• February 22, 2023

Snow accumulation has damaged 43 photovoltaic installations of various sizes over the past four years, Japan's National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) said in a new report. The institute urges PV system owners to conduct regular site inspections, use surveillance cameras, and remove snow at an early stage. In its latest study, NITE attributes an increase in reports of snow-related damage to residential PV systems in recent years to snowstorms in the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions of Japan. “Over four years, snowfall has caused damage to photovoltaic systems equivalent to the output of residential solar panels on approximately 75,000 homes,” NITE said, while noting that the total capacity of the affected systems was approximately 30 MW. NITE recorded 43 snow and ice-related incidents of residential PV systems between 2018 and 2021. Accidents often involve damage to the frame of the modules, the institute said. In some cases, these systems have an angle of inclination of less than 0.6 degrees, making it harder for snow to slide off the panels, NITE noted. The institute urges PV system owners to conduct regular site inspections, use surveillance cameras, and implement snow removal early on. They also recommend developing a snow removal plan. "Before project planning, it can be a good move to budget for snow removal," said NITE, which makes most of its data available in an open repository.

• February 20, 2023

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), by 2023, the U.S. solar market will add 29.1 GW of utility-scale photovoltaics and 9.4 GW of energy storage projects. Most of the year. EIA researchers predict that U.S. project developers will deploy up to 29.1 GW of solar and up to 9.4 GW of energy storage, driven by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and statewide proposals for renewable energy, This accounts for 70% of the 54.5 GW of new generation capacity added to the US grid this year. The solar market is expected to rebound this year after utility-scale solar projects were delayed in 2022 due to trade concerns arising from the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), according to EIA’s latest monthly update to its annual Generator Report (EIA-860M), The new installed capacity reached 29.1 GW. If all the new capacity comes online as planned, 2023 will be the year with the most new utility-scale PV capacity additions — more than double the current record of 13.4 GW deployed in 2021, the EIA said. U.S. utility-scale solar capacity has been increasing rapidly since 2010. Despite the upward trend maintained over the past decade, the addition of utility-scale solar capacity in 2022 is down 23% compared to 2021. The decline in solar capacity additions was attributed to UFLPA trade issues, broader supply chain disruptions, and other challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, EIA forecasts that the largest clusters of new solar developments will come from Texas (7.7 GW) and California (4.2 GW), which together account for 41% of new planned capacity.

• February 13, 2023

Photovoltaic energy has made dizzying developments in the past decade. 25% better panel performance, price divided by 10! This upends the role of photovoltaics in the energy transition. However, many policymakers did not see this development coming, and in the current debate one still hears many arguments that there is no longer any reason to care about this energy. So, it's time to tell the truth from the fake! PV modules will use rare earths: False Photovoltaic modules used today do not contain rare earth elements. The main ingredient is silicon: it is used to make photovoltaic cells sandwiched between two glass plates. Note that glass is also made of silicon! Silicon shortages coming soon: False Silicon, the second largest atom on Earth (after oxygen) and readily available (ubiquitous in the Earth's crust). There is no shortage of silicon, and there will be no shortage in the future. Raw materials are not in short supply. Sometimes, due to high demand growth, demand exceeds the capacity of the plants that purify the silicon. This is temporary and can be resolved by increasing the capacity of these factories. Therefore, material scarcity is not an obstacle to large-scale deployment of photovoltaics. In fact, if there is a point of caution, it is silver, used as a conductor between cells...if the PV market continues to overdrive, we may have to replace it with another conductor.

• February 06, 2023

Soleis AG has developed two storage systems with capacities of 1 kWh and 2 kWh. The new Minitower1 battery system from Soleis AG stores solar energy from the photovoltaic modules of the balcony. Throughout the day, the solar panels power the apartment's base load and store excess energy in a storage system. At night, the battery discharges energy into the home network with an output adjustable between 30 W and 270 W. Two photovoltaic modules can be connected to the storage tank to charge the battery. Additional modules can be connected via another connection. However, they don't charge the battery -- instead, they bypass the battery and supply power directly to the home network. This ensures that the batteries in the power storage unit are charged and that the home's base loads are covered by solar energy even when there is little solar radiation. The connection between the tank and the home network is made through a socket or plug. These batteries are about the size of a home computer and come in 1 kWh and 2 kWh versions.

• February 01, 2023

The Chinese government is considering export restrictions on solar wafers, black silicon and silicon foundry equipment. It has launched a public consultation process on the proposed measures. China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) announced that they plan to revise the national catalog of export-prohibited and restricted technologies. The two ministries said in a joint statement that three technologies related to the photovoltaic manufacturing industry could be included in the catalog - silicon wafers, black silicon and ingots. If these three types of products are added to the restricted list, manufacturers need to obtain technology export licenses from relevant provincial departments to export such products. According to a report by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), China will account for more than 98% of the solar industry's silicon wafer production in 2021. Although the plan is still in the public consultation phase, the attempt demonstrates China's efforts to protect its most advanced solar technology and keep its solar industry competitive.

• January 10, 2023

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has announced the construction of a second solar power plant at the Karnafuli Hydroelectric Power Station with funding from the Asian Development Bank. The BPDB has decided to build a 7.6 MW solar power plant on land near the 230 MW Karnafuli hydropower plant about 50 km from the port city of Chittagong. It has said it wants to build the new power plant near another 7.4 MW PY array that will come online in 2019. Bangladesh currently has a total renewable energy capacity of 950 MW, of which 716 MW comes from solar.

• January 05, 2023

The year ahead will see major changes for the U.S. solar industry. The past year has been a turning point for the U.S. solar industry. The start of the year was marked by ongoing pandemic-related delays, trade enforcement, supply chain issues and higher prices for components and shipping. Many headwinds led to delays and cancellations, and project deployments fell short of initial forecasts. There was renewed optimism in the second half of the year as the landmark 2022 U.S. Inflation Reduction Act passed, allocating a record $369 billion in spending for climate and energy measures. Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, dubbed the next 10 years the "solar plus decade," as solar and storage buildouts are expected to continue their momentum, now driven by spending plans. What can we expect in 2023? As is the case with new technology policy and adoption, the country will use California as a case study for where the solar industry is headed. Specifically, net energy metering (NEM), which contributes to the value of solar energy on residential rooftops, will be a policy of renewed focus this year. Just before the clock switched to 2023, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved NEM 3.0, changing the mechanics of how residential rooftop solar customers get paid for sending excess generation to the grid. Under the new NEM 3.0, Californians who install projects after April 15 will receive an average of 75% less export solar than under the previous system. This disruptive impact on customer value has led ROTH Capital Partners to project a 30% year-over-year decline in residential solar installations in the state by 2022. The state will be watching California's residential solar industry closely to see how it will adapt to the loss of system value. Installations are expected to surge by April as Californians rush to secure NEM 2.0 credits for the next 20 years. After that, the industry's installation requests could drop sharply, as happened in Nevada in 2017, when it made similar cuts to net metering.

• January 03, 2023

Japan's Okinawa Electric Power Company introduced photovoltaic curtailment measures in response to high solar radiation levels and low energy demand. For the first time, Okinawa Electric Power has cut power supplies from solar power plants and other renewable energy sources. The Japanese utility said it was forced to take the measures in response to high solar radiation levels and low energy demand during the holiday season. The control period will run from 8am (GMT+9) to 4pm and will last at least three days, depending on weather and demand, the company said. It noted that the measure was implemented from Jan. 1, when electricity demand reached about 669 MW, compared with supply of 738 MW. Okinawa is the southernmost prefecture in Japan. According to The Okinawa Times, the prefecture currently has about 1,400 solar installations.

• December 28, 2022

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Administration Laura Daniel-Davis recently announced new government initiatives to support solar development on public lands in the West and help achieve the country's ambitious renewable energy and protect the target. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, will develop an updated plan to guide responsible solar development activities on public lands through an updated Solar Project Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) based on the 2012 version. The 2012 Solar PEIS identified Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah as states with high solar potential and low resource conflict to guide responsible solar development. Now through 2022, the BLM will add more states, adjust exclusion criteria and seek to identify new or expanded areas to prioritize solar deployment. Meanwhile, the BLM is initiating a review of three proposed solar projects on public lands in Arizona with an estimated combined capacity of more than 1 GW. They are the proposed 600 MW utility-scale Jove Solar Project in southeastern La Paz County, the 250 MW Pinyon Solar Project in Maricopa County, and the 300 MW Elizabeth Solar Project in Yuma County.