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And the threat to solar-power systems could grow as U.S. solar power capacity could more than double in the next five years, according to projections.

The Middle East continues its slow but steady solar march, with Tunisia unveiling a 500 MW tender in May. The plan is to build a 200 MW solar plant in the province of Tatouine, the Sahara Desert, two 100 MW PV facilities in the provinces of Kaiouran and Gafsca, and two more 50 MW solar parks in the provinces of Sidi Bouzid and Tozeur. The launch of the tender came a week after the closing of a 70 MW solar tender, which was announced a year previously.

Although it would be nice to continue producing the Volt, GM needed to stop making it due in part to changing consumer preferences for SUVs, he said. The company also lost money on every Volt, cash that is needed for research on autonomous vehicles and more advanced electric cars, he said.

The temperature coefficient of a GaN FET’s on-resistance is positive like the silicon MOSFET, but the magnitude is significantly less. Compared to a silicon semiconductor, GaN’s higher electron mobility enables a smaller-size device for a given on-resistance and breakdown voltage. As a result, GaN devices can be physically smaller and have electrical terminals closer together for a given breakdown voltage requirement.

The solar pilot at Barcadera was installed by Dutch company Oskomera Solar Power Solutions. WEB works with the Dutch grid operator Stedin for optimal use of the solar supply on Bonaire.

Cronin’s team is working to increase the energy density of flow batteries by creating electrolyte with a high concentration of metal oxide. Cushman’s team announced on Feb. 7 that they had created a liquid battery with three to five times the usual energy density by pumping the electrolyte through multiple battery cells at high speed.

It shouldn’t be surprising to learn that the first floating photovoltaic system was built in population-dense Japan in 2007, according to a report by the World Bank. The United States was an early adopter, with the first commercial installation atop a reservoir near a California winery in 2008. (Apparently, the vintner believed the land could be better used to grow more grapes for overpriced Merlot.) Of course, it didn’t take long for China to get into the act, finding yet another way to kick America’s ass in tech to become the leader in the floating solar PV industry.

“These new series are our first 650V SiC Schottky diode offerings; all our previous releases were 1200V-rated devices, so we can now address a wider range of applications and further complement the Littelfuse SiC MOSFET portfolio,” says Christophe Warin, Silicon Carbide product marketing manager in Littelfuse’s Semiconductor business unit. “Their AEC-Q101 qualification puts these diodes in a higher class than similar devices in terms of quality and reliability,” he adds.

Top most power analyzer: LMG671. Dual path path feature with accuracy as high as 0.015%. Right power channel for your measurement (A/B/C channels).

“We don’t think customers need lithium if it’s just sitting there for backup; it’s a waste of money,” he says. “If you are on the grid, then take advantage of it. You can go with lower cost AGM batteries that last 10-plus years. If you have the grid where you are, get AGM batteries and use them as backup or slightly used and don’t necessarily deep cycle them. If you’re totally off grid, then we recommend lithium or carbon-based AGM that have four to five times the cycle life. You can minimize your usage of the grid, but do it to keep your battery bank at a reasonable cost/size. If you were to try going completely off grid with a traditional size home, the battery cost would make you cry.”

Hydrogen is more established in the commercial market. There are more than 23,000 fuel cell-powered forklifts in operation at warehouses and distribution centers across the U.S. in more than 40 states, including at Amazon and Walmart facilities. There are dozens of fuel cell buses in use or planned in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Massachusetts, as well as California.