Greetings readers, and welcome to your weekly solar news update. This week we are looking at bifacial solar panels. In fact, JP Morgan Chase just completed a 2.8 MW bifacial solar panel roof installation at their Columbus, Ohio location. The solar installation will meet 18% of the location’s energy requirements. So are bifacial solar panels worth the investment? Clearly JP Morgan thinks so.
What this means
Let’s back up for a minute, because if you’re like me, you have no idea what a bifacial solar panel is. Bifacial panels are designed to let light in from both sides. The top side of the panel takes direct sunlight, while the bottom absorbs redirected light from a reflective surface. Twice the light, twice the power… right?
Of course it’s not that simple. As with all solar installations there are a variety of factors at play, the most important being the height of the panels from the roof. And while some manufacturers are boasting a 20% increase in production with the right conditions, it is hard to draw concrete conclusions. Commercial Solar Guy believes that more industry experience is needed until we can draw conclusions on the benefits of bifacial panels, but even a small increase in production over several years could prove to be worthwhile. We’ll have to check in with JP Morgan and a few years to get the report. Read the full article here >
Lazard has released its annual energy generation and storage levelized cost report, showing solar power down about 7% and energy storage rates of return ranging from 7-35% in key markets. Read the full article >
It’s Friday, and Friday is the day you get to see new gear! Ideal Energy has put out a great white paper on a solar+storage demand charge management project, 8minute Solar Energy talks up their advanced solar power plant software partners, and Northern Reliability Company shows off the beautiful energy storage gear they assemble. Read the full article >
The inverter manufacturer met expectations of growth, slowed down 4th quarter projections, talked of ramping Vietnamese and Hungarian facilities, and generally sounded healthy. Read the full article >
This is your midweek pv magazine USA morning brief. A report in Colorado shows how adding electric vehicles and building electrification can clean the state, SEIA highlights an additional 70 groups supporting the ITC extension, and more! Read the full article >
DNV GL has released its 2019 Battery Scorecard, looking at various factors weighing on battery degradation, with a focus on the financeability of energy storage projects. Read the full article >
