US residential installer Sunrun said it would exit the PV market in Nevada with the loss of hundreds of jobs due to the recent negative changes by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in Nevada to net metering and charges on people operating solar systems.
Valentin Software will launch the next generation of its design software PV*SOL premium at the end of 2015. New features are designed to make the process of designing a PV system easier and faster. The shading analysis of roof and ground-mounted systems in 3D mode remains the central feature as it calculates how often the modules are covered by shade, and how this affects the system yield, presenting the results graphically. All shading objects can be freely selected and placed anywhere on the ground or building.
Canadian Solar subsidiary Recurrent Energy has secured a tax equity investment commitment with GE Energy Financial Services for its 75MW Astoria 2 (previously 100MW) solar power project in California that is currently under construction.
Solar PV module cleaning systems firm Ecoppia said its autonomous, waterless cleaning technology had been certified for use on First Solar’s thin-film modules.
Israel-based automated solar solutions provider Ecoppia has signed a deal to retrofit the 40MW Ketura Solar plant in Israel with its robotic cleaning technology.
Dust and sand on PV arrays in the desert can have a negative impact on module performance, but so too can the automated solutions available to clean them.
US installer Sunrun is to trial a new automated solar permitting system as part of a range of cost-cutting projects funded by the Department of Energy.
In early 2015, snow and ice in parts of North America created unexpected problems for solar plant operators. As winter approaches once again, Gwen Bender reflects on the challenges of keeping a project running profitably in harsh weather conditions.
