Berkeley Lab’s annual Tracking the Sun report describes trends among grid-connected, distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the United States. The latest edition of the report focuses on systems installed through year-end 2021, and is based on data from roughly 2.5 million systems. New to the report this year is an expanded coverage of paired PV-plus-storage systems, including details on system design and pricing trends.
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The cost of solar power has declined significantly over the past decade, with the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) for solar falling from a weighted average of USD378/MWh USD248/MWh in 2010 to USD68.4/MWh in 2019. According to financial advisory and asset management firm Lazard, the LCOE for utility-scale solar power reached USD36/MWh in 2021. The steep decline is the result of several factors including a rapid decline in module costs, increased competition, and economies of scale from significant growth globally.
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BYD Company Limited, a Chinese batteries and electric vehicles manufacturer, aims to boost solar photovoltaic panel production in Brazil to introduce new 450W models. According to the company, this is being done to meet the rising market needs. The new equipment, will have an efficiency of 20.9 per cent and may be used for domestic systems, agribusiness alternatives, industrial, industrial and off-grid generation.
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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage Cost Benchmark: Q1 2020 documents a decade of cost reductions in solar and battery storage installations across utility, commercial, and residential sectors. NREL’s cost benchmarking applies a bottom-up methodology that captures variation in system design and regional costs, helping to identify future research and development directions that could further reduce costs.
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The European Commission’s policy scenario evaluation concluded that the best way to further regulate PV panels was via a combination of mandatory and voluntary policy instruments. This scenario evaluation considered mandatory instruments such as eco-design measures for photovoltaic panels and inverters, augmented by the use of the Energy Label for residential PV systems, and voluntary instruments such as Green Public Procurement Criteria.
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Cubico Sustainable Investment, the fund of Canadian groups PSP and Ontario Teachers, has closed the purchase of KKR’s minority stake in T-Solar in Spanish photovoltaic assets. With this operation, the group closes the acquisition of the company and takes full control in a transaction in which 1.5 billion euros have been disbursed. Cubico reached an agreement with I Squared Capital to take the majority stake on December 15, 2020.
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First Solar has announced a commitment to power 100 per cent of its solar manufacturing operations across the globe with renewable energy by 2028. The commitment was announced after First Solar joined RE100 initiative.
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