North America

Large-scale solar has proven resilient in the face of the global Covid-19 pandemic and the associated economic downturn, with the U.S. marketplace exhibiting an acceleration in deployment, reports Shoals Technologies Group. And while solar’s competitiveness is driving market growth, there remain risks to “going cheap,” according to Shoals Technologies CEO Dean Solon and President Jason Whitaker.

The U.S. based researchers have developed a new wide-bandgap perovskite layer – called Apex Flex – which they claim is able to withstand heat, light, and operational tests, and at the same time provide a reliable and high voltage. With this material, they built tandem solar cells with 23.1% power conversion efficiency on a rigid substrate, and 21.3% on flexible plastic.

Doubling down on renewable energy investment and energy transition spending is required to ensure a truly green global recovery from the Covid-19 crisis and its economic aftershock, claims the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The deal follows 50 MW of orders completed recently for another American developer. Encouraged by the demand, Waaree plans to strengthen its base in the USA by opening a local office in California shortly.

US-based esVolta will deploy the Edison Analytics software platform across its battery energy storage projects in North America. The software is expected to result in savings of $450,000 annually for esVolta by reducing excess battery degradation through improved heating and discharge management. 

The Mumbai-based manufacturer has a 2 GW state-of-the-art solar module manufacturing capacity in Gujarat and is setting up an additional Rs 11-billion modules and cells factory in the state.

The Indian energy thinktank and the US-based consulting firm will research to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen as a sustainable solution for India’s energy needs. 

Having bagged large orders in the U.S. and Australia, Indian multinational engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services provider Sterling and Wilson Solar is bidding for tenders in regions which have eased up business lines, Europe among them. Kannan Krishnan, S&W’s chief operations officer for solar in India and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation area, speaks to pv magazine about the impact of Covid-19 on the solar EPC business and the company’s expansion plans.

Scientists led by MIT have suggested chitin, a carbon and nitrogen-rich material made from waste shrimp shells, could produce sustainable electrodes for vanadium redox flow batteries and other energy storage technologies.

The PV plant—the EPC provider’s largest in USA—will use bifacial modules and likely be commissioned by November 2021.