North America

Chinese module manufacturing giant JinkoSolar today published its financial results for the full year 2018. While the company achieved an impressive 16% growth in shipments over the previous year, its total revenue took a 5.4% hit compared to 2017, thanks to falling module prices throughout the year.

The electric carmaker has signed 12-month credit agreements with three of China’s ‘Big Four’ lenders as well as the development bank for Shanghai as it aims to get its lower-priced Model 3s rolling off the production line by the end of the year.

The DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy has awarded $50,000 to 20 teams that advanced to the semifinal stage of the American Made Solar Prize. The teams will now have 90 days to design a proof of concept.

PowerLedger’s xGrid is a blockchain-based electricity trading platform that’s now being used in a Pennsylvania business park, in addition to Chicago, California, a large housing unit in Australia, plus a few more locations.

The legislation would enshrine a customer’s right to generate and store electricity on their own property as well as connecting to the grid without undue burden and freedom from discriminatory fees, as well as setting compensation for battery exports.

Enphase says its inverter lead times are ~13-15 weeks, even with dedicated manufacturing lines for components. Two new long term contracts expect to turn on in Q3 and Q4 ’19, lowering lead times to ~6-8 weeks.

Australian lithium developer Neometals has taken its lithium‐ion battery recycling technology to the floor at a pilot plant in Canada. SGS Canada has been contracted to construct and operate the pilot at its Lakefield facility, and handle both the front-end feed preparation and hydrometallurgical processing/refining stages.

The growing market for tracker-mounted solar within the U.S. commercial and industrial market is being driven squarely by mammoth utility bills that often include time-of-use charges and total demand charges. Single-axis and double-axis systems are being deployed on warehouses, at agricultural facilities, factories, mines, landfills, carports, and other sites, often with a payback of only a few years, equipment sellers say.

While U.S. senators Ed Markey and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduce a resolution for a clean energy package, legislation has been tabled in six states aiming to implement 80-100% clean energy by 2050 or earlier.

Maxwell, which specializes in supercapacitors, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elon Musk’s business.