Trends /category/featured/trends/ Covering the world of solar power technology, development and installation. Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:44:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 /wp-content/uploads/2017/07/cropped-solar-power-world-online-32x32.png Trends /category/featured/trends/ 32 32 Solar Power World’s 2025 solar + storage trends /2025/01/solar-power-worlds-2025-solar-storage-trends/ /2025/01/solar-power-worlds-2025-solar-storage-trends/#respond Wed, 08 Jan 2025 14:00:11 +0000 /?p=108265 The United States solar + storage industry is experiencing growth and innovation in some segments but stagnation in others as it enters a new year. Both small- and large-scale energy storage continues to break records, with California leading the way in both markets. New rules making it easier to develop solar power on public lands…

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]]> /2025/01/solar-power-worlds-2025-solar-storage-trends/feed/ 0 Millions of federal acres to soon open to solar construction out west 2025 Trends in Solar /2025/01/millions-of-federal-acres-to-soon-open-to-solar-construction-out-west/ /2025/01/millions-of-federal-acres-to-soon-open-to-solar-construction-out-west/#comments Wed, 08 Jan 2025 13:00:46 +0000 /?p=108222 The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has expanded the scope of potential solar development on federal lands, opening several more western states to gigawatts of PV deployment. In January 2024, the Dept. of the Interior issued an update for the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, also known as the Western Solar Plan, which formalized the…

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]]> /2025/01/millions-of-federal-acres-to-soon-open-to-solar-construction-out-west/feed/ 1 Major residential inverter manufacturers weather industry headwinds 2025 Trends in Solar /2025/01/major-residential-inverter-manufacturers-weather-industry-headwinds/ /2025/01/major-residential-inverter-manufacturers-weather-industry-headwinds/#respond Wed, 08 Jan 2025 13:00:19 +0000 /?p=108201 The recent residential solar industry downturn in the United States and Europe has required some inverter manufacturers to close down operations and cut jobs. Net-metering changes in the biggest solar state of California resulted in the residential market’s lowest quarter in nearly three years, according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Q3 2024 report by SEIA…

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]]> /2025/01/major-residential-inverter-manufacturers-weather-industry-headwinds/feed/ 0 New robotic tools handle toughest tasks on utility solar sites 2025 Trends in Solar /2025/01/new-robotic-tools-handle-toughest-tasks-on-utility-solar-sites/ /2025/01/new-robotic-tools-handle-toughest-tasks-on-utility-solar-sites/#respond Tue, 07 Jan 2025 13:00:15 +0000 /?p=108200 Installing huge utility-scale solar projects usually requires large field crews performing tedious tasks hundreds of times across many acres of land. New AI and robotics inventions are simplifying some of these job duties, sometimes replacing human workers altogether. Companies like Moog Construction, the AES Corporation and Ozzie’s have all released new solutions that take over…

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]]> /2025/01/new-robotic-tools-handle-toughest-tasks-on-utility-solar-sites/feed/ 0 US storage market continues upward trend into 2025 2025 Trends in Solar /2025/01/us-storage-market-continues-upward-trend-into-2025/ /2025/01/us-storage-market-continues-upward-trend-into-2025/#comments Tue, 07 Jan 2025 12:59:48 +0000 /?p=108209 Sunny metaphors don’t really work in the storage market, but the future does look bright. The United States closed 2024 with record-breaking storage installation numbers, and each coming year is predicted to be more charged than the last. Whether installed solo on utility-scale sites or attached with solar in the residential market, battery energy storage…

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]]> /2025/01/us-storage-market-continues-upward-trend-into-2025/feed/ 1 Solar panel patent battles could alter domestic manufacturing landscape 2025 Trends in Solar /2025/01/solar-panel-patent-battles-could-alter-domestic-manufacturing-landscape/ /2025/01/solar-panel-patent-battles-could-alter-domestic-manufacturing-landscape/#comments Mon, 06 Jan 2025 13:00:38 +0000 /?p=108207 The silicon solar panel market has somewhat settled into uniformity. After decades of R&D, manufacturers determined that PERC (passivated emitter rear contact) technology would be the foundational building block to all silicon solar panels. To improve beyond that central design, manufacturers can expand into either HJT (heterojunction technology) or TOPCon (tunnel oxide passivated contact). HJT’s…

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]]> /2025/01/solar-panel-patent-battles-could-alter-domestic-manufacturing-landscape/feed/ 1 Solar canopies adapt to residential customer needs 2025 Trends in Solar /2025/01/solar-canopies-adapt-to-residential-customer-needs/ /2025/01/solar-canopies-adapt-to-residential-customer-needs/#respond Mon, 06 Jan 2025 13:00:33 +0000 /?p=108223 The size and aesthetic of solar carports and canopies are changing thanks to demand for these products in the residential market. An influx of new manufacturers producing solar canopies have scaled these structures to fit within the confines of residential properties and designed them to look closer to a pergola than the towering carports covering…

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]]> /2025/01/solar-canopies-adapt-to-residential-customer-needs/feed/ 0 The road ahead for distributed solar in 2025 Post-election challenges and new opportunities. /2025/01/the-road-ahead-for-distributed-solar-in-2025/ /2025/01/the-road-ahead-for-distributed-solar-in-2025/#comments Fri, 03 Jan 2025 13:00:12 +0000 /?p=108194 As the U.S. prepares for a second term for the Trump Administration, the solar industry faces a new era of both challenges and opportunities. In this interview with Solar Power World, Wilson Chang, CEO of the solar and storage development and management platform Sunrock Distributed Generation, discusses current trends in the solar market and shares…

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]]> /2025/01/the-road-ahead-for-distributed-solar-in-2025/feed/ 1 New collaborations advance large-scale solar development 2024 Trends in Solar /2024/01/new-collaborations-advance-large-scale-solar-development/ /2024/01/new-collaborations-advance-large-scale-solar-development/#respond Fri, 12 Jan 2024 13:00:26 +0000 /?p=104727 The complexities of deploying utility-scale solar are not new to developers and other industry stakeholders. These can range from issues around environmental impacts and equity to challenges regarding land-use, permitting and policy. Given the importance of large-scale solar on our country’s clean energy transition, many are seeking new collaborators to address these difficulties and facilitate…

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]]> /2024/01/new-collaborations-advance-large-scale-solar-development/feed/ 0 States boost solar installation on former landfills 2024 Trends in Solar /2024/01/states-boost-solar-installation-on-former-landfills/ /2024/01/states-boost-solar-installation-on-former-landfills/#respond Thu, 11 Jan 2024 13:01:49 +0000 /?p=104765 A handful of states, mostly based in the Northeast, have incentivized, or at the very least encouraged, solar development on decommissioned landfills within their borders. These plots of land are often untouched and otherwise unfit for commercial development that requires even minor civil work because their soil is capped and should not be penetrated. “There…

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]]> /2024/01/states-boost-solar-installation-on-former-landfills/feed/ 0 Bidirectional EV chargers to finally materialize in 2024 2024 Trends in Solar /2024/01/bidirectional-ev-chargers-to-finally-materialize-in-2024/ /2024/01/bidirectional-ev-chargers-to-finally-materialize-in-2024/#comments Thu, 11 Jan 2024 13:00:26 +0000 /?p=104716 As expected, the bidirectional EV charger market is taking off. The device that can both charge and export an EV battery’s power into a home or onto the grid has been excitedly touted for the last few years without any actual products available on the market. That’s starting to change, as Delta Electronics recently joined…

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]]> /2024/01/bidirectional-ev-chargers-to-finally-materialize-in-2024/feed/ 10 Federal and local support grows for solar in LMI communities 2024 Trends in Solar /2024/01/federal-and-local-support-grows-for-solar-in-lmi-communities/ /2024/01/federal-and-local-support-grows-for-solar-in-lmi-communities/#respond Wed, 10 Jan 2024 13:00:12 +0000 /?p=104720 Solar for low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities is having its day in the sun. Demand for more equitable solar siting has never been higher, and federal and local incentives are supporting the action. This past year was a major tipping point for LMI support in solar, said Vincent Potter, policy analyst at the NC Clean…

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]]> /2024/01/federal-and-local-support-grows-for-solar-in-lmi-communities/feed/ 0 Microinverter manufacturers are adding string inverters to their lineup 2024 Trends in Solar /2024/01/microinverter-manufacturers-are-adding-string-inverters-to-their-lineup/ /2024/01/microinverter-manufacturers-are-adding-string-inverters-to-their-lineup/#respond Wed, 10 Jan 2024 12:59:15 +0000 /?p=104721 Module-level rapid shutdown requirements that originated in the 2017 National Electrical Code gave microinverter manufacturers a boost as a simple way for rooftop systems to comply. But as the code and consumer needs have changed, string inverters are having a resurgence. Over the past year, some microinverter makers have decided to go bigger and add…

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]]> /2024/01/microinverter-manufacturers-are-adding-string-inverters-to-their-lineup/feed/ 0 High interest rates and other issues threaten the residential solar market in 2024  2024 Trends in Solar /2024/01/high-interest-rates-and-other-issues-threaten-the-residential-solar-market/ /2024/01/high-interest-rates-and-other-issues-threaten-the-residential-solar-market/#respond Tue, 09 Jan 2024 13:00:47 +0000 /?p=104718 Residential solar took some serious hits in 2023. There were endemic supply chain disruptions and savings for rooftop solar became less clear when utility electricity prices stabilized in 2022. Solar stocks plummeted, and the passage of NEM 3.0 in California significantly curtailed the largest rooftop solar economy in the country. In this environment, some residential…

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]]> /2024/01/high-interest-rates-and-other-issues-threaten-the-residential-solar-market/feed/ 0 Butyl and mastic flashing sweeps residential solar mounting market 2024 Trends in Solar /2024/01/butyl-and-mastic-flashing-sweeps-residential-solar-mounting-market/ /2024/01/butyl-and-mastic-flashing-sweeps-residential-solar-mounting-market/#comments Tue, 09 Jan 2024 12:59:46 +0000 /?p=104764 There’s been a shift recently in the residential mounting sector, with manufacturers prioritizing smaller profile mounts that install over shingles rather than the traditional metal flashing sheets installed under roof coverings. These top-mounted attachments tend to reduce the materials carried to a roof and the number of steps in a solar installation. Previously, there were…

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