Featured /category/featured/ Covering the world of solar power technology, development and installation. Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:33:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 /wp-content/uploads/2017/07/cropped-solar-power-world-online-32x32.png Featured /category/featured/ 32 32 Solar Spotlight: Why solar carports make sense for schools /2025/02/solar-spotlight-why-solar-carports-make-sense-for-schools/ /2025/02/solar-spotlight-why-solar-carports-make-sense-for-schools/#respond Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:19 +0000 /?p=108517 While there is greater oversight for installing solar projects on school grounds, M Bar C Construction has found success in this segment of the market and has done so through building solar carports. Bobby Bonfanti, eastern division manager, and Erik Krivokopich, VP of business development at M Bar C, are on this episode of Solar…

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]]> /2025/02/solar-spotlight-why-solar-carports-make-sense-for-schools/feed/ 0 Net-metering changes are sweeping the country. Here’s how solar companies can prepare /2025/02/net-metering-changes-are-sweeping-the-country-heres-how-solar-companies-can-prepare/ /2025/02/net-metering-changes-are-sweeping-the-country-heres-how-solar-companies-can-prepare/#comments Mon, 10 Feb 2025 15:33:38 +0000 /?p=108511 Net-metering policies are shifting across the country, and solar installation companies have a right to be concerned. California’s NEM 3.0 slashed export compensation rates, Hawaii transitioned to a self-supply model and states like Arizona and West Virginia have significantly reduced net-metering rates. Now Virginia is in the crosshairs, with Appalachian Power Company (APCo) proposing to…

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]]> /2025/02/net-metering-changes-are-sweeping-the-country-heres-how-solar-companies-can-prepare/feed/ 1 45X tax credit transfers strengthen US solar manufacturing /2025/02/45x-tax-credit-transfers-strengthen-us-solar-manufacturing/ /2025/02/45x-tax-credit-transfers-strengthen-us-solar-manufacturing/#respond Wed, 05 Feb 2025 13:00:46 +0000 /?p=108477 The Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credit transferability provision has helped difficult solar projects get financed and given more entities the chance to invest in solar. Transferability is now also helping solar manufacturers build their stateside operations by maximizing 45X manufacturing credits. The 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit is offered to domestic manufacturers of eligible solar…

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]]> /2025/02/45x-tax-credit-transfers-strengthen-us-solar-manufacturing/feed/ 0 Spring into action: Maximizing solar farm performance through proactive maintenance /2025/02/spring-into-action-maximizing-solar-farm-performance-through-proactive-maintenance/ /2025/02/spring-into-action-maximizing-solar-farm-performance-through-proactive-maintenance/#respond Tue, 04 Feb 2025 13:00:02 +0000 /?p=108453 It’s that time of year when solar farm operators face the task of spring maintenance to ensure optimal performance during the long summer days. The consequences of inadequate maintenance can result in lost revenue due to sluggish performance or equipment downtime during peak production periods. Dirt on PV panels reduces the power output. Five grams…

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]]> /2025/02/spring-into-action-maximizing-solar-farm-performance-through-proactive-maintenance/feed/ 0 Capturing the sun: The effects of state Prompt Payment Acts on solar construction /2025/01/capturing-the-sun-the-effects-of-state-prompt-payment-acts-on-solar-construction/ /2025/01/capturing-the-sun-the-effects-of-state-prompt-payment-acts-on-solar-construction/#respond Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:43:27 +0000 /?p=108449 This article originally appeared on DarrowEverett’s website and is shared with permission. As the energy sector continues to expand, developers and contractors looking to expand their footprint are crossing state lines to construct energy projects. This is a good strategy for applying the same, successful strategies to a broader prospective customer base. However, while there…

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]]> /2025/01/capturing-the-sun-the-effects-of-state-prompt-payment-acts-on-solar-construction/feed/ 0 What does “safe harboring” mean for the solar industry? /2025/01/what-does-safe-harboring-mean-for-the-solar-industry/ /2025/01/what-does-safe-harboring-mean-for-the-solar-industry/#comments Tue, 28 Jan 2025 13:00:28 +0000 /?p=108423 Solar projects 1 MW and larger that qualify for the investment tax credit (ITC) or production tax credit (PTC) and accompanying Inflation Reduction Act bonus credits aren’t finished overnight. Timelines for securing financing, completing design and permitting and actually installing a project are a measure of years, not days. Financiers looking to invest in IRA…

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]]> /2025/01/what-does-safe-harboring-mean-for-the-solar-industry/feed/ 1 Employee-owned PV contractors are reshaping company dynamics /2025/01/employee-owned-pv-contractors-are-reshaping-company-dynamics/ /2025/01/employee-owned-pv-contractors-are-reshaping-company-dynamics/#respond Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:00:57 +0000 /?p=108233 Solar installation is a mission-driven business, and certain solar contractors take that notion a step further by also making their business operations mission-driven through employee ownership. Generally, employee ownership gives employees some monetary stake in their company through stock options, company trusts or profit sharing. Depending on the style of employee ownership, companies will have…

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]]> /2025/01/employee-owned-pv-contractors-are-reshaping-company-dynamics/feed/ 0 From wasteland to powerhouse: The case for brownfield solar development /2025/01/from-wasteland-to-powerhouse-the-case-for-brownfield-solar-development/ /2025/01/from-wasteland-to-powerhouse-the-case-for-brownfield-solar-development/#respond Thu, 23 Jan 2025 19:48:06 +0000 /?p=108407 If I had a dollar for every time I heard an upset community member complain, “Why don’t you put your ugly solar thing on a landfill?”, I would have enough money to invest in brownfield remediation for a solar site. At its core, a solar developer’s job is about assessing risks and costs while simultaneously…

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]]> /2025/01/from-wasteland-to-powerhouse-the-case-for-brownfield-solar-development/feed/ 0 Ground screws solve challenging site problems for utility-scale solar /2025/01/ground-screws-solve-challenging-site-problems-for-utility-scale-solar/ /2025/01/ground-screws-solve-challenging-site-problems-for-utility-scale-solar/#comments Wed, 22 Jan 2025 13:00:46 +0000 /?p=108224 German inventor Klaus Krinner, who created a Christmas tree stand that bears his surname in 1987, was given the humble task of erecting a pole in his yard to hang laundry. Not only did the laundry pole stay upright, but another grand invention came about — the first Krinner ground screw. Today, ground screws are…

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]]> /2025/01/ground-screws-solve-challenging-site-problems-for-utility-scale-solar/feed/ 1 Liquid-cooling becomes preferred BESS temperature control option /2025/01/liquid-cooling-becomes-preferred-bess-temperature-control-option/ /2025/01/liquid-cooling-becomes-preferred-bess-temperature-control-option/#respond Tue, 21 Jan 2025 13:00:12 +0000 /?p=108214 As the industry gets more comfortable with how lithium batteries interact in enclosed spaces, large-scale energy storage system engineers are standardizing designs and packing more batteries into containers. For every new 5-MWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) energy storage container on the market, one thing is certain: a liquid cooling system will be used for temperature control.…

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]]> /2025/01/liquid-cooling-becomes-preferred-bess-temperature-control-option/feed/ 0 Should solar worry about the new Secretary of Energy under Trump 2.0? A look back at DOE’s solar agenda over four presidencies. /2025/01/should-solar-worry-about-the-new-secretary-of-energy-under-trump-2-0/ /2025/01/should-solar-worry-about-the-new-secretary-of-energy-under-trump-2-0/#comments Mon, 20 Jan 2025 13:00:23 +0000 /?p=108240 The solar industry’s journey to becoming the largest source of new U.S. generating capacity for most of 2024 was helped along by pioneering contractors, technological advancements, forward-thinking policymakers and one very influential position in the Cabinet — the secretary of the Dept. of Energy. This position may not have direct legislative power, but it does…

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]]> /2025/01/should-solar-worry-about-the-new-secretary-of-energy-under-trump-2-0/feed/ 3 The policy, federal actions and judicial decisions shaping solar in 2025 /2025/01/the-policy-federal-actions-and-judicial-decisions-shaping-solar-in-2025/ /2025/01/the-policy-federal-actions-and-judicial-decisions-shaping-solar-in-2025/#comments Thu, 16 Jan 2025 13:00:37 +0000 /?p=108303 Energy policy is becoming more complex, contentious and perhaps fleeting as grid operators look for long-term certainty in their ability to serve increasing load as the electric supply fleet rapidly turns over. The past year has seen numerous federal actions, investigations and proceedings on critical elements for energy project development such as land access, siting…

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]]> /2025/01/the-policy-federal-actions-and-judicial-decisions-shaping-solar-in-2025/feed/ 1 Panel manufacturers offer hail-resistant models for small yet significant US region /2025/01/panel-manufacturers-offer-hail-resistant-models-for-small-yet-significant-us-region/ /2025/01/panel-manufacturers-offer-hail-resistant-models-for-small-yet-significant-us-region/#respond Wed, 15 Jan 2025 13:00:49 +0000 /?p=108211 In the constant race to do more with less, solar panels in the utility-scale space have been getting more powerful but also larger, heavier and bulkier. To cut costs and weight of the two largest components on a bifacial module, manufacturers reduced each piece of glass to a 2-mm thickness. But soon, a new problem…

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]]> /2025/01/panel-manufacturers-offer-hail-resistant-models-for-small-yet-significant-us-region/feed/ 0 Floating solar project overlooks skiing capital of Utah /2025/01/floating-solar-project-overlooks-skiing-capital-of-utah/ /2025/01/floating-solar-project-overlooks-skiing-capital-of-utah/#respond Tue, 14 Jan 2025 13:00:37 +0000 /?p=108229 The first floating solar project built in Utah is located on a reservoir atop a mountain at an elevation of 7,000 ft. This 587.5-kW solar project is powering a water treatment facility serving Park City, a skiing destination that draws millions of visitors annually. Floating solar was Mountain Regional Water Special Service District’s (MRW) first…

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]]> /2025/01/floating-solar-project-overlooks-skiing-capital-of-utah/feed/ 0 Microinverters make their mark in commercial solar sector /2025/01/microinverters-make-their-mark-in-commercial-solar-sector/ /2025/01/microinverters-make-their-mark-in-commercial-solar-sector/#respond Mon, 13 Jan 2025 13:00:06 +0000 /?p=108023 While microinverters have a clear place in the residential solar ecosystem, commercial projects are usually synonymous with string inverters. But microinverter manufacturers still see a clear place for them in the C&I market, whether it’s satisfying rapid shutdown and optimization requirements or stepping in to handle unique site conditions. Manufacturers like Northern Electric Power (NEP),…

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