Read the full story in The Guardian.
Lancaster University researchers say sowing wildflowers alongside panels would have benefits for farmers who rely on pollinators.
Category: Solar
Seeking tribal sovereignty through solar
Read the full story at The Hill.
A group of Midwestern Native American “solar warriors” is working to help tribes break cycles of energy poverty and what they call “colonial exploitation” with access to locally controlled, low-cost renewable power.
Recently rebranded the Indigenized Energy Initiative (IEI), they serve as a kind of utility incubator that assists with the creation of new solar installations, including offering education on construction and how to secure federal funds.
Solar panels aren’t designed to be recycled—which is a $15 billion mistake
Read the full story at Fast Company.
For emerging technologies to be truly sustainable, they need to be designed with the circular economy in mind from the start.
Recyclable, back-contact solar panel from the Netherlands
Read the full story at pv magazine.
Conceived by a Dutch consortium, according to Design for Recycling guidelines, the panel is being developed with two different encapsulants, one for the front of the module, which joins the glass and cells together; and a slightly different formulation for the back of the module, which attaches cells and backsheet together.
A Survey of Federal and State-Level Solar System Decommissioning Policies in the United States
This report provides a survey and brief overview of both Bureau of Land Management and U.S. statewide solar decommissioning policies, and a discussion of some of the potential impacts different policy designs may have on utility-scale solar development, including impacts that might influence construction timelines and over project costs.
Seeking space for solar farms, cities find room at their airports
Read the full story in the New York Times.
Airports around the nation are installing solar arrays on unused land, roofs and parking garages, helping them achieve self-sufficiency while also providing power to their communities.
Build solar-energy systems to last — save billions
Read the full commentary in Nature.
To withstand extreme weather, rapid innovation and rock-bottom prices, solar installations need tighter quality control, standards and testing.
US utility-scale solar, storage prices drop over 12% in past year, but supply chain worries loom: NREL
Read the full story at Utility Dive.
The installed cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage systems continued to drop between 2020 and 2021 in the U.S., with utility-scale solar systems seeing a 12.3% price decline, according to a new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The cost of residential PV fell 3.3% and commercial rooftop PV systems dropped 10.7%, the report found. The calculations rely on a bottom-up model that accounts for all costs during installation, including hardware, sales prices and labor.
The report found that balance of system costs – encompassing everything except the PV panel – had either increased or remained flat, but an overall 19% reduction in module cost drove the cost declines. A separate NREL report examined various types of PV technology and found potential cost savings for each.
Tindo Solar commits to panel recycling deal with Reclaim PV
Read the full story at Renew Economy.
Adelaide-based Australian PV panel manufacturer Tindo Solar has inked a deal with Reclaim PV that will see close to 100 per cent of solar the panels it produces and handles recycled and re-used – starting with the panels it removes from rooftops to replace with its own.
Can the DOE’s community solar target to power 5M homes be met? Not without state-level support
Read the full story at Utility Dive.
The federal government has proven adept at creating lofty energy goals, well-intentioned to move toward a greener future, but the initial vision does not provide the blueprint to make those targets a reality. This is particularly true when federal ambition rests on state action.
Environmental News Bits 