Balancing solar with agriculture in the US Midwest
Today we have heard of farmers in Australia unhappy at the approval given for three solar projects on agricultural land and also learned the benefits PV can bring for fish and shrimp farmers. In this op-ed for pv magazine USA, Stoel Rives LLP attorneys Sara Bergan and Thomas Braun discuss the balancing act to be made between solar and agriculture in the emerging Midwestern PV market.
Lithium-ion batteries still set for US tariffs on September 1
The energy storage market is set to be the latest affected by Trump’s trade war as lithium-ion batteries were excluded from the group of Chinese imports for which the U.S. president announced tariffs would be delayed until December 15.
US utility surprised by solar connection requests ‘which have not followed linear rise since 2008’
Clearly surprised by the explosion in popularity of PV in the last two years, Michigan’s Consumers Energy has asked for time to process outstanding interconnection requests which could not ‘have been predicted by the company in earlier years’.
US: Rush to gas risks hundreds of billions in stranded assets
A new report by Rocky Mountain Institute finds that gas plants proposed across the United States over the next 15 years could be replaced by clean energy portfolios at a net savings, and that these projects are at risk of becoming stranded assets.
US scientists claim new efficiency record for organic tandem solar cells
A team from the University of Michigan in the U.S. has developed an organic tandem solar cell with 15% efficiency, a new record for an organic solar cell. The scientists utilized a novel method for stacking the two layers on top of each other without damaging either layer.
Hemlock Semiconductor to lay off 100 workers
The U.S.-based polysilicon maker has been in trouble since the imposition of Chinese trade duties on imported polysilicon in 2013.
