Tag Archive for: solarpanels

The consortium will invest $6B as it recruits solar panel manufacturers in a long-term strategic plan to supply up to 7GW of solar modules per year from 2024

US solar developers to spend $6B to boost domestic panel supplies

A group of U.S. solar energy project developers on Tuesday said they would jointly spend about $6 billion to support expansion of the domestic solar panel supply chain.

The U.S. Solar Buyer Consortium, which includes developers AES Corporation AES.N, Clearway Energy Group, Cypress Creek Renewables and DE Shaw Renewable Investments, said in a statement that the funds would address current supply chain issues.

Since the start of the pandemic, companies that buy solar panels for large power plants have struggled with global supply chain disruptions that have driven up costs, as well as potential U.S. tariffs on imported panels from Asia. Duties on those products, which supply most U.S. projects, would make solar energy more expensive and less competitive with power produced by fossil fuels.

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Source: VOA News

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Kae Shummoogum showed off his wind and solar powered home near Calgary with 17 solar panels on the roof and thermal solar panel on the side.

Wind and solar powered home shows what is possible for eco-conscious homeowners

Kae Shummoogum opened his home on Saturday to curious visitors wanting to learn more about why his is the only home in the Calgary area to be powered by wind.

Although, Shummoogum readily says that is just a small part of the entire power his home generates from ecologically friendly sources.

He installed the wind generator at his home, just outside of Calgary’s city limits near Balzac, nearly 20 years ago.

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Source: Livewire Calgary

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The vehicle, which Lightyear describes as production-ready, has 388 miles of range, 44 miles of which are derived from solar power alone.
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Lightyear’s solar-powered car will go into production later this year

EV startup Lightyear revealed its first solar-powered electric vehicle, dubbed Lightyear 0, at an event this week in the Netherlands. The vehicle, which Lightyear describes as production-ready, has 388 miles of range, 44 miles of which are derived from solar power alone.

The Lightyear 0 is the product of six years of research and development from its engineering team. That said, it doesn’t look too dissimilar from the sleek sedan prototype first revealed by the company in 2019. The specs are a little more down to earth: 388 miles versus the prototype’s 450 miles — but the overall shape and design of the vehicle appear mostly unchanged.

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Source: The Verge

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The partial shade offered by solar panels creates a microclimate that reduces evaporation and significantly boosts the production of vegetation in arid climates.

Solar panels keeping sheep fed during drought

Two agrivoltaic installations in New South Wales, Australia are being credited with increasing the quantity and quality of fleece in sheep grazing at the facilities during a drought. Research has indicated that the partial shade offered by solar panels creates a microclimate that reduces evaporation and significantly boosts the production of vegetation in arid climates.

While these results are preliminary and anecdotal (and perhaps a tall tale from a fleece salesman down under), they offer potentially exciting field results that could be applied globally.

Graeme Ostini, a wool broker, says he’s been grazing his merino wethers (a variety of sheep) at a solar farm where sheep can graze under the modules. Ostini and other grazers say that over the past few years, these sheep have been ‘cutting an amazing amount of wool’.

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Source: PV Magazine

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The nation is set to add 108 gigawatts of solar power to the grid this year, up from 54.88 gigawatts in 2021.
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China is on track to double its solar panels from last year’s record

China will add enough new solar power this year to nearly double last year’s record amount of installations as the the country accelerates its clean energy drives.

The nation is set to add 108 gigawatts of solar power to the grid this year, up from 54.88 gigawatts in 2021, state-owned CCTV reported on Monday, citing the National Energy Administration. There are 121 gigawatts of solar projects currently under construction, the NEA said.

China currently has the world’s largest renewable power fleet with 323 gigawatts of solar and 338 gigawatts of wind. President Xi Jinping is aiming for 1,200 gigawatts combined by 2030, but rapid deployment means the country is likely to reach the target years early.

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Source: Bloomberg

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The researchers found that by using bifacial solar modules, snow losses could be cut from double digits to just 2% on an annual basis.

Bifacial solar modules shine in snowy environments

As solar costs have dropped, it now makes economic sense to implement them even in the deep north, yet there is concern about the effects of snow on energy generation. While solar panels operate best in colder temperatures, panels covered in snow will generate less energy, known as snow loss.  A study conducted at Western University in Ontario, Canada, shows how to beat snow losses using solar energy systems.

The difference between bifacial and monofacial modules is that bifacial modules absorb light from the front and back, while monofacial only collect sunlight on the front. The study analyzed snow losses on these two types of systems using hourly data including energy, solar irradiation and albedo, the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation.

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Source: PV Magazine

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Google's Mountain View, CA offices feature curved roofs and textured solar panels that optimize the hours they can generate electricity.

At Google’s new campus, ‘dragonscale’ solar panels capture sunlight from all different angles

At Google’s newly opened campus in Mountain View, California, it isn’t immediately obvious that the roofs are covered in solar panels. But the sprawling canopies on each building—looking a little like futuristic circus tents—are covered in 50,000 small, silver-colored “dragonscale” photovoltaic panels, shaped to optimize the times they can generate solar power throughout the day.

It’s part of an approach that the company, along with architects from Bjarke Ingels Group and Heatherwick Studio, took to making the new campus, which covers more than a million square feet, as sustainable as possible. In an area currently undergoing a severe drought, it’s designed to save water. A massive geothermal system, the largest in North America, makes it possible to heat and cool the buildings without fossil fuels. The landscaping helps support biodiversity. The buildings’ solar skins, along with local wind power, will help the campus work toward Google’s goal of running on 100% renewable power, 24-7, by the end of the decade. (Right now, it runs on 90% renewable power.)

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Source: Fast Company

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With the help of a new solar module, the efficiency in the daily operation of heavy duty cargo bikes can be vastly improved.

New solar solution increases range of electric cargo bikes by up to 20%

Leading custom solar panel manufacturer OPES Solutions has partnered with the green logistics experts from Urban Mobility to equip e-cargo bikes with robust and lightweight solar panels. Developed especially for vehicles, the integrated solar solution provides up to 20% more range in delivery practice if the heavy payload of 250 kg plus driver is fully utilized.

The Germany based Urban Mobility GmbH has developed an heavy duty cargo bike for urban delivery services. The heavy duty UM CargoBike has a very large 2,0m³ cargo box and is classified as Pedelec25, an e-bike with a maximum speed of 25km/h. It can be operated tax-free, and without a driver’s license. Additionally, it can be used on bike lanes and some pedestrian areas. These aspects give it an enormous commercial and operational advantage compared to classic delivery trucks.

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Source: Automotive World

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Digital Realty unveiled two power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 158 MW of solar energy in California and Georgia.
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Digital Realty to source 158 MW of solar in California, Georgia

US data centres outfit Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR) today unveiled two power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 158 MW of solar energy in California and Georgia as a step toward 100% renewable electricity.

One of the deals is a 12-year contract that will support a new 130-MW solar project in Kern County, California being developed by US renewables developer Terra-Gen as part of its Edwards Sanborn Solar Storage energy project. The solar-plus-storage facility is expected to be completed late this year.

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Source: Renewables Now

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A better way to clean solar panels

Solar power is expected to account for 10% of global power generation by 2030, and much of that power is likely to be harvested in desert areas, where sunlight is abundant. But the accumulation of dust on solar panels or mirrors can reduce the output of photovoltaic panels by as much as 30% in just one month.

The regular cleaning that solar panels require currently is estimated to use about 10 billion gallons of water per year—enough to supply drinking water for up to 2 million people. Water cleaning also makes up about 10% of the operating costs of solar installations since water typically has to be trucked in from a distance and must be very pure to avoid leaving deposits on the surfaces. But waterless cleaning methods are less effective and labor-intensive and tend to scratch the panels, which also reduces their efficiency.

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Source: MIT Technology Review

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