Tag: PV

The state Building Code Council has unanimously approved a change in state law to allow installation of simple rooftop solar power systems without review by an engineer. This change should reduce project costs by $500 to $2,500 and eight weeks of review time previously experienced by homeowners, state Department of Commerce officials said. An emergency […]

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Approximately 6.5 million peopled were employed by the renewable energy industry worldwide last year, according to the latest figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The Abu Dhabi-based agency, which represents over 150 countries and was launched in 2009 with a goal of providing a renewable energy-focused partner to the International Energy Agency (IEA), will today publish Renewable Energy and […]

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Banking giant Wells Fargo has invested US$100 million of tax equity financing in nine PV projects in North Carolina. Power from the utility-scale projects, built by Strata Solar, will be sold to state utility Progress Energy Carolinas. Strata Solar said three of its projects – Bladenboro, Wagstaff and Nash 58 – exceeded 6MW in capacity, […]

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By Sandy Dechert, Planetsave In the close race for PV efficiency, copper indium gallium (di)selenide cells have taken the lead again in tests at the Atsugi Research Center in Kanagawa, Japan. The Fraunhofer Institute, Europe’s largest application-oriented research organization, has independently verified the results. A Solar Frontier 0.5cm2 CIS configuration achieved 20.9% conversion efficiency, a […]

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Originally published on RT.com Solar energy now costs the same as conventionally generated electricity in Germany, Italy and Spain, a report has revealed. The research has warned, however, that high installation costs are impeding other countries from achieving grid parity. An analysis by consulting firm Eclareon, carried out on behalf of an international group of […]

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The Solar Energy Industries Association and Vote Solar have released the annual Solar Means Business report, ranking the top brands in the U.S. based on their installation of solar power at their warehouses, stores and facilities. The Top 25 Corporate users have deployed more than 445 MW of solar energy at nearly 1000 facilities in 30 states. These […]

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Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are testing a device that can harness solar heat to increase a natural-gas power plant’s efficiency 25 percent from the same amount of fuel. The PNNL approach builds on what’s called solar thermal energy production. Instead of relying on photovoltaic cells to directly convert sunlight into energy, solar thermal […]

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