As the global solar sector grows, in both scale of deployments and volume of capital, there is an increasingly unwieldy volume of information in the industry. Data concerning optimal solar irradiance hours, plant performance and equipment maintenance and repair are all becoming increasingly commonplace in the solar sector, but this abundance of information could bring as many challenges as opportunities for a sector undergoing rapid change.
US renewables firm Clean Energy Associates (CEA) predicts that the solar industry’s latest anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) petition has a “high likelihood” of resulting in duties being paid on solar imports.
Over the past five years, solar panel design has evolved, with larger modules, thinner frames and different glass types becoming more commonplace. However, a representative from an independent third-party PV test and research lab suggests that this had led to a weakening of mechanical stability in modules.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has established a new programme to “significantly improve” permitting and environmental processes for electricity transmission projects.
A group of US-based solar manufacturers have filed an antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) petition to the US Department of Commerce (DOC) and International Trade Commission (ITC), alleging “potentially illegal trade practices by Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam that are injuring the US solar industry”.
US residential solar provider SunPower has announced that it will reduce its workforce and close business segments, which are the latest steps to simplify its business structure and lower costs.
Polysilicon manufacturer Highland Materials has secured US$255.6 million in 48C tax credits to build a polysilicon plant in the US.
The Australian government will launch a 6GW renewable energy tender next month under its expanded Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS). It will be the largest single renewables tender in the country’s history.
The solar industry is undergoing a monumental shift, rapidly moving away from passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) technology to tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technology.
Low solar module prices kept solar PV competitive in the energy market in 2023 despite generally falling electricity prices, according to the latest Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) snapshot report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has sent a letter, containing close to 200 signatures from solar and storage companies in the US, to the US Congress, calling on the body to accelerate legislative reform for solar projects in the US.
Corporate financing in the solar sector reached US$8.1 billion in the first quarter of 2023, according to market analyst Mercom Capital.