Car industry copper demand to surge 250% due to EVs
By considering use of the metal in charging infrastructure, analyst Wood Mackenzie has found higher demand from the mobility sector than is the case if only the volume of the material required for vehicle construction is examined.
Using machine learning and cheap satellite data to design rooftop solar power
Researchers have built a tool to use cheap satellite imagery – like Google Maps – to automatically create solar designs with a 91% accuracy rate.
Megapack marks Tesla’s new play for utility scale storage
The Palo Alto company says it has improved its large scale battery offering with the new product in the wake of the success of its Powerpack-driven big battery in Australia. The Megapack can be deployed at a 250 MW/1 GWh clean energy plant four times faster than a fossil fuel alternative, claimed the business in a blogpost.
A way oversized DC:AC ratio seen in the wild!
Swinerton Renewables & SolarFlex have announced a 26.4 MWac solar project, which public documents show is bigger than 48.6 MWdc – meaning a greater than 1.8:1 DC to AC ratio.
Cryogenic energy storage firm teams with Tenaska to develop U.S. projects
United Kingdom-based Highview Power has contracted with U.S. energy developer Tenaska to pursue gigawatt-hour scale cryogenic energy projects in the U.S. Highview reports a storage cost of $140/MWh at industrial scale; the firm currently operates a 5 MW pilot facility in England.
Long read: Pursuing a 20% bifacial boost
Research on bifacial solar panel performance has moved performance analysis closer to a standardized practice than ever before. More field tests are underway across the United States, and the first waves of data are expected this year. These tests will help standardize a predictive model for bifacial projects that is bankable.
The (solar) power of the people
Vote Solar and Solar United Neighbors in the United States have launched the “I love My Solar” postcard campaign to celebrate two million solar installations nationally. This campaign could be a step towards a larger role that solar consumers could play in American politics.
Roth: Huawei exits U.S. solar inverter market
Roth Capital Partners reports that the inverter maker ceased U.S. sales last Friday, laying off all of its U.S. citizen staff, amid rising tensions between the Trump Administration and China.
Is the U.S. solar market slipping towards merchant?
As contract lengths shorten, U.S. solar developers and investors are relying more and more on sales of power in the spot market as the future.
New York Senate passes the biggest renewable energy mandate in the US
The 70%-by-2030 renewable energy provision in legislation S6599 is second only to Washington DC’s 100% by 2032 aim, and includes targets of 6 GW of distributed solar by 2025 and 3 GW of energy storage by 2030. It is expected to pass the assembly today.
