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Industry At Large

Utilities Increasingly Embracing Solar Investment, Project Involvment

Utilities are rapidly elevating their role in solar generation, from mere off-takers of electricity to direct investors in solar assets and active managers of distributed power. Much of this financial transformation has occurred due to the new applicability of the federal solar tax credit to utilities, as well as the rising number of states permitting utilities to own solar assets.

Product

MPPT Controllers Offer Enhanced Energy Production

The increased use of MPPT controllers has more or less phased out the use of basic on/off controllers and their successors, pulse width modulators, but the transition was not exactly without obstacles - namely, concerns about reliability and cost.

Process

Solar Steps Exposed: How Disparate Pieces Form A Process

Solar production-line concepts vary in terms of throughput, material flow and process steps, as well as the level of automation and types of solar cells produced. Production lines for crystalline silicon solar cells, in particular, differ according to their production flow principles.

Industry At Large

Strong Lease Programs Continue To Lure Homeowners Into Solar

In several states with liberal incentives, solar electricity has achieved - or is close to achieving - grid parity. And with relentless increases in utility rates, PV that employs improved technology is becoming a more cost-effective option for homeowners.