By Billy Ludt Green Street Power Partners (GSPP), a national developer and financier of commercial solar, completed construction on a 2.75-MW rooftop solar array in Devens, Massachusetts. All of the energy produced by the system is being sold to MassDevelopment, which operates the Devens Utilities Department, at a competitive rate through a 25-year PPA. “MassDevelopment…
By Billy Ludt The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the Central New York Planning and Development Board (CNY RPDB) announced that Central New York communities have completed 242 high impact clean energy actions as part of NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities Program. This announcement complements Central NY Rising, which provides an…
By Kelsey Misbrener Sempra Energy announced that it has completed the sale of its U.S. operating solar assets, solar and battery storage development projects, as well as its ownership interest in one wind facility, to Consolidated Edison for approximately $1.6 billion in cash, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. “With the completion of this sale, we…
By Billy Ludt Lakeside Chevrolet of Rockwall, Texas, will soon have more than superior horsepower going for it. The North Texas’ Chevrolet dealership will begin sourcing about one-third of its electricity needs from a solar roof-mount system, which will also cut its operating costs. Lakeside, which has been in Rockwall for almost 50 years, will…
By Kelsey Misbrener Yaskawa Solectria Solar and Alencon Systems have partnered to provide a solution for re-powering 600-V PV plants. The partners proudly announce the compatibility of their unique products, Alencon’s String Power Optimizer and Transmitter—the SPOT—and Yaskawa Solectria Solar’s XGI 1000 transformerless string inverter. Interoperability was confirmed during extensive compatibility testing of the two…
By Kelsey Misbrener After waiting for years, Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit that provides training and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated men and women, goes solar. The project, originally launched in 2014, involves a multitude of partners, ranging from: Everybody Solar—a nonprofit dedicated to raising funds to help other community serving nonprofits go solar,…
By Billy Ludt The En-Trust group and Inovateus Solar announced the completion of the Holgate Local Schools’ solar array. The project will provide clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency upgrades to the Holgate Local School system through a guaranteed energy savings contract. This project is the result of a joint development effort between En-Trust and…
By Kelly Pickerel The pipeline for energy storage projects in the United States doubled this year, ballooning to 32.9 GW, according to the latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Energy Storage Association (ESA). While not all of the projects will come to fruition, this is a clear signpost…
By Kelsey Misbrener Huawei brought its string inverters to the United States market in 2016, but recent headlines suggest the company’s stateside standings are in a precarious place. Huawei’s CFO and deputy board chair Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada earlier this month on the United States’ behalf on allegations that she helped Huawei dodge…
By Kelly Pickerel Commercial solar financing provider SDC Energy has launched its Powering Title 24 Program with partners Baja Construction and Grid Technologies. With California being the first state in the country to require solar energy on all new residential properties under three stories by 2020, the Powering Title 24 program combines solar carports, virtual…
By Kelsey Misbrener EnSync announced the addition of demand management capability to the EnSync Home Energy System to create the “EnSync Smart Home.” The EnSync Smart Home system integrates the management of on-site solar plus storage with the management of demand from residential appliances, including electric water heaters, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, lighting…
By Kelly Pickerel Independent software and services provider Power Factors has released its Drive 2.0 for solar and wind energy assets. Building on the most advanced platform for renewable asset management, Drive 2.0 sets a new bar for technology solutions designed to maximize generation while lowering the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and risk. Drive…
By Kelsey Misbrener The United Steelworkers (USW) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) announced that workers at Tesla’s solar panel factory in Buffalo, New York, will hold a union organizing drive. In 2013, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the solar manufacturing investment as part of his “Buffalo Billion” initiative at the Riverbend site….
By Kelsey Misbrener The Section 201 solar tariffs took a toll on utility-scale solar installations in the third quarter according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Report for Q3 from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The residential market, meanwhile, continued to stabilize after a down 2017. Overall, the…
By Kelsey Misbrener As inverter technology evolves, so too does the decision whether to choose central or string inverters for utility-scale solar farms. Central inverters “centralize” the plant’s power into one place. Multiple strings of panels are connected to the central inverter by long wires. The units are physically much larger than string inverters and…