Solar News From Solar Daily - 24/7 News Coverage of the Solar Energy Industry

Huge lithium mine gets key greenlight in Portugal
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
Lisbon, Portugal (AFP) May 31, 2023 Portugal's environmental protection agency gave a green light Wednesday for a massive lithium mine that could become western Europe's biggest and give a boost to the continent's growing electric car industry. The southern European nation is thought to have the continent's largest reserves of lithium, a vital raw material to produce the batteries that power electric vehicles. With lithium

The next generation of solar energy collectors could be rocks
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
Washington DC (SPX) May 31, 2023 The next generation of sustainable energy technology might be built from some low-tech materials: rocks and the sun. Using a new approach known as concentrated solar power, heat from the sun is stored then used to dry foods or create electricity. A team reporting in ACS Omega has found that certain soapstone and granite samples from Tanzania are well suited for storing this solar heat, featuring

France opens its first electric car battery factory
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
Billy-Berclau, France (AFP) May 30, 2023 France launched its first factory for electric vehicle batteries on Tuesday, taking a big step in its race to build up a sector dominated by China. The plant in Billy-Berclau is the first in a clutch of factories that are due to open over the next three years in a northern corridor billed as a "Battery Valley" for the rapidly growing industry. The "gigafactory" is owned by Automotive Cel

France to open its first electric car battery factory
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
Billy-Berclau, France (AFP) May 30, 2023 France will launch its first battery factory for electric cars on Tuesday, taking a big step in its race to build up a sector dominated by China. Building up the battery industry is at the heart of President Emmanuel Macron's "reindustrialisation" plan for France, with a clutch of factories set to emerge in the north of the country over the next three years. The "gigafactory" opening in

The NEM 3.0 Debacle: A Dark Cloud Over California's Solar Industry
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 26, 2023 The sunny state of California, revered for its burgeoning renewable energy industry, now finds itself in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. The catalyst for this predicament is the California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) Net Energy Metering (NEM) 3.0 policy, which has brought the solar industry to its knees, even outpacing the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector

Controlling crystal lattices of hybrid solar cell materials with terahertz light
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
Berlin, Germany (SPX) May 26, 2023 To overcome global energy challenges and fight the looming environmental crisis, researchers around the world investigate new materials for converting sunlight into electricity. Some of the most promising candidates for high-efficiency low-cost solar cell applications are based on lead halide perovskite (LHP) semiconductors. Despite record-breaking solar cell prototypes, the microscopic origin o

Solar investment outshines oil: IEA
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
Paris (AFP) May 25, 2023 Investment in solar power is expected to overtake oil for the first time this year as clean energy spending outpaces that for fossil fuels, the IEA said in a report Thursday. While that is a welcome development, the International Energy Agency warned that investment in fossil fuels is rising when it should be falling fast to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. "Clean energy is moving fas

Small-scale proton exchange membrane fuel cells
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
Shenzhen, China (SPX) May 25, 2023 Increasing awareness of emerging environmental and climate change effects has expedited the global commercialization of clean energy. Naturally, the demand for powering up several small-scale and low power devices has increased. However, the small-scale storage of electricity has encountered bottlenecks, encouraging the possibility of generating electricity from hydrogen, using fuel cells.

Jaguar to pick UK over Spain for battery plant: BBC
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
London (AFP) May 24, 2023 The Indian owner of carmaker Jaguar Land Rover is set to select Britain over Spain to for a giant battery plant employing up to 9,000 people, the BBC reported Wednesday. The broadcaster, citing sources familiar with the matter, added that the boss of JLR owner Tata Motors was expected to fly into Britain next week to finalise the deal and meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The factory

Researchers develop calcium rechargeable battery with long cycle life
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
Sendai, Japan (SPX) May 24, 2023 A research group has developed a prototype calcium (Ca) metal rechargeable battery capable of 500 cycles of repeated charge-discharge - the benchmark for practical use. With the use of electric vehicles and grid-scale energy storage systems on the rise, the need to explore alternatives to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has never been greater. One such replacement is Ca metal batteries. As th

Flexing crystalline structures provide path to a solid energy future
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
Durham NC (SPX) May 24, 2023 A team of researchers at Duke University and their collaborators have uncovered the atomic mechanisms that make a class of compounds called argyrodites attractive candidates for both solid-state battery electrolytes and thermoelectric energy converters. The discoveries-and the machine learning approach used to make them-could help usher in a new era of energy storage for applications such as hou

Ten month voyage proves solar cell material survives, thrives in space
4 Jun 2023 at 2:34pm
Cleveland OH (SPX) May 19, 2023 Dr. Lyndsey McMillon-Brown was hoping to see anything but mustard yellow. When the NASA research electrical engineer clicked open the photo of a small sample - a swatch of film no bigger than a sticky note - she let out a cheer. The film was still dark black after spending 10 months on the International Space Station, proving her team's innovative solar cell material is suitable for possible use


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Texas Emerges as Solar’s Latest Hotspot As Legislative Threats Emerge
16 May 2023 at 1:51pm
by Ryan Regan
California has long been the state where the solar industry has shined the brightest across residential, commercial, and utility-scale markets. That fact largely remains true today, but Texas is emerging as an ascendant solar energy powerhouse that is poised to give a major lift to national renewable energy generation goals. Texas Solar Capacity Hits Peak […] The post Texas Emerges as Solar’s Latest Hotspot As Legislative Threats Emerge appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Solar Manufacturing Growth Picks up in U.S.
6 Feb 2023 at 7:04pm
by Ryan Regan
Manufacturers of solar panels, inverters, and related solar energy components have overwhelmingly been based in China over recent decades as few countries around the World could compete with China’s combined natural resource and low-cost manufacturing advantages. While China’s supply chain stranglehold is likely to persistent for some time, recently announced investments by solar manufacturers in […] The post Solar Manufacturing Growth Picks up in U.S. appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Floating Solar Panels Sail Forward
7 Dec 2022 at 3:43am
by Ryan Regan
As solar energy has become more mainstream, solar panels have found their way onto more and more unique places, from theme parks to airports to old landfill sites. Floating solar panels offer an even more creative use for solar that fundamentally alters conventional assumptions about solar generation opportunities. How Do They Work? Solar panels themselves […] The post Floating Solar Panels Sail Forward appeared first on Solar Tribune.

NIMBYism Threatens to Stymie Solar Progress
27 Oct 2022 at 5:32pm
by Ryan Regan
The solar industry has arguably never been in a better position in the wake of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). A rise in NIMBY-inspired land-use policies, however, is threatening to disrupt some of that optimism. A Worrying Trend The passage of the IRA is a seminal moment for the solar industry that […] The post NIMBYism Threatens to Stymie Solar Progress appeared first on Solar Tribune.

IRA Passage Ushers in New Era of Stability for Solar Industry
13 Sep 2022 at 5:50pm
by Ryan Regan
It only took Congress 34 years, but a federal law to meaningfully address the harmful effects of climate change – the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – finally passed the body and was signed into law by the President just weeks ago. The first congressional hearings on climate change were held way back in 1988, and […] The post IRA Passage Ushers in New Era of Stability for Solar Industry appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Global Heat Wave Puts Solar Panels to the Test
2 Aug 2022 at 5:27pm
by Ryan Regan
July was a scorcher of a month, with many countries and prominent cities across the world experiencing record-breaking temps. You may think that this was good news for the world’s solar industry as the Sun was seemingly working in overdrive, but in fact, blazing temps can greatly complicate solar generation efforts. This year’s hot summer […] The post Global Heat Wave Puts Solar Panels to the Test appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Rooftop solar: Good for the economy, good for the grid
27 Jul 2022 at 4:29pm
by Rebecca Snow
Solar continues to create jobs, investment, economic development and grid resilience while reducing energy costs for utilities, businesses, industry and consumers. It reduces the environmental impact on air, water and carbon.  And amazingly, it can be placed atop your house. Guest Post by Tim Echols, Originally posted in the Athens Banner-Herald Tim Echols is Vice-Chair of the Georgia Public Service […] The post Rooftop solar: Good for the economy, good for the grid appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Solar Panels Helping Old Landfills Embrace a Greener Future
30 Jun 2022 at 12:53pm
by Ryan Regan
As the solar industry has matured over recent decades, solar panels have found their way onto more and more unusual places. Cars, lakes, airports, and Disney World are just a few examples. Although notably less sexy than those examples, solar arrays placed on capped landfills are definitely becoming “a thing” that continues to gather more […] The post Solar Panels Helping Old Landfills Embrace a Greener Future appeared first on Solar Tribune.

The Rise of Agrivoltaics
3 Jun 2022 at 6:18pm
by Ryan Regan
Once upon a time, a common argument by solar energy skeptics was that expansive solar farms would overtake large swaths of American farmland, to the eventual detriment of American farmers seeking to grow crops or raise livestock. The industry has grown and matured in such a way that not only rebuffs this concern but shows […] The post The Rise of Agrivoltaics appeared first on Solar Tribune.

The Solar Powered Cars are Coming…Sort of
4 May 2022 at 6:26pm
by Ryan Regan
The electric vehicle and solar energy markets are both simultaneously growing at record clips, which begs the question, why haven’t cars powered entirely by the sun taken root as the next big thing? On the surface, the prospect of a car powered by an infinite and free power source that is never “off” sounds like […] The post The Solar Powered Cars are Coming…Sort of appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Cleaning Innovations Key to Solar PV Efficiency
2 Apr 2022 at 1:30pm
by Ryan Regan
The efficiency of a solar energy system’s individual PV panels and the amount of sun exposure that said panels receive play a pivotal role in the system’s over ability to harness solar energy. Keeping the surface of the solar panel clean is critical to achieving optimal efficiency and getting the most out of your system. […] The post Cleaning Innovations Key to Solar PV Efficiency appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Putin’s War Accelerates Clean Energy Push
8 Mar 2022 at 3:10pm
by Ryan Regan
Putin’s ill-advised military invasion into Ukraine has had a galvanizing effect across the world as country after country repudiates the war and pledges to arm or otherwise support Ukrainians fighting for their country. The economic impact of the war is still unfolding, but it is clear that the impact in Russia will be historically debilitating. […] The post Putin’s War Accelerates Clean Energy Push appeared first on Solar Tribune.


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