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The 2,000-Volt Era Has Begun: What Higher-Voltage DC Means for Solar Cables, Connectors and BOS
Every era of solar power has been defined by a voltage. The industry moved from 600 V to 1,000 V, then to today’s workhorse standard of 1,500 V DC — and each step reshaped the entire balance of system: longer strings, thinner copper, fewer combiner boxes, lower cost per watt. That cycle is...Read more -
Bill McKibben: “The solar panel is the new peace symbol.”
Environmental scholar Bill McKibben argues that clean energy deployment is rapidly evolving from a carbon-mitigation strategy into the structural safeguard against global geopolitical conflict. Fossil fuels remain inextricably bound up in modern warfare as cause, weapon, and primary vulnerab...Read more -
Electricity prices fall across Europe
Weekly average electricity prices dipped below €85 ($91.56)/MWh across most major European markets last week as France, Germany and Italy all broke records for solar energy production during a single day in March. Weekly average electricity prices fell across most major European markets last ...Read more -
Why rooftop solar?
California solar homeowner believes the main importance of rooftop solar is that electricity is produced where it is consumed, but it offers several additional advantages. I’ve owned two rooftop solar installations in California, both serviced by PG&E. One is commercial, which repaid its ...Read more -
German government adopts import strategy to create investment security
A new hydrogen import strategy is expected to make Germany better prepared for increasing demand in the medium and long term. The Netherlands, meanwhile, saw its hydrogen market grow considerably across supply and demand between October and April. The German government adopted a new import str...Read more -
How long do residential solar panels last?
Residential solar panels are often sold with long-term loans or leases, with homeowners entering contracts of 20 years or more. But how long do panels last, and how resilient are they? Panel life depends on several factors, including climate, module type, and the racking system used, among others...Read more -
How long do residential solar inverters last?
In the first part of this series, pv magazine reviewed the productive lifespan of solar panels, which are quite resilient. In this part, we examine residential solar inverters in their various forms, how long they last, and how resilient they are. The inverter, a device that converts the DC power...Read more -
How long do residential solar batteries last
Residential energy storage has become an increasingly popular feature of home solar. A recent SunPower survey of more than 1,500 households found that about 40% of Americans worry about power outages on a regular basis. Of the survey respondents actively considering solar for their homes, 70% sai...Read more -
Tesla continues scaling up energy storage business in China
The announcement of Tesla’s battery factory in Shanghai marked the company’s entry into the Chinese market. Amy Zhang, analyst at InfoLink Consulting, looks at what this move could bring for the US battery storage maker and the broader Chinese market. Electric vehicle and energy storage maker ...Read more