Supply chain constraints has brought price increases in every solar market segment. It’s the first time in 7 years – and they’ve gone up the most for utility scale. The prediction is that even developers with strong inventory this year will see issue in 2022. Exacerbating things are the pending tariffs and Xinjiang metallurgical grade silicon actions.
Given the growing amount of solar panel waste there has been an increased desire for minimizing and maximizing the value of PV materials through setting up a circular economy for energy materials. It is problematic that very few incentives exist to push for it. Social influence, a reduced recycling cost and higher material recovery rates would boost adoption.
Solaria has launched a new energy dense solar module for res and C&I – the PowerXT 430R-PL (430-Watt). Features include high-power density, optimized form factor, the usual all-black color and a 25-year comp warranty. It’s also optimized for next-gen MLPE like Enphase IQ7A and SolarEdge P505.
Take a trip into market influencer Barry CInnamon’s nightmares about the solar+storage industry. In this podcast episode he discusses issues like utility moves to encroach on or outright kill rooftop solar+storage, the shortage of high quality storage batteries, issues with customer satisfaction, and the attempt to keep employees safe.
FERC should make sure to tackle wholesale market reform issues – something aligned with transmission. It can only come if considerable cooperation replaces the notoriously tension filled relationship between state and fed regulation and policies so as to allow for a market for clean energy.
LONGi Solar offers an overview and tips for res installers looking to expand to small-scale C&I. The article discusses target audiences, array and module sizes and types (including bifacial), software needs, roofing considerations, and how to approach the customer/purchasing teams.
A recent report shows that customer-sited solar is seriously untapped, particuarly given that in some instances solar is reaching saturation that could destabilize the grid. Critical policy to support storage growth involves adjusted export rates, TOU retail electricity rates, aggregation payments, and implementation of demand charges.
Podcaster Nico Johnson has a two part episode focusing on how to start and scale a major solar dev biz. He interviews Reagan Farr, co-founder and CEO of Silicon Ranch Corp. Farr discusses his company’s journey from small TN start-up to one of the largest US power producers (a journey that included major raising of funds).
IREC reports on a new grid mapping tool to help utilities and states better integrate clean energy tech to the grid. The tech is hosting capacity analysis (HCA), a grid transparency tool that assesses grid ability to host additional DERs at specific locations. It can do this without pricey upgrades or lengthy interconnection studies.
Clearloop is a firm that measures company carbon footprints and offers offsets through new solar projects, specifically for regions in the south that are traditionally fossil fuel dependent. The region ranks as the sixth-largest global carbon emitter. Clearloop clients offset and lower their carbon footprint by putting capital towards solar farm installations.