By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

After the stock market closed, Enphase Energy - the once-struggling microinverter company that is seeing a resurgence under CEO Badri Kothandaraman, announced it was buying SunPower's microinverter business for $25 million and 7.5 million shares of common stock. Enphase stock rose 16% after the announcement. The transaction means Enphase will now supply the microinverter technology for SunPower's AC modules instead of SunPower producing the microinverters on their own. Tom Werner, SunPower CEO, tipped his hand about why the transaction took place in the release. He said the transaction will allow SunPower to "continue containing costs, leveraging R&D support and helping streamline our business priorities." In other words, it will allow SunPower to focus all its energies on building modules instead of ancillary arms of the solar business. The announcement comes weeks after SunPower announced it would purchase down-market rival SolarWorld and begin manufacturing more modules in the United States. Shedding the microninverter line is in keeping with a business strategy focused on building and expanding the company's module lines both in the upscale and middle-tier residential markets. On Enphase's side of the ledger, the transaction provides a boost to a company clawing its way back to relevance after nearly two years of wandering in the darkness and falling under SolarEdge's shadow. Starting in September, however, Enphase has racked up an impressive number of victories. First, it posted profits for the first time in two years in Q4 and showed continued stability in the Q1 2018. It also signed an exclusive deal with Panasonic to provide microinverters to its AC modules, won a a court battle with SolarEdge over an ad and now the deal with SunPower. It's unclear at press time what effect, if any, the SunPower deal will have on its agreement with Panasonic. Taking a victory lap Kothandaraman said in Enphase's release on the subject:

We are pleased to become the microinverter supplier for SunPower's AC Modules. The IQ 7XS 320W AC microinverter in an ACM strongly complements SunPower's high efficiency solar cells, communication and racking to create a high performance, high quality and easy-to-use Equinox™ Home Solar System, providing exceptional value to homeowners, dealers and architects.

Does this mean the microinverter battles at the industry's two largest trade shows are over? No - in fact it may mean they are finally going to begin in earnest.

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Perovskites have been the hot solar technology for several years now without, frankly, a lot to show for it. But one company - Solar-Tectic - has reached the patent stage for its thin-film perovskite technology. Could perovskite modules be close behind? The answer is a definite maybe. According to the company's release, the breakthrough is the width of the bottom layer in the tandem cell. The release says:

Wafer sized bottom poly- and monocrystalline silicon layers in PERC, PERL, HIT, HJ, or perovskite/silicon tandem cells are typically 200-280 microns thick, whereas ST's thin-film crystalline inorganic bottom layers can be as thin as 20-30 microns with the same or similar efficiency; moreover, they can be processed at much lower temperatures thereby lowering costs of production significantly.

Most solar observers believe perovskites would be a valuable addition to the solar space because their photovoltaic properties are much more sensitive than silicon, meaning their conversion efficiencies - how well they convert sunlight to electricity - is much higher. The theoretical conversion efficiency for perovskites is nearly 45%, almost twice the highest silicon cell efficiency (though in reality, thin-film modules such as First Solar's have nearly reached a 30% efficiency). The breakthrough patents correspond to a "Tandem Series" of solar cell technologies which has been launched by ST, and that includes a variety of different proven semiconductor photovoltaic materials (i.e. III-V, CZTS, a-Si, etc) for the top layer on silicon (or germanium) bottom layer, on various substrates such as cheap soda-lime glass. Last year, ST announced the first patent ever granted for this perovskite/silicon thin-film tandem approach. Interestingly, the entire ST process is environmentally friendly since non-toxic Sn (tin) or Au (gold) is used to deposit the crystalline silicon thin-film material for the bottom layer in the tandem/heterojunction configuration as well as in the top, perovskite, layer.

Solar FlexRack™, a division of Northern States Metals and an innovative leader in photovoltaic mounting and solar tracker solutions, has completed shipments of its G3-X fixed tilt racking system to Brantley solar farm, a large-scale solar project in North Carolina. The 71 MWdc project, which is about 30 miles east of Raleigh, was developed and is currently being built by Cypress Creek Renewables, a leading national solar developer, builder and operator. Brantley Solar Project in North Carolina is being installed with high-quality Solar FlexRack G3-X racking. The solar plant will generate enough electricity to power over 8,000 homes. Steve Daniel, Executive Vice President of Solar FlexRack said, "We are extremely pleased to have been selected to supply this project. Cypress Creek Renewables has been instrumental in supporting the growth of the solar industry in North Carolina, generating jobs for communities, and providing passive income opportunities for landowners. As long-term solar project owners and operators, they care about the quality of the systems they install which resonates with our values as a quality-driven organization." Solar FlexRack's solar tracking and racking facilities located in Youngstown, Ohio employ hundreds of people. More than 5,200 tons of North American sourced steel went into the racking technology manufactured for Cypress Creek's Brantley solar farm. "The Solar FlexRack team brings a deep level of solar expertise, ensuring projects are constructed without issues," said Matthew McGovern, CEO of Cypress Creek Renewables. "We are pleased to be working with Solar FlexRack to supply our Brantley project with American-made components widely recognized across the industry for their quality." Solar FlexRack™, a division of Northern States Metals and an innovative leader in photovoltaic mounting and solar tracker solutions, has completed shipments of its G3-X fixed tilt racking system to Brantley solar farm, a large-scale solar project in North Carolina. The 71 MWdc project, which is about 30 miles east of Raleigh, was developed and is currently being built by Cypress Creek Renewables, a leading national solar developer, builder and operator. Brantley Solar Project in North Carolina is being installed with high-quality Solar FlexRack G3-X racking. The solar plant will generate enough electricity to power over 8,000 homes. Steve Daniel, Executive Vice President of Solar FlexRack said, "We are extremely pleased to have been selected to supply this project. Cypress Creek Renewables has been instrumental in supporting the growth of the solar industry in North Carolina, generating jobs for communities, and providing passive income opportunities for landowners. As long-term solar project owners and operators, they care about the quality of the systems they install which resonates with our values as a quality-driven organization." Solar FlexRack's solar tracking and racking facilities located in Youngstown, Ohio employ hundreds of people. More than 5,200 tons of North American sourced steel went into the racking technology manufactured for Cypress Creek's Brantley solar farm. "The Solar FlexRack team brings a deep level of solar expertise, ensuring projects are constructed without issues," said Matthew McGovern, CEO of Cypress Creek Renewables. "We are pleased to be working with Solar FlexRack to supply our Brantley project with American-made components widely recognized across the industry for their quality."

Soltec, a leading manufacturer and supplier of single-axis solar trackers and related services in large ground-mount PV projects, is supplying 2,776 units of its SF7 tracker equipment at an 86.2 MW PV power plant in northern Colombia’s Cesar department. The SF7 trackers will mount around 250,000 solar modules to follow the sun and optimize their yield performance. The plant will generate an average of 176 GWh of clean energy per year, becoming the largest solar power plant in Colombia. The PV plant is currently under construction and will be operational by the end of 2018. “Currently, Colombia's energy generation depends enormously on hydroelectric power plants, which in drought season can be a real problem. This can be easily solved by complementing with solar energy that will also contribute to reducing electricity price,” says Raúl Morales, CEO of Soltec. With this project, Soltec continues strengthening its position in the Latin American tracker market, summing to more than 2 GW of solar trackers supplied in the region. “Soltec is on-track with global and regional expansion plans, and our results in Latin America are especially gratifying,” adds Morales. The Cesar PV power plant will count on wireless communications and a patented self-powering tracker solution. “This self-powering solution enables complete tracker module-fill and supplies the lowest cost operational power available onsite and independently at each tracker,” informs Soltec’s R&D Manager José Alfonso Teruel. Soltec, a leading manufacturer and supplier of single-axis solar trackers and related services in large ground-mount PV projects, is supplying 2,776 units of its SF7 tracker equipment at an 86.2 MW PV power plant in northern Colombia’s Cesar department. The SF7 trackers will mount around 250,000 solar modules to follow the sun and optimize their yield performance. The plant will generate an average of 176 GWh of clean energy per year, becoming the largest solar power plant in Colombia. The PV plant is currently under construction and will be operational by the end of 2018. “Currently, Colombia's energy generation depends enormously on hydroelectric power plants, which in drought season can be a real problem. This can be easily solved by complementing with solar energy that will also contribute to reducing electricity price,” says Raúl Morales, CEO of Soltec. With this project, Soltec continues strengthening its position in the Latin American tracker market, summing to more than 2 GW of solar trackers supplied in the region. “Soltec is on-track with global and regional expansion plans, and our results in Latin America are especially gratifying,” adds Morales. The Cesar PV power plant will count on wireless communications and a patented self-powering tracker solution. “This self-powering solution enables complete tracker module-fill and supplies the lowest cost operational power available onsite and independently at each tracker,” informs Soltec’s R&D Manager José Alfonso Teruel.