Solar PV manufacturing conference: One of the upcoming destinations for solar PV manufacturing beyond China is India, where companies are gathering support from technologists and scientists to develop an upstream value chain. The idea is not just to establish vertical integration, but also to make it a resilient and sustainable one. TaiyangNews is bringing together the country’s leading solar PV players and international experts to discuss the progress of solar PV manufacturing in the Asian country in a 2-day physical event in New Delhi, India, on April 10 and 11, 2025. At the event, the Director of Technology—International Business Unit at LAPLACE, Dr. Josua Stückelberger, will talk about cutting-edge production equipment for TOPCon & beyond. Registrations for the TaiyangNews Solar Technology Conference India 2025 are now open here, where you can also take a look at the list of speakers and insightful sessions planned.
300 MW California project moves forward: California Governor Gavin Newsom has streamlined a 300 MW AC Cornucopia Hybrid Solar and Battery Storage project in California’s Fresno region. This facility with 300 MW AC battery storage capacity will accelerate the project build. Germany’s BayWa r.e. is developing the project, now cleared by Newsom under SB 149 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which allows the Governor to certify eligible clean energy and green housing projects for judicial streamlining. These CEQA-certified projects need to be decided upon by the courts within 270 days.
$55 million for Mission Clean Energy: Danish multinational energy company Ørsted has made a $55 million strategic investment in Mission Clean Energy in the US. It will enable utility-scale renewable energy developer Mission to expand its pipeline of solar and storage projects across the US. Ørsted will evaluate the acquisition of select projects to augment its development pipeline. The investment builds on an existing partnership between the 2 companies to build out 4 standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the Midwest.
180 MW Lightsource bp project online: British solar projects developer Lightsource bp has commissioned its 180 MW DC Prairie Ronde Solar Project in Louisiana. Located in St. Landry Parish, the facility uses home-grown solar PV products, namely modules from First Solar, and smart solar trackers from Array Technologies. The developer said this $170 million privately funded solar farm aims to increase America’s renewable energy dominance, revitalize domestic manufacturing, and drive investment into communities historically reliant on conventional energy sources.
321 MW DC solar plant for Meta: Meta Platforms-contracted 321 MW DC/238 MW AC True North Solar Project has been commissioned by Iberdrola Group’s Avangrid in Texas. It is now delivering electricity to the local grid and supporting Meta’s operations, including its upcoming data center in Temple. Array Technologies has supplied its solar trackers for the project, with many of the tracker materials sourced from Array’s Albuquerque facility in New Mexico.
SolarBank lands $1.6 million: Distributed and community solar developer SolarBank Corporation has received approval for $1.06 million in incentives from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). These relate to the 3.26 MW DC ground-mounted Camillus Solar Project of the company under the NY-Sun Program. The company recently sold the project to Solar Advocate Development LLC for $7.3 million. SolarBank will now construct this community solar project for the new owners.