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.

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.

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 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.”

Enphase Energy announced it is shipping U.S.-made IQ8P-3P microinverters designed for small-scale commercial installations. 

The Inflation Reduction Act incentivized many manufacturers, including Enphase Energy, to manufacture in the United States. In April the company reported it had shipped about 506,000 microinverters from its contract manufacturing facilities in the United States, making them eligible for the 45X production tax credit. 

“We are pleased to begin shipments of our IQ8 Commercial Microinverters from our contract manufacturing facility in Texas,” said Ron Swenson, senior vice president of operations at Enphase Energy. “Expanding our list of U.S.-supplied products has been a key objective, helping to ensure superior service with quicker delivery times for local customers in our top market.”

Each IQ8P-3P commercial microinverter supports up to 480 W of peak output power for three-phase commercial installations. The new microinverters are compatible with a wide range of solar panels including 54, 60, 66, 72, and 144-cell panels with full or split cells, supporting panels ranging 320 W to 640 W. Full specifications sheet and accessories can be found here.

The commercial Enphase Energy System includes the new IQ Gateway Commercial 2, which when connected to the internet enables over-the-air updates and to the Enphase App monitoring platform. The IQ Gateway and IQ Microinverters provide Fleet View for portfolio monitoring and management and Enphase Kiosk software that publicly displays system performance in real-time. The microinverters also feature Enphase Burst Mode technology that Enphase reports enables systems to start producing earlier and stop producing later in the day compared to other systems.

The microinverters are backed by an industry leading 25-year warranty for projects in the U.S. and Canada and 12-year warranties for projects in Mexico. 

To celebrate the launch, Enphase is hosting an event at its Arlington, Texas manufacturing facility on Thursday, July 11, 2024. Enphase encourages any installers and distributors interested in learning more about its commercial solution to reserve a spot on the event here.

Truro Vineyards, a family-owned winery on Cape Cod, partnered with Sunbug Solar, which is now a part of ReVision Energy, to install more than 160 Q.PEAK solar panels from Qcells on the rooftop of the 4,000 square foot warehouse.

The 55kW system includes Aire System racking from IronRidge and a SolarEdge 50kW inverter. It is expected to produce .06 MWh a year and will help keep the vineyard’s distillery storage warehouse at the optimal temperature of 50 to 60 F throughout the year.

The warehouse is a brand new building so, while there isn’t load data yet, it is anticipated that the system will offset more than the full load of the warehouse, with excess production credited to other buildings on-site including the production floor, offices and retail shop. This new solar installation is the second solar project at the facility, so combined, they will exceed the vineyard’s needs by at least 50%, according to ReVision.

“Investing in solar energy reflects our commitment to responsible land stewardship and our hope for the future—to continue making wines and spirits for as long as possible,” said Truro Vineyards owner, David Roberts, Jr.

The solar project could not be completed until the warehouse construction was finished, so while the project was in the works for a year, the actual installation took place in May and June of this year. When asked if there were any permitting issues, a ReVision spokesperson told pv magazine USA that “There are always challenges in permitting in Massachusetts, including a long interconnection queue.”

The new solar array will offset more than 59,841 pounds of carbon emissions each year or the equivalent to the energy generated by burning more than 28,000 pounds of coal.

“Truro Vineyards embodies the best that the Cape has to offer – great wines, a history that dates back to the early 1800s, live music and weekly events that gather the community, and family owners that understand the value of preserving the environment for future generations,” said Janice DiPietro, Chief Customer Officer of ReVision Energy.

ReVision Energy is a 100% employee-owned solar company based in New England that now has over 400 employee co-owners, 15,000 installations, and 20 years of experience.

In less than a decade, data and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie forecasts that the world will multiply its total renewable energy capacity.

From 2024 to 2033, the firm forecasts that 4.7 TW of DC solar capacity will be installed globally. China is expected to contribute 50% of the total.

Solar and wind together are expected to add 5.4 TW through this period, increasing the global total to 8 TW. Energy storage capacity is expected to grow by more than 600%, with 1 TW expected to come online over the period.

“Global demand for renewables has reached unprecedented levels, driven by country-level policy targets, technology innovation, and concerns over energy security. Integrated power technology solutions will continue to evolve, evidenced by a significant increase in storage-paired capacity growth, despite inflation, grid constraints and permitting challenges,” said Luke Lewandowski, vice president, global renewables research at Wood Mackenzie.

The firm forecasts that 500 GW of new solar and wind capacity installed in 2023, and average 560 GW annually over the 10-year outlook. Solar is expected to account for 59% of global capacity added over the period.

In the first quarter, U.S. developers installed more solar in the first quarter of 2024 than in all of 2019. Installations in China were up 36% year-on-year, and new capacity in India through Q1 were equivalent to 85% total capacity installed in 2023. However, Europe’s distributed solar boom has started to weaken, with first quarter residential installations contracting more than 30% in Germany and over 50% in the Netherlands as retail rates come down.

“Ultra-low module prices intensified the rate of solar deployments last year in Europe and China and will continue to do so in the near-term. But grid constraints and a return to lower power prices and subsequently lower capture rates will impact markets and other regions,” said Juan Monge, principal analyst, distributed solar PV at Wood Mackenzie.

Monge added that maximizing solar capacity in the next 10 years will depend on additional technology developments from expanding grid infrastructure to incentivizing flexibility solutions, transportation and heating electrification.

Drastic drops in solar module prices and tight interconnection deadlines have triggered 150% annual growth for PV installations globally, said Wood Mackenzie. The firm expects this growth curve to continue until 2026, when there may be a two-year slowdown due to an expected pause in development activity before the next round of planned procurement drives higher deployment.

Meanwhile the global energy storage market is on track to reach 159 GW/358 GWh by the of 2024. Looking ahead, 926 GW/2789 GWh is expected to be added between 2024 and 2033, marking a 636% increase.

“The growth represents just the start for a multi-TW market as policy support in terms of tax exemption and capacity and hybrid auctions accelerate storage buildout across all regions,” said Anna Darmani, principal analyst, energy storage, at Wood Mackenzie.

University solar projects model institutional responsibility With a goal of achieving net neutrality by 2030, the University at Buffalo is not just generating clean energy with its solar installations, but serving as an example of how solar can become part of the landscape.

Public input sought for large-scale solar project in Arizona According to the application submitted by developer EDF Renewables, the proposed Socorro project will sit on 3,066 acres on nearly 6,000-acres of public land and it would produce up to 350 MW of solar energy along with battery energy storage.

U.S. household energy can wield 15 GW to affordably meet electricity demand A report from Deloitte showed how distributed energy resources (DER) can help the U.S. meet its climate goals while improving the functionality of the grid.

Google invests in Taiwanese solar developer New Green Power Google has made a capital investment in Taiwan-based New Green Power, in a deal that grants the U.S. company the rights to procure up to 300 MW of solar assets.

PV market eyes recovery amid falling module prices Martin Schachinger, founder of pvXchange.com, says that solar module prices are falling across the board, while batteries and inverters are hitting historically low prices due to market oversupply.

AEG unveils hybrid inverters for high-voltage PV systems The new three-phase hybrid inverter series includes five versions with power ratings of 6 kW to 15 kW. They feature efficiencies of up to 98.2% and a maximum input voltage of 1,000 V.

The University at Buffalo (UB) has an aggressive climate action plan with a goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2030. To move the University closer to that goal, it’s installed five ground-mount solar arrays as well as four rooftop installations with plans for more in the future.

The largest and most recent of the arrays called the UB Solar Stroll is set on 24.5 acres on the University campus. Made up of 16,354 Qcell Q.Peak Duo 400 W solar panels, the Solar Stroll array produces 6.54 MW of electricity or 8.29 GWh annually, the equivalent to offsetting the usage of approximately 1,354 homes.

Ryan McPherson, chief sustainability officer, told pv magazine USA that when they built the solar project, they didn’t want to put fences around it “because solar is not just about energy.” He noted that the high-voltage equipment is fenced, of course, but otherwise the arrays are open to the public. “It gets people thinking about how you can integrate solar into your world.”

The Solar Stroll and its predecessor, the Solar Strand, have become models for how to integrate solar into the landscape, and is now used by clubs, school groups and community organizations. The University’s Solar Decathlon house also sits alongside the Strand, another testament to UB’s commitment to sustainability.

As chief sustainability officer, McPherson played a lead role in the solar projects and said that the organization, Second Nature, was infinitely helpful. “We wouldn’t have done what we’ve done without them,” McPherson said.

Second Nature is a non-profit organization with a mission to help higher education institutions act on climate commitments and to help them scale campus climate initiatives and create innovative climate solutions. The organization reports that since 1993, it has helped hundreds of colleges and universities work toward achieving climate goals.

McPherson said that it was through Second Nature’s workshops, educational and networking opportunities that he learned about renewables and specifically about power purchase agreements. “Second Nature catalyzed solar in universities”.

Before the University embarked on the Solar Stroll array, it had financed smaller installations through grants. Financing the larger array was a challenge. “Our bread and butter is research and education, so when there’s capital, our cash goes into that,” McPherson said.

Second Nature introduced the University to the power purchase agreement (PPA) model, which helped them to leverage capital and gave them budget stability. UB signed a 20-year PPA with Buffalo Climate Action, a subsidiary of Solar Liberty and Oriden, which has since been assigned to Greenbacker.

McPherson said the result is that, while they were initially just trying to get to grid parity, they have stability because they know what they’ll pay for energy over time and they’re actually saving money now.

The University is now using two different models of PPAs; a virtual PPA that goes out to the meter and another physical one that is behind the meter. They also embarked on an initiative to advance solar in the region, partnering with Erie County, Buffalo State College and Erie Community College. “If we achieve climate neutrality by 2030, that’s great but if nobody else does it doesn’t help,” said McPherson.

Going forward, UB is looking to mandate that all new construction have the ability to install rooftop solar on buildings, similar to the measure California recently enacted requiring builders to include solar and battery energy storage in most new construction projects. The University is also looking closely at solar canopies for campus parking lots.

“As a major public research university, these solar panels speak — they communicate and reinforce our value of taking responsibility for our actions as an institution,” said  McPherson.

The renewable energy projects received national attention when Vice President Kamala Harris chose UB as the place to tout the landmark Inflation Reduction Act. The Vice President called the work that is happening at UB “very exciting and really a model for our country.”

Trina Solar begins mass production of 430-455 W full-black modules Trina Solar says it has launched mass production of 430 W to 455 W full-black PV modules. The Vertex S+ panels have efficiencies of up to 22.8% and weigh 21 kg, with a 1.6 mm x 1.6 mm dual-glass design.

UL Solutions introduces new testing protocol for residential battery storage systems The latest test method addresses the fire propagation behavior of a residential battery energy storage system if a thermal runaway propagation event leading to an internal fire were to occur during the system’s lifetime.

Rutgers University studies co-locating solar energy with crop production The university is working with SolarEdge to study the practices of agrivoltaics, or co-located solar and farming.

The New York Solar Energy Industries Association (NYSEIA) has issued a report to Governor Kathy Hochul, requesting a raised target for the state’s distributed solar targets.

NYSEIA specifically requested an increased target for the buildout of distributed solar projects, which are typically installed on rooftops, carports or other built-environment locations for homes and businesses.

Under New York’s current climate strategy, the state targets 10 GW of distributed solar by 2030. NYSEIA has called for this to be doubled five years later, reaching 20 GW by 2035.

NYSEIA projects achieving this goal would lead to $50 billion in gross electric bill savings; $3 to $4 billion in revenue for rural landowners, municipalities and school districts; and support an additional 15,000 jobs in the solar industry.

New York is a leader in distributed solar buildout. About 90% of the state’s solar capacity is distributed, a much higher percentage than solar heavy states like California and Texas that have invested heavily in large, centralized utility-scale projects.

New York added more than 800 MW of distributed solar capacity last year alone and is on track to surpass 6 GW by the end of 2024, one year ahead of schedule.

“Scaling up distributed solar deployment will deliver cost-effective progress toward New York’s overall climate goals while delivering immense benefits to New York’s environment, economy, and working families,” said Noah Ginsburg, executive director, NYSEIA.

In 2019, New York enacted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), directing New York to be powered with 70% renewable energy by 2030, 100% renewable energy by 2040, and a carbon neutral economy by 2050. 

Since then, a wave of high-profile utility-scale renewable project cancellations has jeopardized the feasibility of achieving 70% renewable energy by 2030, said NYSEIA.

“As New York struggles to meet its ambitious renewable energy mandates, legislative leaders and regulators must take decisive action,” said Ginsburg.

In 2023, Governor Hochul enacted a 10-point action plan to get utility-scale renewable projects back on track. However, NYSEIA said while utility-scale projects are important, they are not enough to meet New York’s mandates. To double solar cumulative solar deployment in six short years, distributed rooftop solar can be deployed rapidly to fill the gap.

There is hope yet for New York to achieve its climate goals. Solar deployment has grown at an average 31% annual growth from 2013-2022. To reach the new 20 GW by 2035 goal, the state will need to sustain 7-10% annual growth in deployment. NYSEIA said this was driven in part by the state’s leading community solar program.

NYSEIA advocates for the following policy changes to achieve the goal:

• Interconnection reform and flexible interconnection to lower clean energy costs and accelerate deployment 
• Streamlined permitting for rooftop and community solar
• Virtual power plant programs and dynamic rate design to compensate distributed solar and energy storage for exporting power when and where it’s needed
• Continued investment in New York’s nation-leading community solar programs to provide even more direct bill savings to low-income New Yorkers

“Distributed solar has performed so well in New York because it fits the nature of our state,” said Senator Pete Harckham, chair of the environmental conservation committee. “We have a unique mix of urban, suburban, and rural communities that can support a diverse portfolio of renewable energy projects, and it’s time we lean into our character as a state.”

Find the full roadmap here.

Maine may design a distribution system operator to advance distributed energy resources Maine has hired a consulting firm to evaluate whether forming a distribution system operator could speed deployment of distributed energy resources and support other state goals. Consultants are reviewing how the approach is used in five other countries.

New platform vets residential solar salespeople An industry plagued by deceptive practices is now verifying salespeople via a platform called Recheck.

Summit Ridge to procure 800 MW of Qcells solar panels The recent agreement brings the total to 2 GW of solar modules that the community solar specialist will purchase from Qcells, mostly manufactured in its facility in Georgia.

More solar installations coming to U.S. military bases In a partnership with Duke Energy valued at an estimated $248 million, the U.S. Department of Defense will be the exclusive purchaser of all output generated by two new solar facilities, which will serve five military bases.

Siting solar projects for best environmental results A new white paper from Clearloop identifies key U.S. regions for best carbon displacement impact of new clean energy projects.

Top solar panel brands in reliability, quality, and performance Solar modules are evaluated in the Renewable Energy Test Center annual PV Module Index.

pv magazine interview: ‘In the next year, some of these guys are going to be bankrupt’ At Intersolar in Munich, pv magazine spoke with Jenny Chase, solar analyst at BloombergNEF, about the incredibly low polysilicon prices, massive overcapacity, and increasing consolidation. According to Chase, this year there will be enough polysilicon capacity to produce 1.1 TW of solar modules, but global module demand is expected to reach around 585 GW. 

With more than 300,000 buildings and 600,000 vehicles, the U.S. Government is the nation’s largest energy consumer. As a part of the Federal Sustainability Plan that directs the Government to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the Government is quickly ramping up use of solar energy at military bases, five of which will soon be drawing electricity from two solar installations in South Carolina.

In a partnership with Duke Energy valued at an estimated $248 million, the Department of Defense (DOD) will be the exclusive purchaser of all output generated by two new solar facilities. The five military installations across North Carolina and South Carolina to benefit from the clean energy include Fort Liberty, USMC-Camp Lejeune, USMC-Cherry Point, USAF Seymour Johnson and USAF Shaw.

“DoD is leading by example on climate change in ways that will spur new clean electricity production, create good-paying jobs, increase our resilience to climate change, and enhance our national security,” said Andrew Mayock, Federal Chief Sustainability Officer at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Duke Energy estimates that it will provide 135 MW and approximately 4.8 million MW-hours of renewable energy in both states over a 15-year delivery period. According to the DoD, these installations will achieve 75% of their 2030 carbon-free energy requirement. Fort Liberty, for example, will reduce its emissions from electricity by 27% compared to 2022, with cost savings possible by 2040. The two solar facilities, which are expected to become operational in 2026, will be developed, owned and operated by energyRe, according to Duke.

“This project is a great opportunity to assist our military departments and our warfighters in their decarbonization goals and is paramount to reaching our initial goals of Executive Order 14057, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability. DLA Energy is committed to supporting the administration’s clean energy initiatives and helping the military services and whole-of-government partners achieve their climate change goals,” said United States Air Force Col. Jennifer Neris, director of carbon pollution-free electricity for the Defense Logistics Agency.

Duke Energy reports that it currently owns, operates and purchases more than 5,100 MW of solar power on its energy grid in the Carolinas or enough to power nearly 1 million homes annually. North Carolina currently ranks No. 5 in the nation for overall solar power. With a portfolio of nuclear, hydro and renewable energy, the utility says more than half of its energy mix in North Carolina is carbon-free.

The DoD said in a statement that it will continue to seek partnership opportunities that enable the agency and other Federal partners to achieve President Biden’s carbon-free energy goals and build a robust, clean, and domestically based electricity supply chain by 2030.

“Our partnerships with utility companies are essential to delivering energy resilience for the Army,” said Rachel Jacobson, assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and Environment. “These partnerships are helping us put microgrids with carbon-free energy generation and storage on our installations. And our continuing collaboration with Duke Energy allows the Army to contribute to a more reliable commercial grid that strengthens the resilience of the defense communities where our soldiers, military families, and civilians live. I am proud of these partnerships and look forward to expanding them so that our installations always have access to the electricity we need to defend the nation.”

An integrated microgrid infrastructure project in Rockville, Maryland will be the largest renewable energy-powered bus depot in the nation and the first on the East Coast to produce green hydrogen on-site, according to developer AlphaStruxure.

The microgrid will be constructed at Montgomery County’s David F. Bone Equipment Maintenance & Transit Operation Center (EMTOC), which is the County’s fifth largest energy user. With the depot eventually powering 200 zero-emissions buses, it will support the County’s climate goal of reaching 100% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035.

The 7 MW microgrid will consist of 5 MW of Sunpower solar modules, a 2 MW/7.35 MWh Schneider Electric battery energy storage system, and 4.5 MW of charging capacity. It will also use SMA inverters and feature EV chargers from Heliox and PowerCharge.

The integrated microgrid, which is expected to be operational in the fall of 2025, will be interconnected to the utility, but engineered to operate indefinitely in island mode, according to AlphaStruxure. Once built, it will be able to power not just electrolysis but the depot’s five existing buildings and battery electric bus charging. As a self-sufficient microgrid, it will do so with or without utility electricity, and can export up to 2 MW back to the grid, the company reports.

Unique to this microgrid is the 1 MW hydrogen electrolyzer that will be powered by the on-site solar energy and used to support fuel cell electric buses and enhance the county’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network.

The County’s 2024 fleet transition plan calls for replacing 100% of its nearly 400 fossil-fuel-powered buses with a mix of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses, while also scaling the entire fleet to about 600 buses by 2035. With this microgrid, the County is planning in advance how to power these zero-emissions vehicles by strategically coupling procurement of both the vehicles and the infrastructure.

“What you don’t want is to get these vehicles on site and have no way to charge them. It’s a balance between infrastructure done and the fleets in at the same time,” said Michael Yambrach of the County’s office of energy and sustainability.

Montgomery County created a public-private partnership with AlphaStruxure to design, build, finance, own, and operate the microgrid. The Counted used AlphaStruxure’s Energy as a Service agreement under which AlphaStruxure designs, builds, owns and operates the infrastructure, and taps an investment firm for financing.

People on the move: 3E, Pure Power Engineering, Crux, CMBlu, and more Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

New York invests $5 million in agrivoltaics The Empire State seeks “active farming,” such as cattle grazing, cannabis, corn, foraging, or specialty crops, on solar power sites. Offers up to $750,000 per site for demonstration projects that share data publicly.

Texas gas station to save on costs with solar installation A Shell gas station is expected to save over $150,000 from a solar array installed on the roof of its pumping station.

Assessing solar asset operational risks A report from kWh Analytics shares new data on mitigating solar asset operational losses.

Solar module prices increase for first time in years, Anza reports Using its own database of price quotes, the Anza Q2 Pricing Insights Report highlights the first price increase in years as a result of AD/CVD petition and the reinstatement of bifacial import duties.

A gas station in Crandall, Texas is among the first in the state to install solar panels on the roof of its pumping station.

DynamicSLR installed the 49 kW array for the Tri Gaz 5 station, The project is equipped with Enphase IQ8-3P microinverters. Microinverters are placed under each solar module, ensuring optimized production for each individual module.

The project is estimated to offset 17% of the station’s electricity needs, producing approximately 66,359 kWh per year. The project is interconnected with utility Oncor’s transmission grid.

The on-site solar array is expected to offset 1,920 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions per year, equivalent to 4,365,231 miles driven by cars, or 28,799 trees planted. 

“Our commitment to sustainability drives us to be pioneers in our field,” said Zak Kassem, president, Tri Gaz 5. “We take pride in being the first gas station in Texas to embrace solar energy, thereby reducing our carbon footprint.”

Ahmed Barakat, head of operations for commercial and industrial solar, DyanmicSLR said the installer was concerned about the potential risks of arc faults and selected a solution that made safety a top priority.

“We choose Enphase microinverters to provide clients with the safest solution, and the Enphase App allows us to implement module-level monitoring,” said Barakat. “This not only addresses their safety concerns, but also enhances their overall experience by providing detailed monitoring and analysis at the individual module level.”

Enphase IQ8 3P inverters were selected to provide the station a three-phase solution. The high-powered microinverter is designed for 208Y VAC three-phase small commercial solution. It has a peak power output of 480 W and comes equipped with a limited warranty of up to 25 years.

The gas station is expected to save about $3,752 per year, or about $154,685 over the expected life of the system.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced that $5 million is now available for demonstration projects that co-locate solar and agriculture within the state. Each project can receive up to $750,000. The state aims to expand the body of knowledge on the technical and financial viability of solar agrivoltaic facilities.

Participants in the program must agree to share data on the projects, including costs, benefits, lessons learned, and to host educational events open to the public.

Applications can be submitted through the NYSERDA website September 12, 2024, at 3 p.m.

Agrivoltaic facilities that are part of a larger solar facility should submit their application accounting only for the solar power area that is part of the agrivoltaic experiment. For instance, a 5 MW solar facility that integrates corn cultivation within 1 MW of solar panels should apply as a 1 MW agrivoltaic facility.

Agrivoltaic projects must be a minimum of 100 kW and are limited to 5 MWac.

According to NYSERDA summary documentation, eligible crops, livestock, and livestock products include, but are not limited to:

• Field crops, including corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, hay, potatoes and dry beans.
• Fruits, such as apples, peaches, grapes, cherries and berries.
• Vegetables, such as tomatoes, snap beans, cabbage, carrots, beets and onions.
• Horticultural specialties, including nursery stock, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, and flowers.
• Livestock and livestock products, including cattle, sheep, hogs, goats, horses, poultry, ratites (such as ostriches, emus, rheas and kiwis), farmed deer, farmed buffalo, fur bearing animals, wool bearing animals (such as alpacas and llamas), milk, eggs, and furs.
• Maple sap.
• Christmas trees derived from a managed Christmas tree operation whether dug for transplanting or cut from the stump.
• Aquaculture products, including fish, fish products, water plants and shellfish.
• Woody biomass, which means short rotation woody crops raised for bioenergy, and does not include farm woodland.
• Apiary products, including honey, beeswax, royal jelly, bee pollen, propolis, package bees, nucs and queens. “Nucs” are defined as small honeybee colonies created from larger colonies, including the nuc box – a smaller version of a beehive, designed to hold up to five frames from an existing colony.
• Actively managed log-grown woodland mushrooms.
• Industrial hemp as defined in Section 505.

Projects that solely include pollinator-friendly ground cover, apiary installation and maintenance, sheep grazing, or crops for biofuel generation are not eligible.

The project application package includes a “General Eligibility Checklist.” A negative response to any of the questions on this form may disqualify the proposal from further consideration.

Source: NYSERDA

A variety of eligible groups, including solar developers, farmers, landowners, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and local governments, can submit projects. Individuals and business owners may also apply independently. Teams looking to enhance existing or under-development distributed solar projects must apply through the NY SUN portal and be certified as NY SUN contractors. Additionally, projects associated with the NYSERDA Large Scale Renewable program are eligible.

The total potential prize of $750,000 is split into two parts; it allocates up to $500,000 for funding incremental solar hardware to ensure the facility’s viability. The remaining $250,000 is designated to support the agricultural aspects of the project. Funding will cover no more than $0.50 per watt for the incremental costs of the solar power plant.

The  U.S. Solar Market Insight Q2 2024 report says 11 GW of new solar module manufacturing capacity came online in the United States during Q1 2024, the largest quarter of solar manufacturing growth in American history.

The report, released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, estimates that total U.S. solar module manufacturing capacity now exceeds 26 GW annually.

In addition to solar manufacturing, the U.S. is also quickly ramping up solar installations. With 11.8 GW of new solar capacity installed thus far in 2024, total capacity now stands at 200 GW in the United States. The utility-scale segment alone accounts for nearly 10 GW of the new capacity added.

The report shows that the U.S. added over 40 GW of new solar capacity last year, and Wood Mackenzie now projects that the U.S. is on target to achieve the same goal in 2024.

“This quarter proves that new federal investments in clean energy are revitalizing American manufacturing and strengthening our nation’s energy economy,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “Whether it’s a billion-dollar investment in a nearby solar project or a new manufacturing plant employing hundreds of local workers, the solar and storage industry is uplifting communities in every state across this country.”

The report points to Florida and Texas as leaders in new solar capacity in Q1. Florida installed 2.7 GW in Q1 and Texas 2.6 GW. California, historically a solar leader, falls into third place with 1.4 GW of new installs; however, it is notable that in 2023, Texas installed nearly 12 GW, while California was about 6.4 GW. New Mexico is another leading market with 686 MW installed in Q1, with Ohio following close behind at 546 MW. Bringing up the bottom is North Dakota, Alabama and Alaska.

“The U.S. solar industry continues to show strength in terms of deployments,” said Michelle Davis, head of global solar at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report. “At the same time, the solar industry faces a number of challenges to its continued growth including availability of labor, high voltage equipment constraints, and continued trade policy uncertainty.”

The residential solar segment has been hard hit by high interest rates and unsupportive state policies. California, where the highly controversial NEM 3.0 went into effect, experienced its worst quarter in two years. Overall the residential sector installed 1.3 GWdc in Q1, reflecting a 25% decline year-over-year and 18% quarter-over-quarter but going forward residential solar is expected to be steady.

Commercial solar showed 23% growth in 2023 and expected to grow by another 14% in 2024. This sector is somewhat buoyed by California projects that were submitted under NEM 2.0 still being in the interconnection queue.

Looking at community solar, installations resulted in 279 MWdc of new capacity in Q1, with New York topping the charts at 17% year-over-year in Q1 2024, making up 46% of national installed capacity.

Again, state policy changes in California are punching holes in a previously growing market. As a result of the CPUC’s vote on AB 2316, the report authors revised their five-year outlook for California and now expects just 200 MW rather than the 1.5 GW—an 87% decline. Overall the community solar market is expected to grow 4% in 2024, exceeding 1.3 GWdc of annual capacity.

Questions and challenges

With many unanswered questions about tariffs on imported solar modules and other components, the report contends that a tariff increase will not have a significant direct impact on the U.S. solar industry, given that the U.S. is importing less than 0.1% from China at the present time.

Moving forward, the report’s five-year outlooks expects the U.S. industry to install around 40 GWdc a year for the next five years. Trade policy uncertainty coupled with shortages in workers as well as high-voltage equipment, will keep overall growth in the single digits through 2029. The five year projection, however, is for U.S. solar capacity to grow to 438 GW by 2029.

Has the Inflation Reduction Act bolstered the U.S. solar supply chain?  Wood Mackenzie is tracking the capacity that manufacturers have announced will come online in the U.S.; however, three challenges remain including a balance of materials, pricing and tariffs.

RFP alert: CAISO and TID seek renewable energy and storage projects Using the Ascend Analytics Energy Exchange, Turlock Irrigation District announces a request for proposals to meet its California Renewable Portfolio Standards and reliability goals.

A new federal transmission rule won’t help renewables projects anytime soon Although promptly deploying grid-enhancing technologies and advanced conductors could speed interconnection in the short term, a new federal transmission rule will improve interconnection only once new transmission is built, said panelists on a webinar.

ABB launches smart panel for home energy management In partnership with Lumin, the company released an electric panel with software for controlling solar, batteries, EV chargers, and more.

Researchers build 24.4%-efficient perovskite solar cells with room temperature process Researchers from the U.S. and South Korea have developed a method to make high-quality perovskite films at room temperature. The film was tested in a conventional perovskite solar cell architecture and the result was a power conversion efficiency of exceeding 24%.

Startup uses agricultural waste to produce low-cost, safe batteries U.S.-based start-up SorbiForce uses no toxic products or metals in production of its batteries. It claims its systems are cheaper and safer than lithium-ion batteries and have near zero end-of-life waste.

Solar carport to provide 100% electricity needs for Los Angeles Six Flags  Recom Technologies was selected as the solar panel provider for the 12 MW solar carport.

Recom Technologies, a European PV module manufacturer, has partnered with Solar Optimum to supply solar panels for a solar carport project at the Six Flags amusement park in California.

The 12.37 MW solar carport system will be constructed over the main guest and employee parking lots. It is expected to offset 100% of the park’s electricity usage.

The project is the largest solar carport in California, and the “largest single-interconnection commercial and industrial development in the world,” said Ara Krikorian, executive vice president of commercial development, Solar Optimum.

Once operational, the project is expected to produce 20.8 million kWh annually, equivalent to the power demand of nearly 3,000 homes. It is expected to offset the carbon emissions equivalent to taking over 3,100 cars off the road each year.

The park will purchase electricity produced by the system over a 25-year period, leading to an estimated 517 million kWh produced over the period.

The project includes a 1.96 MW / 7.89 MWh battery energy storage system.

The carport will make use of Recom Panther bifacial half-cut solar panels. The bifacial panels produce electricity from sunlight above as well as reflected up from the ground to the backside of the panel.

Recom’s Panther series of solar modules is offered in various formats including G1: 158.75mm; M6: 166mm; M10: 182mm; G12: 210mm. Wattage ratings range from 360 W to 665 W, and the company offers both monofacial and bifacial panels with varied frame and backsheet options.

Recom offers a 25-year product warranty for its panels. The panels offer a first year output of 98% of initial rating, less than 0.54 % annual degradation, and a 25-year output of over 85%.

Six Flags’ latest project adds to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Northern California and Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, which have also developed on-site solar facilities with over 30 MW of operational solar capacity.

Once the Los Angeles carport is complete, Six Flags will have a combined total of 42.37 MW of solar assets, ranking it among the largest investors of on-site commercial solar.

“Here in California, innovation and climate action go hand-in-hand – our success as America’s economic powerhouse and the world’s fourth largest economy is built on our ambitious transition to a cleaner, greener future. Six Flags’ commitment to clean energy is the type of work that will power our future and ensure our kids have a healthy planet to call home,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom

GoodWe U.S. inverter on Sunnova’s approved vendor list This partnership allows GoodWe and Sunnova to meet the growing demand by commercial and industrial customers that want to stabilize energy costs.

Renewables must triple by 2030 to hit net-zero by 2050, says BloombergNEF BloombergNEF says in a new report that solar and wind must drive most emissions cuts before 2030 to stay on track for net-zero by 2050. Its net-zero scenario targets a combined solar and wind capacity of 31 TW by 2050.

Acciona completes Texas-size solar project near Houston The 458 MW Red-Tailed Hawk solar plant is the company’s largest solar plant to date.

EV manufacturer Rivian invests in solar energy Rivian will subscribe to community solar and purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs).

Market impacts from the recent flurry of solar policy actions The U.S. had an extremely busy week of policy changes, including AD/CVD, domestic content, bifacial panel exemptions, and changes to 301 tariffs.

Enel, Energy Vault build 18 MW/36 MWh of U.S. gravity storage Energy Vault and Enel have revealed plans to build 18 MW/36 MWh of gravity storage in the United States. They say that the project will be the first large-scale gravity energy storage in a Western country.

U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian announced it has entered a deal with Pivot Energy to purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) as well as subscribe to a portion of a community solar project.

The agreement includes a subscription to 10 MW of off-site community solar to support Rivian’s Illinois manufacturing capacity. Rivian will also purchase RECs generated from 50 MW of operational solar assets.

The REC impact agreement is designed to support the development of projects where emissions reductions are needed the most. The REC-tied projects are designed to be installed in locations with few solar resources.

“According to the EPA, the region of the electric grid where the solar projects will be located is 67% dirtier than the U.S. grid as a whole, meaning that the region emits two-thirds more greenhouse gases from fossil fuels than other areas,” said Pivot Energy.

The new-build REC projects are expected to generated 79,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, equivalent to powering nearly 11,000 homes annually.

The two companies will invest $5,000 per MW built in local community organizations. The donations tied to each MW constructed will go to support local community-based organizations working to reduce energy burden for low-income families, developing workforce development pathways into the solar industry for local residents and groups working at the intersection of agriculture and energy production.

“Our partnership with Pivot shows how we go one step further by investing in projects that not only deliver additional clean energy to the grid, but also drive positive benefits for communities, conservation and the climate,” said Andrew Peterman, director of advanced energy solutions, Rivian.

Rivian’s decarbonization strategy includes plans to support 2 GW of renewable energy each year to support emissions-free EV charging. This is enough to power 7 billion miles of renewable driving with its R1 truck each year.

Rivian said its manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois, aims to operate with greater than 90% carbon free energy on an hourly basis and will run on 100% renewable energy annually by 2030.

Petition filed to enforce antidumping tariffs on solar imports  A coalition of U.S. solar manufacturers submitted a request for investigation of alleged dumping of Chinese goods in four Southeastern Asian nations responsible for roughly 80% of U.S. solar panel supply.

People on the move: Urban Solar, Kilo Power, Palmetto and more  Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

NREL updates interactive chart of solar cell efficiency The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has updated its research cell efficiency chart for a range of PV technologies.

A second solar project takes off at JFK airport TotalEnergies began construction of an onsite solar-plus-storage system, providing energy to Port Authority and Con Edison, as well as community solar for area residents.

Reconductoring could enable 764 GW of transmission-connected solar by 2035  Replacing existing transmission lines, known as conductors, with advanced conductors could enable 764 GW of transmission-connected solar by 2035 even if transmission in new corridors was limited, found a study by UC Berkeley and GridLab researchers.

RFP alert: Community choice aggregator seeks renewable energy and storage  Central Coast Community Energy announces a request for proposals (RFP) for renewable energy and storage Projects in CAISO territory.

Enphase delivers revenue miss amid softened residential solar demand The company remains profitable, generating $41.8 million in free cash flow, despite a slumping market.

SunPower to close business units, cut about 26% of workforce The company announced plans to wind down its residential solar installation locations and close its direct sales unit.

From pv magazine Global

Global PV capacity grew to 1.6 TW in 2023, up from 1.2 TW in 2022, according to the IEA-PVPS Snapshot of Global PV Markets 2024.

The analysts said that up to 446 GW of new PV systems were commissioned last year, largely driven by rapid growth in China, alongside an estimated 150 GW of modules in inventories throughout the world.

“After several years of tension on material and transport costs, module prices plummeted in a massively over-supplied market, maintaining the competitivity of PV even as electricity prices decreased after historical peaks in 2022,” said the IEA-PVPS.

The report said that the oversupply of PV modules last year “shed light on the difficulties to align production and demand in a very versatile environment.” It noted that while production capacities increased significantly in China, growth only happened in a limited number of countries beyond China.

“Uneven political support in some markets could also be attributed to the difficulties to develop local PV manufacturing facilities in an already inundated market,” the report said, explaining that significant drops in PV module prices due to increased inventory, oversupply and competitive environment among manufacturers also caused strain on local manufacturing.

Elsewhere in the report, the IEA-PVPS said that both the rooftop and utility-scale segments grew in 2023. Approximately 45% of new capacity was on rooftops, continuing gradual growth seen since 2018 as rooftop markets opened in new countries, while decreasing installation costs and higher consumption costs made it more accessible for residential investors. The report noted that prosumers are becoming more active market drivers across the world, while noting a move away from net metering as PV costs go down.

The number of countries with theoretical penetration rates above 10% doubled last year, to 18. Spain, the Netherlands, Chile and Greece led in this metric, but more populous countries such as Germany and Japan also passed 10% for the first time.

Allow solar developers to choose “connect and manage,” says DOE roadmap  To speed interconnection of utility-scale renewables and storage projects, a U.S. Department of Energy roadmap sets forth 35 solutions and proposes actions to implement the solutions. The roadmap was developed through a DOE stakeholder process known as i2X.

Three-decker, solar and battery powered yacht hits the water in Italy  Silent Yachts launched the first Silent 62 3-Deck yacht, outfitted with 17 kWp of SunPower X400+ rigid glass solar modules and a newly enhanced 350 kWh LiFePO4 battery storage system, propelled by dual 340 kW electric motors.

Specialized EPC contractors key to smaller community solar projects  Innovative financing models and supportive policies are needed to make community solar financially viable and attractive to investors.

Massachusetts city that mandates solar on new buildings celebrates latest success Watertown, Massachusetts, a city with a model energy plan, now has a Gold LEED certified building with 252 kW solar and 125 kW storage system, along with 15 EV charging ports.

Resilient Watertown, the city’s Climate & Energy Plan, outlines 61 actions to ensure the city is on its way to achieving its goal of 100% of electricity sourced from renewables by 2050.

Two elements of the extensive plan are to promote electrification and enhance and actively promote zero-carbon mobility options for travel. In fact, the city plans to not only have all registered vehicles be electric by 2050, but also has a goal of cutting in half personal vehicular travel miles.

In 2018 the Watertown Town Council passed a first-in-New-England solar ordinance requiring solar on the equivalent of 50% roof coverage for new and substantially renovated buildings over 10,000 sq. feet and 90% of parking garages.

Now the city celebrates the operation of a solar and storage project installed at 66 Galen, a brand new 224,106 square foot life science building that features purpose-built offices and laboratories.

The project was directed by Houston-based Catalyze, a national Energy Transition Partner that develops, finances, owns, and operates integrated renewable assets. Catalyze owns two proprietary technologies: REenergyze, an origination-to-operations software integration platform and SolarStrap, a proprietary mounting technology to install rooftop panels.

The Gold LEED-certified facility draws power from 252 kW solar and 125 kW storage system, covering about 10% of the buildings electricity needs. It also boasts a series of EV charging stations featuring 15 ports, located within the parking garage and are intended for use by employees and visitors.

The installation features Znshine Solar modules, a 251 kWh battery from SYL and Powercharge EV chargers. Catalyze told pv magazine USA that the battery storage system will be used to offset peak demand times, supplying solar power to the building when the cost of power from the utility provider would be at its highest.

Other sustainability features include 100% recyclable terra cotta tiles with a low-e coating on the exterior that maximize the building’s insulative properties and minimize solar heat gain; high-efficiency LED and self-dimming lighting to minimize light pollution; a variable-volume air handler system that helps reduce energy cost by 19%, according to Catalyze, compared to buildings of a similar size; and significant water conservation infrastructure that directs excess rainwater to green space.

To support this project, Catalyze participated in the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, an incentive program that has catapulted Massachusetts into the top ten list for solar states.

The building, which is called 66 Galen, is owned by Davis and Boston Development Group, with investment by Actis and Encap.

“It’s terrific to see a multi-technology scheme such as 66 Galen which comprises energy generation from solar PV and battery storage come into operation,” said Javier Orellana, director, energy infrastructure at Actis. “It’s a perfect demonstration of the energy transition in progress.”

66 Galen is not the first solar on a commercial building in Watertown. The largest commercial solar installation is on Arsenal Yards.

The more than one million square foot mixed-use development that includes state-of-the-art life science lab space, 300 apartments, and a 146-room hotel. The 1. 1 MW of solar was installed in 2020 by Boston-based Kearsarge Energy.

Watertown is also home to the first net-zero school in Massachusetts. The Cunniff elementary school is testament to the support among municipal leaders as well as town residents. In developing the Climate & Energy Plan, the city surveyed residents, solicited comments, distributed educational materials, had conversations at five public events and invited the public to the three advisory group meetings—all to solicit feedback and support for the clean energy goals in Watertown.

Watertown intends to re-evaluate its goals and actions regularly in order to keep them on target for the 2050 goal, and also to adjust any actions to adapt to new trends and technologies.to update and adjust actions and targets to adapt to emerging trends and technologies.

Solar electric plus thermal systems to be manufactured in Texas  Naked Energy signed a deal with ELM Solar to manufacture its VirtuPVT and VirtuHOT systems in Dallas, with units available for purchase in 2025.

New Jersey farm studies agrivoltaics with vertically mounted solar Rutgers University reports that the vertical system fits well with the aim of the project, which is to study the benefits of agrivoltaics where there is a large energy demand and limited space.

Five energy equity policy wins in 2024  Advocacy group Vote Solar highlights policies it helped influence and develop in Q1 2024.

Long-duration energy storage innovators receive DOE funding  The Department of Energy Office of Electricity announced recipients of the $15 million in EarthShot funds directed to accelerate development, commercialization and use of next-generation energy storage solutions.

Rutgers University’s 170 kW agrivoltaic project on its farm on the Cook campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey features a vertical solar installation designed by California-based Sunstall.

The farm operates as a production farm, research facility and teaching operation in support of the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station related activities. At the farm, students, faculty and staff care for a variety of animals, including sheep, goats and cattle.

Agrivoltaics refers to the dual use of land for agriculture and solar energy generation, and the Rutgers farm is an example of such dual use, where a forage crop will be planted and beef cattle will graze between rows of solar modules. The design includes animal shelters that provide a shade area, animal drinking facilities, and a handling chute for safely managing large animals. Rutgers reports that the objective is to study the impacts of the agrivoltaic system on forage production and animal grazing, including any behavioral changes the animals may exhibit when grazing among the panels.

Results from the project will contribute to the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program administered by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU). The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station received $2 million from the state for building research and demonstration agrivoltaic systems on its Research Farms.

Sunstall chose New Jersey-based developer and EPC contractor Advanced Solar Products as the installer. The vertical racking system from Sunzaun will consist of 18 rows of 21 solar modules, mounted in rows running north to south, enabling the system to receive sunlight from east and west.

The Sunzaun vertical racking system will hold bifacial solar modules that produce energy from both sides of the vertically oriented array.

The project will use ZnShine 450 W bifacial solar modules with a bifaciality rating of 70%. The system is designed to mount the modules using holes in the module frames, enabling them to be attached to two piles without the need for a heavy racking system.

This is not the first Sunzaun vertical agrivoltaic system in the U.S. Another example can be found in a vineyard in Somerset, California, where Sunstall installed 43 450 W modules on Sunzaun vertical solar arrays.

Agrivoltaics have been found to have other benefits as well, such as reducing water evaporation from the soil. A research group led by the University of Liège in Belgium studied this and verified that the vertical PV system could reduce water demand for the irrigated main crops. In addition, agrivoltaics can help meet the U.S. clean energy goals. Research by Oregon State University found that solar and agricultural co-location could provide 20% of the total electricity generation in the United States. Wide-scale installation of agrivoltaics could lead to an annual reduction of 330,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions while “minimally” impacting crop yield, the researchers said.

Give distributed resources a greater role in grid reliability, say four law professors  Distributed solar and storage, along with demand response, “perform during extreme weather events” and deserve a greater role in reliability planning, the law professors say, while a new public office of grid reliability could guide transmission planning.

Tesla reports record energy storage deployment figures Tesla’s electric vehicle (EV) sales are plummeting, but its energy storage business is surging, with more than 4 GWh deployed in the first quarter of 2024 alone.

Microsoft signs two large solar power purchase agreements  The software giant entered into two power purchase agreements for a total of 400 MW of solar energy from Texas solar plants.

Two universities add solar to their energy mix  Princeton University plans four solar installations on its New Jersey campus, while Northeastern University celebrates the completion of a highly visible rooftop solar project on the downtown Snell Library.

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

More colleges and universities are adopting solar on their campuses, recognizing that solar installations can alleviate budget pressure, help schools meet clean energy goals and provide real-world learning opportunities for tomorrow’s leaders.

Princeton University in New Jersey is planning for a 2.2 MW portfolio of four solar projects to be installed on rooftop and canopy-mounted structures

New York-based Brightcore Energy will be installing 4,039 solar modules beginning in the summer of 2024.

Princeton University’s Sustainability Action Plan commits the school to achieving net zero carbon neutrality b 2046 and states that during the planning of future campus projects, campus leaders should ask themselves “Will today’s decision facilitate a movement towards the objective of nationwide decarbonization?”

The school also has a policy of avoiding purchase of offsets and states that school leaders should keep in mind that “paying others so that we can continue to pollute is not an effective global solution to climate change.”

“The school has shown great leadership with its ambitious and detailed sustainability plans, and we are excited to play a role in that,” said Mike Richter, president of Brightcore.

Further north, Northeastern University in Boston announced the recent completion of a 158 kWp rooftop solar system on its library.

Installed by Massachusetts-based Ameresco, the solar installation is expected to offset 146 metric tons of carbon (CO2) emissions.

Northeastern was one of the first universities in the nation to prioritize sustainability and in 2007 became a founding member of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, now the Climate Leadership Network and the University Climate Change Coaltion (UC3) led by Second Nature.

Northeastern reports that between 2005 and 2020, greenhouse gas emissions per square foot of building space on the Boston campus declined by 42%. The school attributes this success, in part, to fuel switching, energy conservation measures, such as lighting retrofits, and sustainable building design. Northeastern considers the installation on the Snell Library being a highly visible and important milestone.

“Northeastern has made significant progress reducing the carbon intensity of our buildings,” said Leah Bamberger, executive director of Northeastern’s Climate Justice and Sustainability Hub. “This project comes at an important time as we are developing plans to fully decarbonize our buildings and eliminate harmful emissions.”

Following a settlement between Sierra Club, The Conservation Law Foundation, and the Environmental Protection Agency, New Hampshire’s two coal plants will close and be replaced by a solar plant with battery storage.

Under the settlement agreement, Granite Shore Power (GSP), owner of the two plants, shall cease operation of the Merrimack plant no later than June 1, 2028 and the Schiller plant no later than December 31, 2025.

After a long, but eventually fruitful fight, the Sierra Club estimates that 560 MW of fossil-fuel derived energy is set to go offline. GSP stated that from its “earliest days” the company had planned to transition its fossil-fuel burning facilities to clean energy, and said that the agreement to close the plants will facilitate the creation of “the first-of-their-kind renewable energy parks” in N.H.

The Schiller Station will house a battery energy storage system (BESS), helping to support grid reliability for the Seacoast region of N.H.

GSP said it expects the BESS to store energy generated by wind power that is now being built off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and in the Gulf of Maine.

The Merrimack Station served as a peaker plant, operating during periods when generation is needed quickly to maintain electrical system stability on the grid, and therefore played a lesser role in the state’s energy infrastructure, GSP said.

The Merrimack Station plant will be replaced by what GSP describes as a “clean energy center” to be built on the 400 acres of land in Bow.

The settlement makes New Hampshire the 16th coal-free state, the 12th to go coal-free since the Beyond Coal campaign launched in 2010. Beyond Coal is a campaign organized by the Sierra Club whose mission is to close all coal plants in the U.S. and replace them with clean energy.

The Merrimack Station in Bow, N.H. was a source of air pollution, with its particulate matter (PM) found in February 2023 to exceed EPA limit by 70%, according to the New Hampshire Department of Environment Services (DES). The Sierra Club noted that a successful smoke stack retest has not been completed in the past year, and DES acknowledges that Merrimack Station is currently not in compliance with EPA standards.

The closure of Merrimack and Schiller is testament to the success of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, noting that these are the 380th and 381st coal plant retirements Sierra Club has championed alongside community and climate allies.

“This historic victory is a testament to the strength and resolve of those who never wavered in the fight for their communities and future,” said Ben Jealous, Sierra Club Executive Director. “The people of New Hampshire and all of New England will soon breathe cleaner air and drink safer water, and I’m incredibly proud to see the region continue to grow as a leader in the clean energy transition.”

Indoor cannabis growing operations use a staggering amount of electricity, requiring high-powered lighting, heating and cooling, ventilation, water pumping, and more.  

Back in 2012, before cannabis growth was legalized, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimated that 1% of the electricity consumed in the United States was diverted to indoor cannabis growing operations.

Since then, nearly half the states half legalized marijuana. Industry researcher Brightfield Group estimates the industry had $31.8 billion in annual sales in 2023, and that figure is expected to grow to $50.7 billion by 2028.

Today, fossil fuels still represent about 60% of U.S. electricity generation, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). According to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) one pound of cannabis growth requires about 2,000 kWh to 3,000 kWh of electricity consumption. For context, the average U.S. home uses about 900 kWh of electricity per month, said EIA.

This adds up to an enormous amount of greenhouse gas emissions to produce cannabis. While the industry could cut emissions by moving more production outdoors, or using more passive growing conditions like greenhouses, the quality and quantity advantages of growing indoors leaves little incentives for investors in large growing operations to change their operations fundamentally.

This creates an opportunity for the solar industry to step in as a partner to cannabis growers, helping cut emissions, lower electricity costs, and create a marketing competitive advantage for climate-conscious marijuana users.

One grower and processor, Bright Green Corporation, seized this opportunity, investing in a 102 MW solar project to power its new $250 million expansion project in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Maxeon Solar Technologies is providing the solar panels for the project, while Baker Tilly is leading construction.

The cannabis facility currently burns natural gas and oil for electricity. The company will now install three 40 MW electric boilers and power them with the solar facility, which is expected to take about 30 months to construct. Bright Green Energy said the cost savings over the 30-year lifetime of the equipment is expected to save the company “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

“This source of energy will reduce and fix our substantial heat and electric costs annually. The future growth of this company is highly dependent on Innovation and long-term efficiency,” said Lynn Stockwell, Bright Green Corporation founder. “The uncertainty of the long-term costs and pricing predicated on supply and demand for the traditional fossil fuels for this type of mega factory compared to clean energy from the sun advances the company’s economics and ethos.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A solar plant constructed as a partnership between global automotive supplier Vitesco Technologies, San Antonio-based Big Sun Solar and electric cooperative GVEC, is said to be one of the first three-party power purchase agreements in Texas.

The ground-mount, tracker-based project is built on 12 acres adjacent to the Vitesco Technologies’ manufacturing facility, where the company makes drive systems and electrification solutions for sustainable mobility.

Through the power purchase agreement, Big Sun Solar is the developer, owner and operator and Vitesco Technologies purchases the electricity from GVEC.

The 2.6 MW project is expected to generate roughly 4,800 MW/h per year with 4,800 Jinko Eagle 545 W solar modules mounted on Array Technologies DuraTrack HZ v3 trackers. The site will use 16 SMA Sunny Highpower Peak3 125kW inverters.

Now operational, the solar plant is expected to produce enough electricity to cover about 13% of the company’s annual energy consumption at the Seguin facility, or the equivalent of powering 330 Texas homes.

“Powering clean mobility is our mission, and that certainly includes taking responsible actions supporting our manufacturing processes to reduce the environmental effects of the automotive industry,” said Dr. Hans-Juergen Braun, global head of operations for Vitesco Technologies.

“This solar energy project owes its success to the dedication and vision of our team in Seguin as well as our partners with Big Sun and the GVEC,” said Hans-Juergen Braun. “These initiatives and opportunities are driving our global footprint toward success and growth not only benefitting our company, but also our employees, shareholders, business partners and world as a whole.”

Vitesco Technologies and Big Sun Solar report that they are currently discussing opportunities to implement additional sustainable energy projects at the facility.

The Superior Wisconsin Fire Department partnered with developer Cedar Creek Energy to install a 153.1 kWh solar array on its rooftop. The fire department and its new solar array were visited by President Joe Biden on January 25, 2024. 

The solar array is supporting the fire department’s ongoing efforts to boost the environmental sustainability of its operations while simultaneously improving use of its budget. The array is expected to offset about 267,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide emissions per year, roughly equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 145 acres of forest in one year. 

Federal and state programs supported significant savings for the municipal account. The department received an elective pay tax credit for 40% of the cost of the project, while Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program created an $18,000 rebate. 

Focus on Energy is a broad program serving rebates and incentives for residential, commercial, nonprofit and other accounts seeking to install renewable energy and energy efficiency measures. Eligible technologies include solar, insulation, heating and cooling, smart thermostats, and more. 

In three to five years the fire department plans to switch to an EV truck, and Cedar Creek said it helped the municipal water, light and power company to secure a discounted charging rate for the electric vehicle. 

The installation marked the first municipal solar project for Superior, Wisconsin. 

“This project is an example of environmental stewardship and innovation. We’re honored to have contributed to this historic initiative and excited for the department’s green journey ahead,” said Rob Appelhof, chief executive officer, Cedar Creek Energy. 

Solar and energy storage engineering, procurement, and construction provider Cedar Creek is based in Blaine, Minnesota, serving residential and commercial solar customers. 

From pv magazine Global

The world could install up to 574 GW of new PV capacity this year, according to a new global PV outlook report from BloombergNEF. It said that new solar installations hit 444 GW in 2023, significantly surpassing its previous forecast of around 413 GW.

The research firm said it also expects new global PV installations to reach 627 GW in 2025 and 672 GW in 2026, and then grow further to 718 GW in 2027 and 722 GW in 2028. For 2029 and 2030, it predicts annual PV growth of 820 GW and 880 GW, respectively.

These figures diverge substantially from those released by Wood Mackenzie in January. It predicted flat annual average growth over the next eight years, bucking the trend of rapid growth over the last decade.

“The challenge in making forecasts is that if you keep predicting growth at current rates, you end up forecasting the entire world being covered with solar panels,” Jenny Chase, a solar analyst at BloombergNEF, told pv magazine. “Our 2030 forecast is already over 6.7 TW, well above BNEF’s Net Zero Scenario and relatively comparable with global power generation capacity of 8.5 TW at the end of 2022.”

Chase said that Portugal and Greece could generate 50% more electricity from solar by 2030 than they did in 2022.

“At those levels, we will have negative feedback mechanisms, and those are what is really hard to predict,” she added. “Power will already be priced very low when the sun’s out, and storage isn’t free – so why would anyone build more solar, at least at historical rates of growth? That’s what BNEF’s regional analysts have to grapple with now that solar is not small anymore, and it’s no wonder that they can seem like cowards. Forecasting that the future will be dramatically unlike the past is always difficult.”

RFP alert: New York Power Authority seeks proposals for 5.2 MW solar project NYPA looking for proposals for solar installation at State University of New York at Oneonta, preferably with a battery energy storage system. A second, non-lithium long-duration energy proposal is sought.

Stormy January impacts irradiance across North America In its weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that North America saw irradiance below average, primarily due to the stormy conditions that prevailed during the second half of January.

North Carolina appeals court weighs critical rooftop solar decision Environmental advocates appealed a cut to rooftop solar generation exports, arguing that utility Duke Energy ignored the benefits of customer-sited solar in its internal analysis of net metering rates.

Publicly traded solar installer Sunworks files for bankruptcy The residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural solar installer files for bankruptcy amid troubled macroeconomic conditions for distributed solar nationwide.

After four years of very strong growth, Chaberton reports it controls 650+ MW of community solar sites in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, New Jersey and Italy.

Headquartered in Maryland, Chaberton Energy is a public benefit corporation focused on developing sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy projects. Its work ranges from site conception to full operations. The company launched in 2020 with community solar projects in the mid-Atlantic region but has since broadened its portfolio to include commercial and industrial installations. Due in part to favorable solar policies that continue to emerge in states across the country, Chaberton quickly expanded its market.

Community solar installations have grown overall from 85 MW cumulative in 2015 to 6.2 GW in 2023, according to Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, the market is expected to grow 8% annually between 2024 and 2028.

“Chaberton will be busy this year offering valuable solar options for communities and for businesses that recognize the benefits of generating their own electricity, cutting costs and reducing their carbon footprint,” said Chaberton Energy CEO and founder Stefano Ratti.

Recent projects

A few of its recent projects include Friendship, Crestone, Greyrock and Fuji.

Friendship is made up of two community solar projects in West Friendship, Howard County, Maryland, which, combined generate 6.5 MW. They came online early 2023 and serve local community residents and small businesses, via the Community Solar Maryland program, and Loyola University Maryland, via the Aggregate Net Energy Metering program. Like all of Chaberton’s projects in the mid-Atlantic, they feature a pollinator habitat.

Crestone is a community solar project in Harrington, New Kent, Delaware, totaling 6.4 MW. This is the first project to participate in the newly revamped Delaware Community Solar program.

Fuji is two installations in one. Located in Franklin, NJ, it has a combined capacity of 5 MW. What is unique is this is a floating solar installation, which will be installed on the surface of an industrial pond. The installation will serve both industrial and community solar needs, as the first phase of the project involves installing a behind-the-meter system to meet on-site energy requirements of an aggregate material production site. The second phase of the project is a community solar installation with local residents as subscribers.

Greyrock, in Pittsville, Md is a 2 MW community solar project on a 34-acre parcel of land, which will serve residents and businesses within the Delmarva service area. Its pollinator habitat was designed following recommendations set forth in the Maryland Pollinator Protection Plan. The project is expected to be operational in the summer of 2024.

Wyman’s, a 150-year old grower of wild blueberries, has partnered with ReVision Energy and REC Solar to install more than 17,000 solar modules on 35 acres of non-productive land in Maine. Wyman’s owns 55,000 acres of land in Maine and is a top-selling brand of frozen fruit in the U.S., according to Nielsen data. 

ReVision Energy is installing the project, which will have both Hanwha Q Peak Duo 400 W and REC380 solar modules. It is expected to generate 8.5 GWh of clean energy in the first year of operation, offsetting an estimated 8 million pounds of carbon every year, or the equivalent carbon sequestration of planting 60,735 trees.

This project is designed to offset 73% of Wyman’s energy use through net energy billing credits, meaning that the Maine utility, Versant Power, will give Wyman’s credit against its electric bill for every kilowatt hour generated. REC is the investor and owner of the solar plant, which Wyman’s will have a right to purchase after 20 years.

“For 150 years, we’ve been driven by the desire to produce healthy food, provide gainful employment, and protect natural resources,” said Tony Shurman, Wyman’s president and chief executive officer.

Wild blueberries took root in Maine more than 10,000 years ago and Maine is the only state in the U.S. where wild blueberries are commercially grown in abundance. These berries grow in their natural ecosystem, so there’s no artificial breeding or genetic modifications, and the plants are connected by an underground root system called rhizomes.

Wyman’s is not the first project to bring solar power to blueberry production. Solar was part of a pilot program at the University of Maine. The 4.2 MW solar project was built on a 10-acre blueberry farm. The project was developed by BlueWave, which worked with CS Energy, the EPC partner, and Navisun, the owner operator, and University of Maine, the research partner, to study solar construction techniques as well as ways of harvesting blueberries that are grown among solar panels.

Wyman’s is also partnering with the University of Maine on a research study that is  exploring how conditions caused by climate change, such as heat, drought, erratic rainfall patterns, and early frosts, impact production.

“The decision to go solar fits squarely with our ethos to do the right thing and seek a better way. Being powered by the sun is an important opportunity to ensure Wyman’s continues to provide healthy fruit for another 150 years and beyond,” said Shurman.

Maryland YMCA to cut energy costs with rooftop solar Secure Solar Futures installed a 222 kW solar array on a Maryland YMCA, which is expected to save about $100,000 on electricity bills.

California to grant $52 million for vehicle-to-grid home energy stations Smart home energy company Dcbel was awarded grant money for the deployment of EV charge-controlling devices that can respond to dynamic grid price signals.

Plus Power to construct 175 MW / 350 MWh energy storage in Maine The Cross Town project will add 175 MW of storage to New England’s grid while helping to ensure Maine meets its 2030 and 2050 decarbonization goals.

Rain insufficient for removing tree pollen from solar panels  An analysis by NREL in North Carolina reveals that various types of tree pollen can reduce solar panel efficiency by over 15%. Unlike the immediate improvements assumed to follow heavy rain, recovery of performance post-pollen season is gradual. Manual cleaning post-rain can boost performance by 5% to 11%.

EcoFlow battery generator can back up a house for up to a month  The Delta Pro Ultra, shown this week at CES 2024, works with multiple energy sources for whole-home backup, solar power storage and off-grid use.

Nautilus Solar acquires 16 community solar projects in Illinois  The community solar specialist expands its footprint into the Midwest with the acquisition of this 75.6 MW portfolio.  

The YMCA in Frederick County, Maryland is expected to save $100,000 on its electricity bills over the next 25 years after installing a 222 kW rooftop solar array. The organization entered a 25-year service agreement with solar installer Secure Solar Futures.

The array is installed on the Natelli Family Y in Ijamsville, Maryland. It is comprised of 544 monocrystalline panels from JinkoSolar. It is expected to produce 294 MWh in its first year of operations, covering roughly 18% of the facility’s electricity usage. YMCA will continue to source the rest of its electricity from the local utility.

The YMCA location is expected to abate 2,997 metric tons of carbon emissions and save $97,226 on electricity over the 25-year power purchase agreement. At the end of the service agreement, YMCA can take ownership of the solar array, which can continue to produce electricity for another decade beyond the agreement.

Secure Solar Futures also installed an electric vehicle charger on site. The Level 2 charging station is manufactured by ChargePoint, offering two charging ports for members and nonmembers. The first two hours of charging are offered for free, and after that the fee is $3 per hour and $0.25 per kWh of power used.

“The YMCA of Frederick County is generating solar power at its facility for use on the electricity grid while making clean energy available to local drivers simultaneously,” said Secure Solar Futures CEO, Ryan McAllister. “It’s an increasingly popular approach among our customers, and we expect to see even more integration of on-site solar and electric transportation as our company expands into the state of Maryland.”

In 2023, Secure Solar Futures announced the Coalfield Solar Fund in partnership with Intuit and the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) to offer up to $5 million in grants to public schools and community colleges that sign solar power purchase agreements (PPA) in coalfield regions of West Virginia and Southwest Virginia. The company also partnered with the Virginia Community College System, signing several solar PPAs.

The company was also involved in the development of West Virginia Senate Bill 544, sponsored by Senator Ben Queen, which increased the solar PPA cap from 500 kW to 1 MW in the state of West Virginia.

Qcells inks its largest module and EPC agreement In an eight-year agreement with Microsoft, Qcells will supply 12 GW of modules along with EPC services.

Vertical agrivoltaic plant to be constructed in Vermont Vertical solar plants with bifacial modules can absorb more energy than other tilted models and are finding agricultural application around the world.

Utility trade groups call for $1.2 billion to boost transformer manufacturing  To cure a shortage of distribution transformers, trade groups representing the utility and housing industries have called for federal funding to boost U.S. manufacturing of the equipment.

Auxin Solar files lawsuit against U.S. government for Biden solar tariff pause The small solar panel manufacturer filed suit against the U.S. Department of Commerce and Customs and Border Patrol related to the pause of tariffs on goods in alleged antidumping violations.

Off-grid solar truck tent concept on display at CES 2024 Jackery will unveil its solar powered tent truck attachment at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Small town in Maine bans commercial solar The township of Moscow, Maine, home to just over 500 residents, banned all commercial solar installations greater than 40 kW within town limits.

U.S. solar company iSun Inc. is partnering with German agrivoltaics manufacturer Next2Sun AG to construct a vertical agrivoltaic system in South Burlington, Vt., set to begin operation early this year. 

The 50.37 kW (ac) plant will sit on 3.7 acres and consist of 3 rows separated by 30 feet. There will be 138 monocrystalline bifacial solar modules placed on 69 ground-mounted Next2Sun racks. Next2Sun also states that vegetables and saffron can be planted between each row. 

Vertical solar plants are an alternative for landowners transitioning to renewable energy because their directional orientation and bi-facial design allow them to absorb more energy than other tilted models. One study published in the Office of Scientific and Technical Information database found that ground-mounted, vertical, east-west facing bifacial solar panels outperformed south-north-facing, optimally tilted modules by almost 15%, showing an albedo of 0.5 percent. 

Next2Sun reports that its vertical plants help to avoid the overbuilding of agricultural land because they take up less space. One Colorado farmer found that installing vertical, bi-facial solar panels offered a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative for renewable electricity generation. “Nestled between two greenhouses, the unique vertical bifacial solar panel system optimized land use while potentially capitalizing on the high albedo effect of the highly reflective greenhouse materials,” he said.

This most recent project is part of a more extensive portfolio of Next2Sun’s patented solar panel design. At the start of 2023, the company announced a partnership with international green energy infrastructure developer TEP Renewables Ltd to expand agrivoltaic systems in the U.K. 

The Next2Sun system also adds to iSun’s burgeoning clean energy technology portfolio. The organization has been exploring innovative solutions to help advance technology since the early seventies. “Of all the innovations we’ve enabled, none have been as important as the transition from dirty to clean energy,” the company states. 

The Renewable Energy Solutions Program of the German Energy Solutions Initiative supports the project. The program helps German companies in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industry enter new markets. The initiative is part of a government program intended to support suppliers of sustainable energy solutions start in foreign markets. 

The German Energy Solutions Initiative focuses on helping small and medium-sized businesses. It supports participants by giving them a good idea of what’s needed to enter a specific market in addition to sharing insights on what new markets to watch out for. 

Heiko Hildebrandt, the CEO of Next2Sun, said, “In iSun, we have found a partner who, like us, wants to accelerate the energy transition. With our vertical bifacial agrivoltaics system, we can contribute to this, especially in areas such as the north-east of the USA. The vertical Next2Sun system always produces electricity when conventional P.V. systems are producing less.”

Read more about vertical agrivoltaic installations around the word here.

From pv magazine India

Cleantech Solar, a supplier of renewable energy to corporate entities, has secured a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with US module manufacturer First Solar. It has agreed to construct 150 MW of solar and 16.8 MW of wind-generating assets in India, supplying around 7.3 GWh of clean electricity to First Solar’s new 3.3 GW vertically integrated solar manufacturing facility in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Once it is fully commissioned by the third quarter of 2024, the solar and wind generation assets are expected to cover up to 70% of the facility’s anticipated electricity needs. They are expected to displace almost 7,000 kilotons of CO2 emissions over the duration of the PPA.

Cleantech Solar will procure 150 MW of advanced, India-made Series 7 thin-film solar panels from First Solar, for use in the PV component of the project. The modules are expected to be delivered in the first half of 2024.

First Solar’s cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film modules have among the lowest carbon and water footprint of any commercially available PV modules. The modules are included in the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) registry for sustainable electronics, signifying strong performance on metrics evaluating the management of substances in the product, manufacturing energy and water use, product packaging, end-of-life recycling and corporate responsibility.

“Our new manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu sets a high benchmark for responsible and sustainable vertically integrated solar manufacturing, not just in India, but globally,” said Sujoy Ghosh, vice president and managing director of First Solar India. “By powering our operations with clean, renewably-generated electricity, we are working to further reduce our environmental footprint, which is already the lowest in the industry.”

First Solar’s Tamil Nadu plant, located in an area of high baseline water stress, is purportedly the world’s first net-zero water withdrawal solar manufacturing facility.

“This collaboration extends beyond powering First Solar’s flagship manufacturing facility in India; it involves leveraging their advanced, ultra-low carbon thin film solar panels to energize our solar assets,” said Sachin Jain, chief executive officer of Cleantech Solar.

With this latest agreement, Cleantech Solar’s total portfolio in Tamil Nadu now stands at nearly 500 MW (including solar, wind and hybrid power projects under operational and construction stages).

Singapore-based Cleantech Solar has built numerous solar and wind projects across India and Southeast Asia, with around 1.2 GWp of assets in various stages of development. The company is backed by Keppel Corp., Keppel Asia Infrastructure Fund, and Shell Singapore.

A contact lens manufacturer in California is expected to cut costs considerably while boosting the uptime and resilience of its operations by installing a rooftop solar microgrid. 

Staar Surgical inaugurated a 1.1 MW grid-tied microgrid on its production facility in Lake Forest, California. The array is expected to lead to $325,000 in annual electricity bill savings while including the added benefit of energy resilience under conditions where the central utility grid is impacted. 

Solar contractor ReVamp Energy designed, installed and will maintain the microgrid, which includes battery energy storage. 

The microgrid is powered by a 780 kW rooftop array coupled with SolarEdge DC-optimized inverters. The remaining capacity is installed on two newly-constructed carports. The 1,752 module system is expected to cut the contact lens manufacturer’s electricity costs by about 50%. 

Moreover, the company is expected to prevent costs incurred by spoiled production runs, which can occur when the power goes out during the manufacturing process.  

“Manufacturing contact lenses is a highly energy-intensive process that requires each lens to be heated in an industrial kiln continuously for several days. Any reduction in power of more than a few seconds has the potential to ruin an entire production run, leading to losses of potentially hundreds or thousands of dollars,” said Jay Cutting, president, ReVamp Energy. 

Excess solar production will be stored by a 450 kW battery that is expected to range between eight and 24 hours of backup power, depending on the facility’s load requirements. The system also included a generator to ensure Starr Surgical can maintain production. 

ReVamp Energy designed custom-made switchgear that will automatically switch the site’s energy supply to back-up power in the event of a power outage. The microgrid is manageable via the SolarEdge monitoring platform which will enable Staar Surgical and ReVamp Energy to track a variety of key parameters like solar energy production, consumption and battery energy levels in real-time and from a single platform. 

“We have worked with Staar Surgical on several solar installations and for each one we have used SolarEdge technology – it is a key component of realizing the client’s requirement for high energy production, reliability, and intelligent control,” said Cutting. “This starts with the use of power optimizers to pull more power from the solar arrays, and extends through to the generation of highly-granular performance data that will enable us to operate and maintain not just the solar installation, but the entire microgrid, in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.”

From pv magazine Spain

Although total global solar capacity will continue to increase rapidly over the next decade, the pace of installation growth will begin to slow in 2024, compared to rates seen in recent years.

According to the head of Wood Mackenzie’s global solar division, if the forecasts for 2023 are met, the average annual growth of PV installations from 2019 to this year will have been 28%, including a 56% increase in 2023 compared to 2022.

However, on average, the current pace will be maintained and there will be no annual growth from 2024 to 2028, which will include some years with contractions. Wood Mackenzie is forecasting 270 GW of new solar installations worldwide for this year, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects additions of 349 GW for 2023.

Global solar market growth follows the typical S-curve. In recent years, growth has increased rapidly at the steepest part of the curve. Starting in 2024, the sector will pass the inflection point, characterized by a slower growth pattern. The global solar market is still many times larger than it was a few years ago, but it is natural for an industry to follow this growth path as it matures.

Not all regions are currently at the same point on the S-curve. Africa and the Middle East, for example, have a long way to go before reaching their growth inflection points. Two large markets are driving this growth pattern on a global scale, however: Asia-Pacific, dominated by China, and Europe. It is worth remembering that any change of course in China has a strong impact on the world market since the country leads new capacity additions, with some 180 GW that will be connected this year.

What could affect this slowdown is the global commitment to the energy transition. On December 13, world governments meeting at the UN COP28 climate convention in Dubai agreed to what was described as a “historic” declaration, setting for the first time a target for the transition from fossil fuels. This objective establishes a change of course for the global energy system. Oil, gas and coal consumption continues to grow, although more slowly, and all three fuels reached new all-time highs in 2023. In addition, COP28 agreed to triple renewables by 2030.

Global coal demand will increase by 1.4% in 2023, exceeding 8.5 billion tons for the first time. While in the European Union and the United States consumption is expected to increase by around 20%, in India and China it will remain strong, with 8% and 5% respectively in 2023. By 2026, however, it is expected that global coal consumption will decrease by 2.3% compared to 2023 levels.

Renewable energy is also booming. According to Wood Mackenzie, global wind and solar energy production in 2023 is 55% higher than in 2020.

Solcast’s Solstice Forecast – Long term trends and forecast  In its last 2023 update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, presents a long-term analysis on historical average irradiance on Christmas day.

All I want for Christmas is one terawatt of solar deployed annually  As the world grapples with the escalating impacts of climate change, our hopes rely on the innovation and implementation of technical solutions, particularly solar, as we scale toward annual deployments of 1 terawatt and beyond.

Clean hydrogen production credit rules announced  Treasury and IRS released proposed 45V guidance on credit for hydrogen production, which may be available to some facilities into the 2040s.

Homeowners improve solar plus battery payback period with virtual power plants Virtual power plants (VPP) coordinate home energy resources, dispatching power to the grid at key times of high electricity demand in exchange for compensation.

Climate change’s varied and often lethal manifestations pose a growing concern for our global civilization. As we face these escalating challenges, it’s crucial for our societies to prepare for more significant and complex hurdles ahead. Yet, amidst these daunting scenarios, a glimmer of hope emerges in the accelerating deployment of solar energy technology.

Global solar power deployments have been growing at a pace envisioned only the boldest technology futurists have been able to predict, such as those in the book, “The Singularity is Near,” by Ray Kurzweil. In the three years from 2021 through the end of 2023, installed solar capacity skyrocketed from 182 GW to a projected 413 GW. This growth trajectory represents an increase of more than 400% since 2017, nearly tripling since 2020, and more than doubling since 2021. The surge from 2022 to 2023 alone signifies an increase of over 50%.

Data from BloombergNEF confirms that this trend is exponential, most recently due to massive deployments in China. This growth is crucial for the global shift to clean energy, and various analyses suggest that such rates are now capable of mitigating the most severe impacts of climate change.

Recent assessments that indicated the energy transition was lagging are now being revisited in light of these developments. Released this summer, IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook report showed that the 191 GW added in 2022 fell short of the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target. The report called for significant increases, targeting “551 GW annually by 2030, and 615 GW annually by 2050.”

Yet, with projections of 413 GW in 2023 and an expected 500 to 600 GW in 2024, it appears these ambitious targets may not just be achievable, but surpassed.

This trend is also recognized by global energy authorities. Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, who has been known to underestimate the expansion of solar deployment, acknowledged:

Over the past two years, their global deployment has been fast enough to align fully with the rate envisaged in the IEA’s ambitious Pathway to Net Zero emissions by 2050.

The IEA now projects that to meet global climate goals, approximately 633 GW per year will be needed by 2030, a target that could be achieved as soon as next year.

Source: IEA

According to research from the Rocky Mountain Institute, “eight countries have already grown solar and wind generation faster than what’s needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C, proving that a rapid transition to renewable energy is possible.” According to their analysis, solar and wind are forecast to increase from approximately 12% of global electricity generation at the end of 2022, to over a third by 2030.

This analysis by the Rocky Mountain Institute was released before the massive surge in deployment in 2023.

The Overton Window

As these ambitious projections and advancements in solar technology shift the realm of what’s considered possible, we enter the domain of the Overton Window. This concept, often used to describe the range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream population, can also apply to the evolving perception of solar energy’s potential.

And, frankly, some of these projections are astounding to contemplate.

Longi Solar, the world’s largest solar module manufacturer, sees a potential 1 TW of solar deployed annually by 2030. China has already established the manufacturing capacity necessary to support such a significant volume.

Christian Breyer, Professor for Solar Economy at the Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland, along with his team, has demonstrated the economic feasibility of a global energy market wholly reliant on renewable energy. Their research suggests that with an anticipated global installed capacity of around 63.38 TW, solar energy could constitute as much as 69% of the world’s primary energy supply by the midpoint of this century.

Currently, the world’s electricity generation capacity stands at around 9 TW, contributing about 20% of the total global primary energy.

In late 2022, at the Forum New Energy World, Breyer asked if it might be possible to install up to 3 TW of capacity a single year. He challenged the audience to consider whether such a target would be “crazy, realistic, necessary, or maybe even too low.”

However, the terminally optimistic futurists may actually be the ones grounded in empirical analysis, and they’re already asking a much wilder question: are we about to witness 3 TW of capacity deployed annually – by the end of this decade?

Source: Uwe Dahlmeier

Uwe Dahlmeier of DR Dahlmeier Financial Risk Management AG recently forecasted that by 2030, global solar deployments could exceed 14 TW, implying a doubling of capacity approximately every two years.

Dahlmeier explains, “Based on empirical evidence, the long-term global exponential trend for solar is unlikely to slow down before the end of the decade and probably not before 2034, if only due to the favorable prices of solar power from new systems.”

His team’s analysis outlines the expected yearly volumes to sustain this growth, starting from 1.69 TW at the end of 2023:

• 2024 – 0.6 TW
• 2025 – 0.83 TW
• 2026 – 1.12 TW
• 2027 – 1.53 TW
• 2028 – 2.08 TW
• 2029 – 2.82 TW
• 2030 – 3.84 TW

Breyer notes, “No single energy technology ever in history has grown as massively steeply as photovoltaics.”

Before dismissing these numbers as outlandish, remember: just one year ago, pv magazine USA editors thought that asking for 400 GW of solar for Christmas was overly ambitious. This Christmas, it’s already a realistic milestone.