Author
Mark Higgins
Mark Higgins is the COO of Strategen, a professional services firm focused on market development for a decarbonized grid. Higgins also serves on the board of the Vehicle-Grid Integration Council, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing the role of smart EV charging. His past experience includes serving as the director of utility west at SunEdison, vice president of finance for Hu Honua Bioenergy, and Pacific Gas & Electric’s lead for key policy areas, including interconnection and transmission planning.
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Articles written by Mark Higgins
Boron nitride nanotubes move lithium ions 31 times faster than expected
Researchers at Rutgers University, the University of Illinois Chicago, and Argonne National Laboratory have found that boron nitride nanotube membranes transport lithium ions far faster than expected, pointing to potential applications in lithium recovery from spent batteries and blue energy generation.
Jun 22, 2026
Silver drives PV recycling economics as module waste wave approaches
With Europe and Australia facing a significant wave of end-of-life solar panels, researchers point to silver recovery as the most important lever for improving unit economics, but technical barriers and the absence of industry-wide purity standards are slowing progress.
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Toyo denies Ethiopia duty evasion, confirms 4 GW ramp and U.S. cell plant
Toyo Co. says a new anti-circumvention petition targeting its Ethiopian solar cell facility is “riddled with misinformation.” The Japanese manufacturer tells pv magazine that the site reached 4 GW of capacity last year and that it is planning a U.S. onshore cell plant.
Solar inverters can detect cyberattacks but no one sees the signal
A King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) researcher whose lab has demonstrated up to 100% accuracy using a single hardware counter tells pv magazine that firmware-level detection of inverter attacks is technically viable – but today’s communication standards do not transmit the firmware‑integrity signal to operators.
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New metric shows renewables are 53% cheaper than nuclear power
A new metric for assessing total system costs puts a least-cost mix of offshore wind and solar at about €46 ($54.20)/MWh in a future climate-neutral energy system for Denmark. Researchers tell pv magazine that figure is less than half the equivalent cost of nuclear under the same conditions.
Apr 20, 2026
Japan’s PV module shipments hit 1.28 GW as residential demand accelerates
Japan’s solar module shipments reached 1.28 GW in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, supported by strong residential demand and ongoing dominance by foreign manufacturers, with domestic production limited to just 5% of total output, according to the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA).
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