimizing corn agrivoltaic farming through farm-scale experimentation and modeling,” published in Cell Reports Sustainability. The research group also included academics from Denmark’s Aarhus University.

In case you missed it: Five big solar stories in the news this week pv magazine USA spotlights news of the past week including market trends, project updates, policy changes and more.

Solar+storage microgrids to provide reliability for Northern California tribes Solar-plus-storage microgrids to be built, owned and operated by three tribes in Humboldt County, California are expected to reduce outages by 90% at a lower cost than undergrounding power lines.

CleanCapital acquires 13 MW brownfield portfolio The two projects include Steel Sun II, located on the former Bethlehem Steel site on Buffalo’s waterfront and the Homeridae project, one of two solar arrays in Olean sited on a former oil refinery and tank farm.

SEG Solar opens 2 GW module factory in Houston Ribbon-cutting event marks $60 million investment in U.S. solar manufacturing.

Wood Mackenzie: U.S. community solar to double in five years  Cumulative community solar installations are forecast to increase from less than 7 GW installed today to over 14 GW by 2029.

Tesla usurps Sungrow as lead BESS producer globally in 2023 Sungrow has lost its crown as the “lead producer” in the battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market to Tesla, according to the Wood Mackenzie report ‘Global battery energy storage system integrator ranking 2024’. Tesla claimed a 15% global market share in 2023.

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.

Wood Mackenzie released a report updating the current market size of community solar in the United States. The firm forecasts that community solar installed capacity will essentially double in five years.

Community solar typically involves a customer subscribing to a portion of an off-site solar facility’s generating capacity, receiving credits on their utility bills for the electricity produced by the facility.

Wood Mackenzie forecasts that 7.3 GW of community solar will be installed through 2029, bringing the cumulative total to over 14 GW that year. The firm forecasts a national growth rate of 5% through 2026 and an 11% contraction through 2029.

The U.S. community solar market has tripled in size since 2020, but growth is beginning to slow in existing state markets, said Wood Mackenzie.

“Additionally, the May 2024 decision on California community solar resulted in a significant 14% reduction to Wood Mackenzie’s five-year national outlook. Without a major market entrant like California, long-term community solar growth will largely depend on the enactment of legislation to enable new state markets,” said Caitlin Connolly, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, and lead author of the report.

Under a bull case forecast, the firm’s expectation increases by 21% in existing markets, while the bear case projects a potential 20% decrease. These alternative scenarios do not account for the establishment of new state markets, such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin – all of which have significant interest and pre-development project pipelines. These markets would result in at least a 17% increase from the base forecast, reaching 17.1 GW installed in 2029, said Wood Mackenzie.

Community solar developers are continuing to navigate federal incentives.

“The fruits of the Inflation Reduction Act are numerous but difficult to count on,” said Connolly. “Community solar stakeholders are navigating a steep learning curve while trying to secure tax credit adders. In addition, awards from the $7 billion ‘Solar for All’ fund were announced in April 2024. Final implementation plans are not confirmed but developers hope to utilize federal funds to expand into new state markets even in the absence of official state programs.”

Wood Mackenzie expects 3.6 GW of community solar will serve low- to moderate-income households by 2029. Currently, about 829 MW of community solar serves LMI customers.

“The share of community solar capacity serving LMI subscribers grew from 2% in H2 2022 to 12% in H1 2024,” said the report. “Given the availability of the LMI tax credit adder, Solar for All funding, and evolution of state-level LMI requirements, the share of community solar dedicated to LMI subscribers will grow to nearly 25% by 2025.”

The top three community solar subscription managers cover 56% of subscribers an 71% of LMI subscribers. LMI subscribers remain the most costly to acquire with costs averaging $113 per kilowatt, 27% higher than the average cost to require non-LMI residential subscribers, said Wood Mackenzie.

CleanCapital has acquired an operating solar portfolio made up of two brownfield assets in New York. The projects, Steel Sun II and Homeridae, total 13 MW and supply clean energy to a local university, healthcare provider and a municipality in upstate New York.

The two projects were developed in 2019 by BQ Energy Development (BQ), a specialist in brownfield and landfill renewable energy development acquired by CleanCapital in 2022.

CleanCapital’s in-house development team, led by former BQ CEO Paul Curran, now oversees a project pipeline of nearly 2 GW of solar and more than 8 GWh of energy storage.

“The work we did at BQ Energy, including developing and operating these two exceptional projects, is a source of great pride for me,” said Paul Curran, chief development officer at CleanCapital and former BQ CEO. “Fully integrating the former BQ team into CleanCapital has produced a development team with the expertise, track record, and financial runway to develop, build, and operate hundreds of megawatts in the next few years. Our focus now is to execute on the more than 100 projects in our pipeline and deliver more clean megawatts to our customers as expeditiously as we can.”

The Steel Sun II project is located on the former Bethlehem Steel site on Buffalo’s waterfront and is part of a larger revitalization that includes an array of solar and wind projects. The energy generated by this project is contracted to local mainstays Kaleida Health and Canisius University, the latter of which is meeting its sustainability goals with this project.

“Canisius University benefits from this solar project by seeing lower energy costs, helps us meet the goals set out in our sustainability plan, as well as enhance our commitment to Laudato Si,” stated Joseph Snodgress, director of facilities management at Canisius University.

The Homeridae project is one of two solar arrays in Olean sited on a former oil refinery and tank farm, respectively. The City of Olean is the energy offtake for these projects, which reportedly have demonstrated cost savings to taxpayers in the five years the projects have been operating. Both sites benefited from the Department of Environmental Conservation Region 9 brownfield cleanup program.

“The net metering credits generated by the Homeridae solar project have been a significant benefit to our city budget, allowing us to reallocate savings toward other essential services for our community,” stated William Aiello, Mayor of Olean. “We are excited to see the ongoing positive impact of this oil refinery turned solar project that provides reliable and clean energy to the City of Olean.”

This acquisition brings CleanCapital’s portfolio of operating and under-construction assets to 242 projects totaling 341 MW across 23 states and U.S. territories.

From ESS News

n North America, the top three vendors – Tesla, Sungrow and Fluence – captured 72% of the region’s market share for BESS shipments in 2023, marking an increase for these companies of 20% YoY.

At the same time, Wood Mackenzie also reports that the US buildout of microgrids nearly doubled for commercial and industrial users in 2023, surpassing 900MW. According to the Financial Times, business owners are willing to pay high upfront costs to own private grids in order to avoid operational losses caused by power outages. Market concentration in the BESS integrator market in North America has increased significantly, mainly driven by Tesla with a 60% increase in market share YoY.

Despite the North American and European data showing Tesla delivering the most and second most BESS, respectively, the global shift comes from China as multiple China-based companies have entered the global market. Six of the “global top 10 vendors” are China-based. The Wood Mackenzie report partially attributes this to China’s BESS market being exclusively supplied by domestic companies. China also installed the most BESS globally in 2023.

The Wood Mackenzie report ‘Global battery energy storage system integrator ranking 2024’ states that the market share of the global “top five” BESS integrators shrank to 47%, down from 62% in 2022.

A battery energy storage system integrator is a company that specialises in procuring (and/or manufacturing) subsystem components, integrating hardware and software and supplying completed battery energy storage systems. Energy storage system integrators’ responsibilities vary in practice, depending on contract details, clients’ specific requirements and available resources in the market.

Kevin Shang, Wood Mackenzie’s principal research analyst for energy storage technology and supply chain, explained, “The global BESS integrator market is becoming increasingly competitive, especially in China, resulting in declining market concentration. As a sector with a relatively low entry barrier, the BESS integrator industry has attracted a significant number of new players.”

This dynamic saw the increased dominance of Chinese companies in the Asia Pacific region in 2023. CRRC jumped to the top among BESS integrators in APAC, which Wood Mackenzie attributed to cost competitiveness, followed by Hyperstrong. XYZ Storage and Envision tied in third place.

Shang noted here, “Importantly, established companies have also been bolstering their competitiveness in terms of price, performance of products and solutions across all regions.”

To continue reading, visit our ESS News website.

Three solar-plus-storage microgrids will “transform” a 142 mile-long distribution circuit that serves three tribes in eastern Humboldt County, California from “one of the state’s least reliable” circuits into a “highly resilient” system, says the Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt University.

The Schatz Center, which is leading the microgrid system design, says the microgrids will have a total of 9 MW of solar and 14 MW / 37 MWh of storage. The rural location will also enable 2 MW of small-scale, fish-safe hydropower and 1 MW of small-scale generation powered by forest residues.

A microgrid will serve each of the three tribes served by the “Hoopa 1101” distribution circuit—the Hoopa Valley, Yoruk and Karuk Tribes. The microgrids are expected to reduce outage hours in the area served by 90%. The cost will be about half the cost of improving reliability by undergrounding power lines, the Schatz Center said.

Chairman Russell Attebery of the Karuk Tribe said the project will “provide the safeguards needed to survive along the river. Our people will no longer fear losing their food or vital medical resources, like vaccines, as we have in the past.”

Each microgrid will be located “in front of the meter” and thus will be capable of powering a portion of the distribution circuit during local outages. The microgrids will be “nested,” enabling them to function either jointly or independently, as immediate circumstances along the power line require.

The project, known as the Tribal Energy Resilience and Sovereignty (TERAS) project, will advance sovereignty through tribal construction, ownership and operation of the advanced microgrid systems, and will include career development and education components.

The design has wide applicability, suggested Schatz Center Director Arne Jacobson, saying the center is “excited to radically expand the capacity of microgrids to provide energy reliability in high-risk locations.”

The Schatz Center previously designed California’s first front-of-the-meter, 100% renewable energy microgrid at the Redwood Coast Airport, and the first iteration of the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe’s microgrid in Humboldt County. The center is now designing an expansion of that microgrid into four nested, behind-the-meter microgrids, which will provide a demonstration site for the controls system that will subsequently be deployed along the Hoopa 1101 circuit.

The $177 million TERAS project is being supported with a federal cost share of $88 million, awarded in the latest round of grants under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program. In making the award, DOE said the project will “develop a replicable public-private partnership model for equitable and community-driven grid modernization.”

DOE says the GRIP program is designed to “enhance grid flexibility and improve the resilience of the power system against growing threats of extreme weather and climate change.”

The Schatz Center is also developing a campus-wide microgrid at Cal Poly Humboldt.

U.S. government announces resources to protect solar customers  Treasury, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission have partnered on developing consumer advisories and educational resources to help people navigate the solar buying process while avoiding deceptive practices.

O&M executives seeking underperforming solar assets Zack Hobbs and Casey Gilley are seeking to purchase, repower and maximize solar power farms that asset owners don’t have the time or resources to redevelop.

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.

New bidding strategy for PV asset owners operating in spot market Conceived by an international research team, the new bidding strategy applies to the day-after and the intraday markets. It uses a technique that transforms results from probabilistic models into actual scenarios. Their method showed its ability to yield increased revenues and reduced imbalance.

Jera Nex acquires U.S. solar sites from Lightsource bp Jera Nex has purchased two US solar arrays totaling 395 MW from Lightsource bp. The acquisition marks Jera Nex’s first deal since it launched in April. Lightsource bp will continue to manage assets and provide maintenance services at the projects.

U.S. DOE announces $1.45 billion loan for Qcells solar panel factory The Department of Energy announced a conditional commitment to loan Qcells for its Georgia factory producing solar ingots, wafers, cells, and panels.

Array Technologies unveils wireless tracker system that requires no trenching The SkyLink Tracker System runs on solar power and stows when storms are detected by its snow and hail response systems.

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.

Harris names clean energy advocate Governor Tim Walz as VP pick The Harris-Walz ticket wins on climate, according to clean energy supporters.

Quantum algorithm for photovoltaic maximum power point tracking Researchers have developed a quantum particle swarm optimization algorithm for maximum power point tracking that reportedly generates 3.33% more power in higher temperature tests and 0.89% more power in partial shading tests compared to conventional swarm optimization algorithms.

New discovery paves the way for more efficient perovskite solar cells Researchers from University of Texas have used computational methods to study the formation of polarons in halide perovskites. The findings revealed topological vortices in polaron quasiparticles.

SunPower goes bankrupt The residential solar installer has filed for bankruptcy, among the largest in a series of major bankruptcies in the industry.

Atlanta Motorsports Park goes solar The motorsports club with an F1-style track is installing a solar array that is expected to power about 60% of its operations.

A drone’s eye view helps find the perfect solar site Drone Drafting brings an array of aerial sensors to project planning and engineering.

Urban rooftops offer inviting platforms for commercial and industrial (C&I) and community solar projects. At the same time, even so-called flat roofs on warehouses and big box stores have features and irregularities that require precise and time-consuming site investigation before design of a solar array can begin.

Many solar developers are turning to drone operators to not only investigate proposed solar sites more quickly but to also and use multiple sensors to obtain a fuller understanding of a given site’s characteristics and suitability for hosting solar.

Brooklyn-based Drone Drafting says it has completed over 4,000 project surveys across the U.S. representing mapping of over 2.5 GW of proposed solar capacity. Emmett Witmer, Drone Drafting’s director of operations, told pv magazine USA that a drone team can accomplish more in two hours than a survey team on foot can in a day and less expensively.

“These rooftops – even the flat ones, funny enough – are not all symmetrical,” he said. “There’s often a lot of differences. Sections have been built bits and pieces, maybe at different times. Moreover, surfaces can have all these weird undulations that naked eye surveys can miss.”

The drone quadcopters carry optical payloads that can survey sites using multiple sensors across the spectrum. Optical cameras, thermal imagers and laser-based lidar systems provide a complete representation of a proposed solar location, showing subtle surface variations, elevation of obstacles, signs of subsurface moisture and the presence of lines and hanging wires.

“They’re really granular data,” Witmer said of the images produced. “Software tools enable us to turn those into highly accurate orthomosaic maps. Our engineers use them to produce fully drafted 2-D and 3-D AutoCAD files.”

While C&I-scale rooftops are the Drone Drafting’s primary business, Witmer said it performs drone surveys for prospective carport solar projects and ground-mount arrays. These sorts of project sites have their own sets of complications, from shadows cast by surrounding structures or trees to terrain contours. These can all be readily revealed with multiple sensors with a drone’s eye view.

Drone Drafting founders got their start in aerial cinematography for documentary films and marketing videos. Shooting marketing footage for a solar project planted the idea of using drones for solar site surveys as part of the project development process. The company has its own done pilots and works with operators throughout the country, and in Europe and Asia as well, to expand the reach of its services.

“Who we use depends on location and the complexity of the site,” Witmer said. “The majority of the time we just have local pilots that we subcontract. If it’s a super technical or otherwise hard job we’ll use an in-house pilot so there’s easier communications and we can make adjustments on the fly.”

In addition to site mapping as an aid to project design and engineering, Witmer said the company is able to provide services throughout a project’s life cycle. Thermal cameras can detect hotspots in solar arrays and lidar can help evaluate growing vegetation and construction that might affect the site over time.

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

Brookfield Renewable Partners announced it has filed a notice of intent to develop a 900 MW solar project in Oregon, making it among the largest solar projects in U.S. history.

The project is located near the Oregon Raceway outside of Grass Valley. It is placed next to existing transmission lines, eliminating the need for additional transmission infrastructure buildout.

Called Speedway Solar and Battery Storage Project, the proposed facility began community outreach efforts in the spring of 2024. Brookfield expects to issue a project order in fall 2024, apply for a site certificate in the winter of 2024, hold a public informational meeting in spring 2025, and deliver a proposed order in fall 2025. If approved, the project would receive a final order and site certificate in Spring 2026, after which the project can be constructed.

The project has a unique design in which the solar array is designed in “ribbons” along the edge of existing agricultural and wildlife corridors, thereby allowing for continued agricultural use of the land. Speedway Solar is expected to occupy about 4,500 to 6,000 acres.

“With Speedway, we want to preserve the county’s legacy of natural resource stewardship,” said John Soininen, vice president of development, Brookfield Renewables U.S. “By working with the landowners, we can reach our twin goals of decarbonizing the grid and maintaining the character of the region.”

During the construction phase, the project is expected to create hundreds of jobs and stimulate local economic activity. Once operational, it will provide ongoing employment opportunities and contribute to the local tax base for shared priorities like firefighters, education and infrastructure.

Find the website for the Sherman County, Oregon proposed project here.

From ESS News

While most long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies are still early stage, flow batteries have already had significant commercial success due to their long cycle life, excellent recyclability, and low fire risk.

In one of the biggest developments in the field, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), the sixth-largest community-owned electric service provider in the US, has partnered with iron flow battery specialist ESS Tech, Inc. to deliver up to 200 MW/ 2 GWh of iron flow long-duration energy storage systems.

With the partnership closed in 2022, the project reached a new milestone last week with the approval of a $10 million grant from the California Energy Commission. The funding will be used for developing a 3.6 MW, eight-hour iron flow battery project, which is expected to set the foundation for future large-scale battery deployments and manufacturing at energy centers in Sacramento.

The project aims to showcase the capability and reliability of iron flow battery technology in supporting grid distribution and transmission systems as SMUD transitions to a carbon-free power portfolio by 2030.

Founded in 2011, ESS manufactures iron flow batteries using widely available materials such as iron, salt, and water. Designed for applications that require up to twelve hours of flexible energy capacity, the batteries are used in utility-scale renewable energy installations, remote solar-plus-storage microgrids, solar load-shifting and peak shaving, as well as other ancillary grid services.

To continue reading, please visit our ESS News website.

The AES Corporation, a global power company with generation and distribution businesses, introduced a robot powered by artificial intelligence. Dubbed “Maximo”, the robot works alongside solar installation teams, helping to install solar panels half the time and half the cost of manual labor installations, said the company.

“Maximo is the first proven solar installation robot on the market,” said Andrés Gluski, AES president and CEO. “We are facing unprecedented increases in demand, driven in large part by the rise of AI and data centers, and innovations like these will be fundamental for accelerating our ability to bring projects online faster and with greater efficiency.”

Maximo can do the heavy lifting and can automatically place and attach panels, increasing safety and accuracy of installations.

To date, AES has used the robot to install nearly 10 MW of solar and the company expects to use Maximo to help build up to 5 GW of its solar backlog and pipeline over the next three years.

One of the projects that Maximo will soon be assisting on is the 2 GW Bellefield project in Kern County, California, a solar-plus-storage project for which Amazon is the offtaker.

“As society’s energy needs grow, the demand for new solar and wind projects are also increasing, requiring us to innovate so we can scale more quickly,” said Chris Walker, director of AWS Sustainability. “We’re excited to collaborate with renewable energy developers like AES that are prioritizing the use of AI technologies that can help us move faster to a carbon-free energy future.” 

Maximo makes use of computer vision for precise placement of the panels. It also learns as it goes, which the company says improves performance and efficiency. The robot is said to perform in a range of climates and lighting conditions and has been validated in the field across a variety of U.S. project sites.

Automation of heavy lifting and precision tasks may become more commonplace in an industry already suffering from a shortage of workers. A report by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) noted that the solar industry expects total U.S. installations will grow from 141 GW in 2022 to over 700 GW in 2033. The Solar Energy Industries Association predicts the total number of solar jobs could reach 538,000 by 2032. The IREC report noted that in 2022, 44% of solar industry employers said it was “very difficult” to find qualified applicants—the highest such percentage ever recorded in the Solar Jobs Census, and likely to continue with the escalation of installations.

Maximo is not the first robot to assist in solar installations. Last year, for example, Terabase Energy completed its first installation using Terafab, an automated utility-scale solar installation platform. The Terafab system uses digital twins, logistics software, an on-site digital command center, a field-deployed automated assembly line, and installation rovers that can operate 24/7.  Terabase reported that in its first installation, labor productivity improved 25% when compared with manual installation.

Six states offer grants to help local governments automate solar permitting  Solar trade groups in Washington, Colorado and Minnesota advocated for grant programs to speed permitting for rooftop solar, using software such as SolarAPP+. Three other states also offer grants, with two requiring automated permitting.

Community solar needs to embrace urban rooftops and brownfields RE+ Mid-Atlantic solar conference panel: While developers prefer greenfield projects, state regulators target other project sites.

Reactive power management key to advancing grid stability  A look at the regulatory frameworks and practical applications, underscoring the essential role of reactive power management in maintaining a stable and efficient power grid.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management advances over 6 GW of solar projects  Once complete, the projects would generate enough electricity to power roughly 2 million homes.

U.S. clean energy tax credit market to reach $25 billion in 2024  A mid-year report from tax credit marketplace Crux showed that deal volume is expected to come in higher than previously expected at $20 to $25 billion this year.

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is advancing nine solar projects on public lands that would add over 6 GW of combined electric generation capacity to the grid. Together, the projects would generate enough electricity to power roughly 2 million U.S. homes.

The BLM manages over 245 million acres of public land mainly in 12 western states, including Alaska. To date, the BLM has permitted more than 25 GW of clean energy projects, enough to power about 12 million homes. This includes solar, wind, and geothermal projects as well as gen-tie lines on public lands that are essential for connecting clean energy generation projects on both federal and non-federal lands to the grid.

“As we continue to review clean energy projects, we are committed to collaborating with states, Tribes and stakeholders to ensure that we are building lasting opportunities to create jobs and stimulate the clean energy economy,” said BLM director Tracey Stone-Manning.

The latest round of BLM project advancements include the Esmerelda 7 solar project, among the largest solar projects in the world. Esmerelda 7 is a set of seven proposed utility-scale solar facilities with battery energy storage systems near Tonopah, Nevada. The projects are proposed to be developed on 118,000 acres of BLM managed land.

BLM is now opening a 45-day public comment period on the draft environmental impact statement and resource management plan for Esmerelda 7. The environmental impact statement will provide the foundation for individual environmental analyses of each project, after which the BLM will decide whether to grant rights-of-way for some or all of the projects.

If all Esmerelda 7 projects are approved, the portfolio would add 5.35 GW of electricity, or enough to power about 1.6 million homes.

Along with the BLM-supported Esmerelda 7 is the Libra Solar project, a 700 MW solar and 700 MW battery energy storage project with a 24-mile generation tie-line, planned for development in Mineral and Lyon Counties in Nevada.

The BLM is also opening a 30-day public comment period for the Elisabeth Solar Project near Dateland, Arizona. The project would add 270 MW of solar and 300 MW of battery energy storage.

“With today’s advancement of nine solar energy projects on public lands, we are taking a significant step towards these efforts and President Biden’s ambitious clean energy goals,” said principal deputy assistant secretary for Land and Minerals management, Dr. Steve Feldgus.

As of July 2024, an additional 70 utility-scale clean energy projects are in process by the BLM throughout the Western United States. These projects have the potential to produce almost 32 GW of renewable energy. In addition, BLM has begun the preliminary review of approximately 166 applications for solar and wind development, as well as more than 40 applications for solar and wind energy site testing. 

The Biden-Harris administration has set a goal to achieve a carbon pollution free power sector by 2035.

A panel discussion on community solar at the RE+ Mid-Atlantic solar and energy storage conference in Philadelphia made the point that developers many have to embrace opportunities close to the intended customer, even in difficult terrain.

While state regulators design programs to encourage solar development on rooftops and brownfields of urban New Jersey, developers often prefer to build projects on undeveloped greenfield sites. Leslie Elder, vice president of policy and public affairs at Summit Ridge Energy, a Virginia-based solar developer, said that companies don’t always agree with state priorities, but that’s where the project opportunities are.

New Jersey’s Solar Act of 2012 includes provisions for streamlining and permitting and providing financial incentives for developers to construct utility-scale solar projects “located on a brownfield, on an area of historic fill or on a properly closed sanitary landfill facility.” The idea was to turn urban lots, commercial flat roofs and fallow industrial areas into productive sites for clean energy.

Greenfield sites, such as unused agricultural land or other undeveloped properties, generally are easier to deploy solar on and have required less specialized site preparation procedures than brownfields. However, the New Jersey BPU restricts grid-connected projects of 5 MW or larger on many categories of greenfield-type land. Waivers may be applied for but are often rejected.

“There is a real opposition from the state [New Jersey] for a wide variety of reasons to greenfield development, mostly because of population size and past sparring,” Elder said, adding that New Jersey’s community solar policy focus is on urban development and low-income beneficiaries.

Elder contrasted New Jersey’s approach to community solar with Maryland, which defined “buckets” for different types of projects. For example, there was a greenfield bucket; a brownfield bucket, landfills and “cleanfields” (landfills with no toxicity); and a low- and moderate-income bucket. These sorts of definitions for community solar opportunities enabled developers to bid on projects based on their experience, specialization and preferences.

State siting requirements are just one aspect of the community solar puzzle. More intractable, perhaps, are the labyrinthine subscription and billing policies needed to attract customers and have them see real economic benefits. And, as always, developers committing to building community solar projects need to see the financial rewards for doing so.

Eric Wallace, an attorney at the Virginia-based firm of GreeneHurlocker, PLC, with a focus on energy law and energy regulation, said successful community solar program design hangs on the statutes that set them up on a state-by-state basis.

“There are a lot of different policy tools out there, but finding the right solutions for each state is a challenge,” Wallace said. “In each of these markets there are interconnection proceedings and discussions happening. That’s definitely a key component of community solar in the Mid-Atlantic.”

Justin Felt, director of policy analysis and development at Exelon, which is parent to six utilities, said it would be beneficial to incorporate the utility perspective at the association level rather than making that the opposition view.

“Getting sort of that collaboration I think would be better,” Felt said, echoing comments made by SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper earlier that morning. “Let’s also be honest, politics – purple state versus blue state – is going to be a big impact on this. If you’re in a red state, maybe it’s a little bit different. So, we have to follow our jurisdictions in a lot of ways. You have to appreciate that the broader political and policy landscape is going to be a prime driver as well.”

If state policies are important for developing grid storage capacity, as was discussed in an earlier RE+ panel, they are likely even more so for community solar, which is arguably more complicated a proposition.

MIT scientists optimize perovskite solar cell components Researchers at MIT have enhanced the stability of Spiro-MeOTAD in perovskite solar cells, achieving over 1,400 hours of high-temperature testing with minimal degradation in a lower efficiency cell.

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 .

Wafer prices near bottom, size evolution and capacity globalization continue In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

Tesla continues scaling up energy storage business in China The announcement of Tesla’s battery factory in Shanghai marked the company’s entry into the Chinese market. Amy Zhang, analyst at InfoLink Consulting, looks at what this move could bring for the US battery storage maker and the broader Chinese market.

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 .

How long do residential solar batteries last? Multiple factors affect lifespan of a residential battery energy storage system. We examine the life of batteries in Part 3 of our series.

Energy storage opportunities in Mid-Atlantic region await clear state policies Panelists at RE+ in Philadelphia said storage deployment in the PJM region lags others, but doesn’t have to.

U.S. engineers develop ChatGPT algorithm to design solar cells OptoGPT is a new algorithm that harnesses the computer architecture underpinning ChatGPT. Its creators say that it will enable researchers and engineers to design optical multilayer film structures for a wide range of applications, including solar cells.

People on the move: Origis Energy, EVPassport, and more Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

California replacing nuclear with solar plus storage Clearway Energy has secured financing for the 200 MW Luna Valley Solar & Storage facility and the 113.5 MW Dagget energy storage project in California. These projects have signed PPAs that are part of a collection of projects being developed across the state intended to replace the potentially retiring Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.

Heliene and Premier Energies announce U.S. solar cell factory Heliene is a solar module provider operating in North America, while Premier Energies is the second largest solar cell manufacturer in India.

Clearway Energy has secured financing for a 200 MW solar-plus-storage project and a 113.5 MW energy storage facility in California. The company will utilize $700 million in construction financing to deploy these projects, which have long-term agreements with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), South California Edison (SCE), and the Power & Water Resources Pooling Authority (PWRPA).

The Luna Valley facility features 200 MWac of solar power coupled with 169 MW of energy storage. As indicated in the site layout above, the batteries are positioned at the site of the solar inverters, suggesting potential DC coupling with the solar power.

Nestled in Fresno County, the Luna Valley facility is surrounded by a mix of existing and future solar power plants. To the south, it is neighbored by the existing Tranquility Solar Project. The Adams East Solar Projects lie to the east, while the Scarlet Solar Power Project, currently under development, is situated to the west.

This facility is one of sixteen current and prospective solar facilities within a fifteen-mile radius.

The Luna Valley facility has secured power purchase agreements (PPAs) with SDG&E, SCE, and PWRPA, while the Daggett Storage facility has an agreement exclusively with SDG&E.

According to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), SDG&E has contracted equal amounts of solar and energy storage from the Luna and Dagget facilities. These resources are linked in a “virtually paired hybrid contract” as part of legislative efforts to replace the potentially retiring 2.2 GW Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. The combined resources are designed to be available daily from 5 P.M. to 10 P.M., providing power for at least five consecutive hours.

The energy storage facility, featuring a four-hour 113.5 MW battery, marks the final phase of the now complete 482 MW Daggett Solar plus 394 MW Energy Storage complex. To fulfill the five-hour runtime requirement, the facility operates the 113.5 MW battery at a derated 91 MW.

A sound study reveals that daytime noise levels within the facility’s perimeter could reach up to 55 decibels (dB), comparable to a loud conversation. Just outside the fence, sound levels peak between 40 and 45 dB, with the lower end akin to a whisper and the upper end similar to a normal conversation or a running dishwasher.

In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, pv magazine reviewed the productive lifespan of residential solar panels and inverters. Here, we examine home batteries, how well they perform over time, and how long they last.

Residential energy storage has become an increasingly popular feature of home solar. A recent SunPower survey of more than 1,500 households found that about 40% of Americans worry about power outages on a regular basis. Of the survey respondents actively considering solar for their homes, 70% said they planned to include a battery energy storage system.

Besides providing backup power during outages, many batteries are integrated with technology that allows for intelligent scheduling of the import and export of energy. The goal is to maximize the value of the home’s solar system. And, some batteries are optimized to integrate an electric vehicle charger.

The report noted a steep uptick to consumers showing interest in storage in order to self-supply solar generation, suggesting that lowered net metering rates are discouraging export of local, clean electricity. Nearly 40% of consumers reported self-supply as a reason for getting a storage quote, up from less than 20% in 2022. Backup power for outages and savings on utility rates were also listed as top reasons for including energy storage in a quote.

Attachment rates of batteries in residential solar projects have climbed steadily  in 2020 8.1% of residential solar systems attached batteries, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and in 2022 that rate climbed over 17%.

Life of a battery

Warranty periods can offer a look in installer and manufacturer expectations of the life of a battery. Common warranty periods are typically around 10 years. The warranty for the Enphase IQ Battery, for instance, ends at 10 years or 7,300 cycles, whatever occurs first.

Solar installer Sunrun said batteries can last anywhere between 5-15 years. That means a replacement likely will be needed during the 20-30 year life of a solar system.

Battery life expectancy is mostly driven by usage cycles. As demonstrated by the LG and Tesla product warranties, thresholds of 60% or 70% capacity are warranted through a certain number of charge cycles.

Two use-scenarios drive this degradation: over charge and trickle charge, said the Faraday Institute. Overcharge is the act of pushing current into a battery that is fully charged. Doing this can cause it to overheat, or even potentially catch fire.

Trickle charge involves a process in which the battery is continually charged up to 100%, and inevitably losses take place. The bounce between 100% and just under 100% can elevate internal temperatures, diminishing capacity and lifetime.

Another cause of degradation over time is the loss of mobile lithium-ions in the battery, said Faraday. Side reactions in the battery can trap free usable lithium, thereby lowering capacity gradually.

While cold temperatures can halt a lithium-ion battery from performing, they do not actually degrade the battery or shorten its effective life. Overall battery lifetime is, however, diminished at high temperatures, said Faraday. This is because the electrolyte that sits between the electrodes breaks down at elevated temperatures, causing the battery to lose its capacity for Li-ion shuttling. This can reduce the number of Li-ions the electrode can accept into its structure, depleting the lithium-ion battery capacity.

Maintenance

It is recommended by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to install a battery in a cool, dry place, preferably a garage, where the impact of a fire (a small, but non-zero threat) may be minimized. Batteries and components around them should have proper spacing to allow cooling, and regular maintenance check-ups can be helpful in ensuring optimal operation.

NREL said that whenever possible, avoid repeated deep discharging of batteries, as the more it is discharged, the shorter the lifetime. If the home battery is discharged deeply every day, it may be time to increase the battery bank’s size.

Batteries in series should be kept at the same charge, said NREL. Though the entire battery bank may display an overall charge of 24 volts, there can be varied voltage among the batteries, which is less beneficial to protecting the entire system over the long run. Additionally, NREL recommended that the correct voltage set points are set for chargers and charge controllers, as determined by the manufacturer.

Inspections should occur frequently, too, said NREL. Some things to look for include leakage (buildup on the outside of the battery), appropriate fluid levels, and equal voltage. NREL said each battery manufacturer may have additional recommendations, so checking maintenance and data sheets on a battery is a best practice.

How long do residential solar inverters last? Multiple factors affect the productive lifespan of a residential solar inverter. In Part 2 of our series, we look at solar inverters.

GADS reporting required for far more solar facilities in 2025 With the North American Reliability Corporation’s Generating Availability Data System’s requirement dropping for 100 MW to 20 MW solar installations, many more solar installers will need to comply.

California community action agency breaks ground on vehicle-to-grid solar project The 1.5 MW ground-mount solar farm will be installed on a fixed-tilt racking system. Excess energy will be stored in a Nuvve-branded pre-validated battery energy storage system (BESS) integrated with Nuvve’s vehicle-to-grid platform.

ReCreate unveils details of U.S. solar cell, module factory The new venture is expected to bring 2 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity to the US market within 18 to 24 months.

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.

New design for antimony trisulfide solar cells promises 30% higher efficiency An international research team has proposed a series of optimization techniques for antimony trisulfide (Sb2S3) solar cells that may reportedly increase the efficiency of these PV devices to over 11%. The resulting new cell design is said to significantly improve band alignment control and parameter optimization.

Trina Solar probing potential breaches of TOPCon patents Trina Solar says it has started evaluating potential violations of some of its patents for tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) tech. One of the patents focuses on the number of busbars and their width in TOPCon solar panels.

Reducing solar project timelines and costs with integrated switchboards Utility-scale solar projects can be developed more rapidly and cost effectively through the use of integrated switchboards, said a report from Castillo Engineering, Recon Corporation, EPEC and ReBoSS.

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.

The Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC) will power its operations and electrify its fleet of vehicles with a three-acre solar farm, solar canopies and 56 charging stations. Fresno EOC will also use the vehicle-to-grid technology as it transitions its gas vehicles into a 50-shuttle electric fleet.

The EOC is a non-profit Community Action Agency that oversees more than 35 human services programs that help underserved populations in California’s Fresno County become more self-sufficient. It uses its bus fleet to transport community members to and from work, school and medical appointments, deliver meals, and fill other transportation needs to support its mission. To fund the solar project, EOC secured grant funding through the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program, and it will also receive rebates from local utility PG&E.

The project will take 24 months to complete from start to finish and will draw about 80% of the local workforce to help build the solar project. In addition, people enrolled in Fresno EOC’s own workforce and training program will receive education on energy and solar projects and may, in the future, provide hands on training and experience to the community.

The 1.5 MW ground-mount solar farm will be installed on a fixed-tilt racking system. Excess energy will be stored in a Nuvve-branded pre-validated battery energy storage system (BESS) integrated with Nuvve’s vehicle-to-grid platform.

The 56 charging stations are a mix of Nuvve PowerPort Neo level 2 EVSEs and V2G EVSEs. All chargers are Build America, Buy America (BABA) compliant

“Fresno as a community has historically endured poor air quality due to tailpipe emissions from the Los Angeles basin and gas-fired peaker power plants,” said Nuvve co-founder and CEO Gregory Poilasne. “With the adoption of our cutting-edge electric vehicle software and infrastructure, this project can serve as a model approach for modern, efficient, and eco-friendly public transportation.”

DOE’s Liftoff Plan: Three actions utilities can implement While it may take more time for solar energy to become an integral part of power generation across the U.S., utility companies can prepare now to capitalize on the opportunities ahead as the DOE initiative moves to transform the grid for generations to come.

The Hydrogen Stream: Europe could miss 2030 hydrogen targets The European Court of Auditors says the European Union will likely fail to achieve its 2030 renewable hydrogen goals, while the US Department of Energy and Arches have agreed to build a $12.6 billion hydrogen hub in California.

DOE offers conditional loan guarantee for 200 MW solar, 285 MW storage in Puerto Rico Two solar-plus-storage projects in Puerto Rico eligible for a loan guarantee would double the territory’s utility-scale solar capacity.

Canadian government extends heat pump grant scheme The provincial government of Prince Edward Island, Canada, has signed an agreement with the Canadian federal government to implement the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) program. The scheme offers grants to low- and medium-income households to install heat pumps and has nationally delivered more than 7,000 units to date.

$7 billion federal ‘Solar for All’ program faces vendor and compliance challenges A group of panelists at the RE+ conference in Philadelphia, panelists provided updates on the EPA-administered Solar for All Program, which extends solar access to low income households.

Massachusetts passes pro-solar and energy storage reforms The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill to put time limits on solar permit processing, streamlined appeals processes, energy storage procurement goals, and more.

Tesla lands 15.3 GWh Megapack supply contract Tesla has received a giant order from U.S. developer Intersect Power, equating to around 165% of the total battery energy storage systems it deployed in Q2 2024, which saw the highest quarterly deployment in the company’s history to date.

690 MW solar-plus-storage project in U.S. now operational in Nevada Gemini is located thirty minutes outside of Las Vegas and with its 1.8 million solar panels, will power about 10% of Nevada’s peak power demand.

Weak demand continues to exert downward pressure on solar module prices In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

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

More than half of California solar customers to include battery storage Falling battery costs, shifting regulations and interest in energy independence are driving increased battery attachment rates on residential solar projects in California.

In case you missed it: Five big solar stories in the news this week  Agrivoltaics in Ohio. Elastocalorics may replace heat pumps. U.S. residential solar is down. And more.

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.

The Energy Information Administration reported in its monthly electric power industry report that battery adoption rates are rising among solar customers in California.

In October 2023, about 20% of California solar shoppers opted to include a battery energy storage system in their installation. In April 2024, that number has climbed to over 50%.

The change to battery-included systems is largely due to the transition to Net Energy Metering 3.0, a regulatory structure that decreased the amount paid to customers for sending solar production directly to the grid. Due to an hourly mismatch of peak solar production and peak electricity demand, regulators shifted compensation rates to place an emphasis on storing and dispatching solar generated electricity when it is needed the most.

A 50% or greater battery attachment rate is a significant change for the state’s solar industry. Solar-plus-battery systems make up about 9% of all installed residential net metering capacity in California. Over 40,000 new systems were added between October 2023 and April 2024, accounting for 232 MW of new battery storage capacity in the state, said EIA.

While NEM 3.0 achieved its intended effect of encouraging more battery installations, the rulemaking decision was unpopular with solar advocates. The change increased the overall sticker price for installing solar, and while you get the added benefit of battery backup during outages, the amount of time it will take to breakeven on a solar investment in California has increased. This has led to a decline in installations, with Q1 2024 having the lowest installed capacity in a quarter since 2021 with a little over 300 MW of solar installed.

California now has more than 12,000 MW of installed solar capacity in residential net metering systems smaller than 1 MW. Residential installations account for more than 70% of installed net metering capacity, and about one-third of total installed solar capacity in the state.

“Our data show that during the third quarter of 2023, 83,376 new residential net metering photovoltaic systems were installed, compared with 70,152 systems connected under the old NEM 2.0 rule during the same period in 2022. However, we cannot differentiate the systems that requested to be grandfathered to NEM 2.0,” said EIA.

The first quarter of 2024 saw an additional 46,631 systems installed. Since January 2022, an average of 21,000 solar systems were added every month.

Primergy and Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners announced that the Gemini solar-plus-storage project outside of Las Vegas, Nevada is now operational.

The 1.8 million solar panels are expected to generate up to 690 MW and they’re co-located with 380 MW of 4-hour battery energy storage (1,400 MWh). Using a DC-coupled storage configuration enables the batteries to be charged directly by solar, thus increasing efficiency.

In April 2022 the two companies announced that they had closed on a landmark deal of $1.9 billion in debt and tax equity financing project. The debt financing consists of $1.3 billion in credit facilities and $532 million in tax equity commitments, with the tax equity commitments provided by Truist Bank and Bank of America.

In constructing the project, which is on federal land, Primergy reports that it “created and implemented an unprecedented framework for ecosystem management” by leaving vegetation in place and using a tracker system that follows the natural undulations of the ground. The company estimates that it was able to reduce the project’s land footprint by over 20%.

During construction the project reportedly created approximately 1,300 union and prevailing wage jobs and contributed approximately $463 million to Nevada’s economy.

“Gemini creates a blueprint for holistic and innovative clean energy development at mega scale, and we are proud to have brought this milestone project to life and to have delivered so many positive impacts across job creation, environmental stewardship, and local community engagement,” said David Scaysbrook, co-founder and managing partner of Quinbrook.

The project uses Maxeon Solar Technologies’ solar modules that use bifacial mono-PERC solar cells made on large format 8-inch G12 wafers. Maxeon reports that these modules offer efficiency of over 21%, enhanced shade tolerance, and power ratings of up to 625 watts. The modules are mounted on trackers from Array and Ojjo, which are specifically designed to withstand harsh desert environments and high wind speeds with a patented wind-mitigation system.

Primergy selected Kiewit Power Constructors Co. as Gemini’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partner and IHI Terrasun Solutions as the integrator for the project’s 380 MW/1,520 MWh lithium-ion battery.

NV Energy signed a 25-year power purchase agreement for the energy produced by the Gemini plant. It is  expected to meet 10% of Nevada’s peak energy needs.

Primergy Solar is a developer, owner and operator specializing in utility-scale solar PV and battery storage projects across the U.S. Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners is an investment manager focused on the infrastructure needed to drive the energy transition in the UK, U.S., and Australia.

Solar corporate funding drops to $16.6 billion in H1 High interest rates, an uncertain rate trajectory and timeline, increasing trade barriers, supply chain challenges, concerns about the presidential election’s impact on the sector, and constantly evolving trade policies have created a climate of uncertainty.

First Solar commissions 1.3 million square-foot R&D facility The Jim Nolan Center for Solar Innovation in Lake Township, Ohio includes a high-tech pilot manufacturing line allowing for the production of full-sized prototypes of thin film and tandem PV modules.

Intersect Power closes $837 million in financing for three battery systems in Texas Each project comprises 86 Tesla Megapacks and will provide a capacity of 320 MWh of battery storage with a two-hour duration.

S&P Global launches daily spot market price assessment for solar panels The tool has been billed as the world’s first independent daily spot market price assessment for solar panels. S&P Global says it has been launched to aid transparency in technology pricing as solar modules become increasingly commoditized.

Generac awarded up to $200 million from DOE for solar and storage in Puerto Rico The funds seek to build energy resilience in Puerto Rico, where hurricanes and other extreme weather frequently leave residents without power.

North American solar power purchase agreements rise 3% in Q2 LevelTen Energy released its quarterly PPA Price Index Report, showing an increase in prices following a modest drop in Q1.

Intersect Power announced the closing of two separate transactions representing an aggregate of $837 million of financing commitments for the construction and operation of three standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Texas.

The transactions cover portfolio-level construction debt, tax equity  and term debt financing for three large-scale projects, Lumina I, Lumina II, and Radian, all of which are expected to be operational in 2024.

Each project comprises 86 Tesla Megapacks. Lumina II and Radian will be operated by Autobidder, Tesla’s real-time trading platform. The three sites will each provide a capacity of 320 MWh of battery storage with a two-hour duration.

“Batteries will be a vital part of the energy transition and are the perfect complement to the billions of dollars of solar generation that we are building in California and Texas,” said Sheldon Kimber, CEO and founder of Intersect Power. “These assets should allow us to provide more consistent financial performance from a diversified fleet of renewable generation and storage, benefiting from increasing market volatility and periods of high prices while protecting us from periods of low market prices. This stability will be critical as we expect to triple the size of our portfolio over the next three years.”

Morgan Stanley will provide tax equity, and funds and accounts managed by HPS Investment Partners will be making construction debt and term debt investments. Deutsche Bank is partnering in the construction debt facility and providing the operational letters of credit to the projects.

“These standalone batteries are much-needed infrastructure that will increase grid reliability and improve energy security as the U.S. transitions to a low-carbon economy,” said Jorge Iragorri, Managing Director and Head of Renewable Energy Investments at Morgan Stanley.

Intersect reports that the projects qualify for investment tax credits (ITC) under the Inflation Reduction Act. The ITC allows a federal tax credit of 30% of installed system costs for clean energy technologies like solar, wind and energy storage. The credit is offered as a base 6%, and the 30% credit is only offered to projects that satisfy prevailing wage requirements.

Intersect has a base portfolio of 2.2 GW of operating solar PV and 2.4 GWh of storage in operation or construction. The company states that its business plan includes growth in grid-tied renewables, as well as large-scale clean energy assets, including battery storage, data centers, and green hydrogen.

Generac Power Systems announced it has been awarded a grant of up to $200 million over a five year term by the Department of Energy to install distributed solar and energy storage systems in Puerto Rico.

The funds come as part of the $1 billion Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund. Under the program’s Solar Access Fund, Generac will facilitate the installation of residential solar and storage for disadvantaged Puerto Rican households. Installations are expected to begin in August 2024.

The projects are planned to be installed in low-income areas that experience frequent and prolonged power outages as well as household where a resident has energy-dependent disability needs.

The program will also help Puerto Rico achieve its renewable energy and resilience goals. In 2017, when back-to-back hurricanes destroyed around 80% of Puerto Rico’s electric grid and resulted in thousands of lives lost, Puerto Rico passed Act 17, a policy to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

“We’ve been providing reliable backup power solutions to the people of Puerto Rico for more than 20 years, including after Hurricane Maria devastated the island’s power grid and left 95% of residents without electricity,” said Aaron Jagdfeld, president and CEO at Generac. He added, “We are proud to be a recipient of this DOE grant to provide clean, resilient, efficient power for those who are often underserved during outages.”

Generac will be partnering with several companies on the program:

• PathStone, a nonprofit organization providing community and workforce development and humanitarian services in Puerto Rico since 1998 and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), a clean energy non-profit established in 1982 that leads groundbreaking community programs and market research, will together coordinate additional local community efforts to serve as liaisons between Solar Ambassadors, installers, and eligible recipients.
• FR-BLDM, a leading local contractor with years of government program management experience will lead installations working with other local, small, family-owned businesses in Puerto Rico.
• Juapi Energy, a PWRcell installer and Generac Service Dealer in Puerto Rico will provide service support to residents and will perform installations.
• Palmetto, a leading climate technology company accelerating the adoption of clean energy, will extend three of its commercial software applications: fintech platform, installation partner portal, and asset management services.

“Supporting local companies is an important part of our objective to provide reliable and sustainable
energy solutions to Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable communities,” said Norm Taffe, president of Energy Technology at Generac.

Distributed solar and storage programs in Puerto Rico have already shown some success. In May, residential solar company Sunrun said  it had enrolled nearly 1,800 customers and more than 2,000 batteries onto its PowerOn Puerto Rico program. Sunrun’s battery fleet dispatches stored solar energy from customers’ batteries to stabilize the grid and avoid blackouts and the use of fossil fuel power plants. Customers are compensated for their participation, with Sunrun predicting at least an average of $550 per customer. Sunrun expects that there will be between 50 and 125 events per year that will require Sunrun’s fleet of enrolled systems to provide on-demand energy, stabilizing the local grid.

Read more about the Department of Energy’s grid modernization programs.

People on the move: Swift Current Energy, Lightsource bp, WTS Energy, and more Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

50 states of solar policy moves, Q2 2024 Q2 2024 saw 44 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico take a total of 182 distributed solar policy actions.

Grid operator PJM to start talks on regional transmission The nation’s largest grid operator told renewables trade groups that it will launch a transmission planning process ordered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Utah developer rPlus secures $1B in financing for 400 MW/1600 MWh solar-plus-storage project  The Green River Energy Center will supply power for PacifiCorp.

Peak Energy secures $55 million Series A funding to manufacture sodium-ion batteries The company plans to deliver its first systems in 2025 and open a full-scale production facility in 2027.

U.S. residential solar down 20% in 2024 A webinar hosted by Roth Capital Partners looked at the health of the residential solar market and forecasts for next year.

Salt Lake City-based renewable energy developer rPlus Energies says it has secured over $1 billion in financing for the 800 MW Green River Energy Center (GREC) in Emery County, Utah, one of the largest solar-plus-storage projects in the country.

Originally conceived as a 400 MW solar facility with 200 MW of on-site storage, the GREC has expanded its storage component due to the requirements of the project’s primary off taker, electric power company PacifiCorp. The solar facility will now incorporate 400 MW of battery storage, which is expected to supply 1,600 MWh of electricity.

Increasingly, storage is seen as an important component in utility-scale solar development projects. With GREC, rPlus assumes the role of owner operator of one of its projects. The company has a power purchase agreement with PacifiCorp.

“The Green River Energy Center marks rPlus Energies’ debut as an independent power producer,” said company president and CEO Luigi Resta.

rPlus says the construction debt financing for GREC is being supplied by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, KeyBanc Capital Markets, MUFG Bank, Ltd., Truist Securities Inc., and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, with MUFG acting as administrative agent.

Engineering, procurement and construction services will be provided by Sundt Renewables. GREC will join a number of other rPlus projects in the state, including the 200 MW Appaloosa I solar project, the 80 MW Three Peaks Solar facility, 80 MW Graphite Solar project and 80 MW Utah Red Hills Renewable Park.

rPlus says GREC is expected to supply approximately 500 construction jobs, with a significant percentage to be local hires.

rPlus Energies, a subsidiary of the Gardner Group since 1976, develops utility-scale power plants using renewable resources. The company has projects across 15 market areas in the U.S. in active development including solar, wind, pumped storage hydro, and solar-plus-battery.

After impressive installation growth rates of roughly 30% in 2021 and 2022, residential solar began to cool off in 2023 as high interest rates and policy changes challenged the value being offered to homeowners. In 2024, the market continues to weather the high interest rate storm, and numerous large installers have announced bankruptcies.

Phil Shen, managing director, Roth Capital Partners hosted a webinar featuring experts in the residential solar industry to provide a snapshot of the market as it moves through the summer sales cycle.

Data platform Ohm Analytics said it expects U.S. residential solar installations to be down 20% year over year in 2024 as the market adjusts to the rate environment and increasingly includes batteries in customer offerings. Roth reiterated the down 20% outlook.

As for 2025, Ohm Analytics expects the market to slowly recover. The company placed a 5% to 10% year over year growth forecast for installations next year, with 2026 forecast to grow at a similar rate. Fore a five year outlook, Ohm expects a “stable build” in the market.

The market should also expect a lift from the domestic content bonus within the Inflation Reduction Act, which makes projects eligible for a 10% tax credit adder if they meet requirements for including U.S.-made components in their project. Details of how this credit will be shared among financers, sales teams, installers, and customers are still being ironed out, but Shen noted that the credit makes a notable $0.50 per watt of value for residential customers.

Regionally, there are significant differences in growth, battery attachment rates, and technology being used.

For example, Matthew McFadden, owner and chief executive officer of SunnyMac Solar, shared that his firm, a solar sales platform serving New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland said business has been steady in 2024. Looking out to 2025, he expects this region to undergo at least 10% to 20% year on year growth, though he said this could be as much as doubled.

SunnyMac said its Mid-Atlantic region remains a low battery attachment rate market, with less than 1% of sales including battery energy storage. McFadden said this is set to change in 2025, as Maryland’s lucrative battery incentive program rolls out and legislation in New Jersey is developed. He said that battery attachment rates in New Jersey are expected to increase four to ten times next year.

McFadden said his team is also targeting expansion into western Pennsylvania, where nearly every community is designated as an Energy Community under the Inflation Reduction Act, potentially making projects eligible for a 10% tax credit adder on top of the base 30% investment tax credit.

SunnyMac said it is currently using about 95% SolarEdge inverters and 5% Enphase in its projects. McFadden said that this market share is likely to be ceded to Tesla as battery adoption rises, since Tesla’s Powerwall 3 offers an attractive low-cost bundle of battery storage and inverters.

For the Southwest and West, market dynamics are much different. Caleb Antonucci, chief executive officer of sales platform Our World Energy said its markets of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Texas said his firm’s sales were up 60% year-over-year. He said that as more smaller installers go bankrupt, firm’s like Our World Energy and SunnyMac are absorbing existing sales teams and growing.

The technology mix is much different in this region. Our World Energy has historically offered Enphase inverters in 100% of its projects, but market share has begun to turn over to Tesla. In Southwest markets, Tesla inverters are now about 20% of the market share, as they are offered as a low-cost bundle with the Powerwall 3 battery. Antonucci said that Tesla’s market share may grow to 50% in 2025, and may even grow to 90% or more in the coming years as it dominates SolarEdge and Enphase on cost.

Shen shared that Tesla inverters are priced at $0.05 per watt or less when bundled with storage, while SolarEdge inverters add about $0.24 per watt and Enphase roughly $0.30 per watt.

Antonucci expects flat growth for his region in 2025, and highlighted Colorado and Texas as leading markets. Battery incentive programs in Colorado are expected to drive growth. He said that sales teams are shifting their approaches to lead with battery energy storage and include solar as a bonus. Antonucci said demand will continue to grow as younger generations that have strong sentiments toward renewable energy begin to purchase homes and add solar. He said that a shift toward leased systems is helping establish revenue growth as well.

Overall, the panel recognized 2023 and 2024 as years of recovery, restructuring, and consolidation. As more federal and state incentives go online, and interest rates possibly cool by year’s end, there are several positive forces ahead.

Demand is expected to continue as well. Ohm Analytics highlighted a Forbes survey that showed 90% of home solar owners were satisfied with their system. Energy independence was listed as the main reason for going solar, while bill savings was the second most important benefit listed by respondents.

The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) released its 50 States of Solar: Q2 2024 report that looks at state regulatory and legislative discussions that affect the distributed solar market in various states.

The report finds that many states are taking a close look at solar policies due to the influx of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) going to state agencies and clean energy projects. Q2 2024 saw 44 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico take a total of 182 distributed solar policy actions.

In addition to states are examining the interplay of IRA funding and solar programs, other trends are seeing states initiate formal studies to inform net metering successor efforts, and states are modifying existing community solar programs.

The greatest number of actions address net metering policies (64), and residential fixed charge or minimum bill increases (48), and community solar policies (42). Most of these actions were taken in California, Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Virginia.

Top five distributed generation solar policy actions

In Q2 2024, six states issued decisions, passed legislation, enhance programs or initiated studies that pertain to solar policy:

California—Regulators at the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued two major decisions on community solar and income-based fixed charges. The CPUC approved income-tiered residential fixed charges for the state’s investor-owned utilities, which range from $6.00 to $24.15. The CPUC also approved a new Community Renewable Energy Program and modifications to existing Green Tariff programs. The new community energy program will use existing procurement mechanisms like the Renewable Energy Market Adjustment Tariff and PURPA Standard Offer Contract as the foundation of the program.

Alaska— Alaska lawmakers passed legislation requiring the Commission-regulated utilities to offer community energy programs. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska is to develop several program specifications, including bill credit rates that consider the full economic value provided by community energy facilities. The Commission is also authorized to adopt a separate rate for capacity provided by energy storage as part of a community energy facility.

Colorado—Legislators in Colorado approved changes to the states’ community solar garden program. The revised program will begin in 2026 and focus on inclusive community solar development. It requires that at least 51% of a facility’s subscriptions be reserved for income-qualified customers and allows for the donation of excess credits to income-qualified customers. For income-qualified customers, the subscription charge is limited to 75% of the value of the bill credits, while this decreases to 70% if the project is receiving IRA funding for energy communities and 50% if IRA funding is being used to provide bill savings.

Connecticut and Washington—Lawmakers in these states initiated net metering studies. Connecticut’s study will consider whether the Renewable Energy Solutions Program should be extended and possible successors. Washington’s study will examine the value of distributed solar and storage and options that may be used after the net metering cap is reached.

Kansas—The Kansas legislature enacted legislation in April that increases the aggregate cap for net metering, as well as the individual system size limit. The aggregate cap will increase by 1% (of the utility’s highest annual peak demand since 2014) per year until reaching 5% in July 2027. The bill increases the system size limit to 150 kW for all customers and also provides guidance for net metering crediting under time-of-use rates.

“States are beginning — or rather, re-beginning — to study net metering programs, outside of the valuation of distributed solar,” said Rebekah de la Mora, senior policy analyst at NCCETC. “These investigations focus on program redesigns and successors, looking at the policies, economics, results, and future projections of net metering programs. Some of these investigations are already baked into law, like in Puerto Rico, while others were proposed by newly-passed bills, such as those in Delaware and Washington.”

One other state that made a big move as a result of federal funding is Mississippi, where the Public Service Commission has suspended multiple solar and storage incentives/programs in the state due to Solar for All funding.

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.