Solar power

Enel North America, through its affiliate 3Sun USA, today announced that it will build one of the largest solar PV factories in the US. Initially, it’s expected to produce at least 3 gigawatts (GW) and scale up to 6 GW of high-performance bifacial PV modules and cells annually. This facility will be among the first in the US to produce solar cells, a vital part of the supply chain.

First Solar, the largest American solar panel maker, will invest up to $1.2 billion to ramp up production of US-made solar panels. The announcement follows the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in August, which incentivizes domestic clean energy manufacturing.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) – the largest utility in the United States – will launch a first-of-its-kind pilot program to determine whether closed coal ash storage sites can host utility-scale solar.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the nonprofit trade association of the US solar industry, just flagged a proposed change to the 2024 International Building Code by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that would do more harm than good to the US solar industry.

Dallas-based Hover Energy, which makes wind-powered microgrids with solar and storage, is going to begin commercial-scale production in January 2023. And potential customers can feel confident about the resiliency of the company’s rooftop-mounted microgrids – one survived 105 mph winds during Hurricane Ian.

The Japanese government is discussing the possibility of remotely controlling privately owned ACs and water heaters in order to avoid power outages as the country switches to renewables.

In France, solar just got a huge boost from new legislation approved through the Senate this week that will require all parking lots with spaces for at least 80 vehicles – both existing and new – to be covered by solar panels.

Nearly a quarter of the 200,568 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired capacity currently operating in the US has reported plans to retire by the end of 2029, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported today.

Scientists have used advanced computing tech and AI to design a clear window coating that could lower the temperature inside buildings, thus saving a whole lot of cooling energy.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) analyzed roughly 2.8 million residential rooftop solar systems installed through 2021, representing 86% of all US systems. Here are the latest trends based on income among American solar adopters, according to the data.

Since 2015, power lines have caused six of California’s 20 most destructive wildfires. Dryad Networks’ solar-powered sensor can detect a fire within 60 minutes, and its IoT network provides accurate location data. Electrek spoke to Carsten Brinkschulte, cofounder and CEO of Dryad Networks, about how utilities can strengthen their wildfire mitigation strategies and how solar is playing a part in forest protection.

New clean energy communities are coming to California. Leading homebuilder KB Homes announced Wednesday it has established what it calls the first all-electric, solar-and-battery-powered microgrid community in the golden state.

China’s government-owned utility State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has launched the world’s first commercial offshore floating solar that’s paired with an offshore wind turbine.

It would be 10 times more expensive to operate gas-fired power plants in the long term than to build new solar PV capacity in Europe, according to a new study from Oslo-based energy research company Rystad Energy.

First Solar, the largest solar panel maker in the United States, today announced that it will invest around $270 million in a dedicated thin film PV R&D innovation center. The new facility, which will be in Perrysburg, Ohio, is expected to be the first of its scale in the United States.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) just released its Emissions Gap Report 2022 – and let’s just say, the news isn’t good. So brace yourselves: You’re likely to see a slew of frightening, doom-mongering headlines about it today, unleashing a fresh wave of terror over those of us who care about the planet. But rather than panicking, here’s what to do instead.

General Motors (GM) today announced that it has finalized agreements to power all of its US sites with clean energy by 2025. 

Renewable energy – solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, biomass – provided almost a quarter of electrical generation in the US during the first two-thirds of 2022, according to data just released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which was reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign.

US President Joe Biden signed the big climate bill – the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – in August. It includes a wealth of rebates and tax credits to help Americans transition to electrification with the purchase of everything from electric vehicles to high-efficiency electrical appliances to heat pumps. If you’re ready to electrify but you’re not sure where to start, then check out this easy-to-understand IRA Savings calculator from Rewiring America.

On October 14, Maksim Timchenko, the CEO of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private power generator, updated Economichna Pravda on the status of Ukraine’s electrical grid in the face of Russian strikes against the country’s power installations. He also talked about what the company’s future plans are for implementing renewables, despite the Russian attacks. DTEK shared that interview today with Electrek, and we have edited the English translation sent to us below for length and clarity.

Meet Crimson Storage, the world’s largest single-phase battery, which is now live in the California desert.