Here are the key takeaways from the week in solar and grid edge news.
Solar News
24.1%
The efficiency of SunPower's rooftop PV module, as validated by NREL. It represents a new world record for a silicon module. (story)
$357 Million
The value of residential solar provider, Sungevity, which went public this week after Easterly Acquisition Corp. acquired the company. The deal is seen as relatively underwhelming, but will allow Sungevity to gain access to public markets and remain relevant in the volatile residential solar market. (story)
Electric Tariff Rule 21
The rule that governs interconnection in California. Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission made updates to the rule to allow for greater cost certainty and data transparency for interconnection in the state. (story)
10th Place
Chile's global ranking in 2015 vis-à-vis renewable energy growth. However, forecasters see the market's growth slowing due to transmission constraints, rising spot prices, and a slumping mining sector. (story)
14 Million
The number of solar lanterns sold to date by off-grid solar company d.light. The company announced that it is expanding its pay-as-you-go financing platform to grow its solar homes business line. (story)
Grid Edge News
70%
The decline in lithium-ion battery prices over the past 18 months. This week, the CTO of battery system provider Stem confirmed the company is paying considerably less for battery technology today than it was last year. (story)
10%
The percentage of California's electricity generation that comes from the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. Vote Solar argues this week that the announced shuttering of Diablo Canyon will reduce the need for the periodic curtailment of renewable resources. (story)
36.45%
The percentage of San Diego Gas & Electric's retail sales that come from renewable energy sources, the greatest such percentage amongst the country's 30 largest investor-owned utilities. (story)
2 Chaebols
Reports this week indicate that two South Korean chaebols, LG Chem and Samsung SDI, failed to secure battery certifications for electric vehicles in China, potentially missing out on massive subsidies in China's emerging EV market. (story)
Part 3
The third and final part in a comprehensive outlook on efforts to value distributed energy resources was published this week by Julia Pyper. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.
9 Utilities
The number of utilities in the U.S. that have a mandatory residential demand charge for distributed generation customers. This week, EQ Research takes a look at the progress of demand charges in utility territories across the U.S. (story)
$140 Million
The portion paid by Alarm.com to acquire Icontrol's Connect business. Comcast participated in the deal by purchasing Icontrol's Converge business line. Financials for the Comcast side of the deal were not disclosed. (story)
31 Terawatt-Hours
The estimated power consumption of the approximately 40 million street lights in the U.S. Researchers at MIT have developed a vehicle-mounted sensor technology to provide reliable data to municipalities looking to make their street lighting more efficient. (story)
