Solar Energy
Sunlight Financial secures 2B in solar financing through expanded partnership with Tech CU
Sunlight Financial has announced that Tech CU, a Silicon Valley-based credit union, has committed to fund another nearly $2.5 billion in residential solar and storage systems sold and installed by Sunlight partners over the next three years, expanding upon a long-term partnership between Sunlight and Tech CU that began in 2015.
The new commitment is expected to fund approximately 75,000 solar systems, which will produce enough solar energy to avoid more than 7.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
“”We are pleased to extend and expand, for the fourth time, our strategic and long-term collaboration with Tech CU,” said Sunlight Financial Chief Executive Officer Matt Potere. “For more than five years, Sunlight has delivered to Tech CU the best performing loans in residential solar, with the industry’s highest credit quality and lowest credit losses.
“With Tech CU’s support, Sunlight will continue to offer innovative loan products and financial services via our proprietary and highly-rated technology platform, Orange.”
Sunlight Financial offers a comprehensive suite of 5- to 25-year solar loans for a wide range of residential property types. The company is able to deliver both instant credit prequalifications and approvals for solar loans that typically result in lower monthly payments (combined loan payment plus remaining utility bill) than homeowners’ pre-solar utility bills. Orange is accessible to solar installers partnered with Sunlight directly, or through a technical integration with an installer’s platform.
Orange also allows Tech CU to track loans in its pipeline and pull details on loans already funded by it from Sunlight’s dedicated capital provider portal and enables individual borrowers to access information on their loans via a separate consumer portal.
“Over the years, we have built a strong partnership with Sunlight Financial predicated on accelerating America’s transition to renewable energy,” said Todd Harris, CEO of Tech CU. “Sunlight Financial’s high-quality installer partners and underwriting processes are appreciated by Tech CU, and we look forward to extending our partnership.”
On January 23, 2021, Sunlight entered into a business combination agreement with Spartan Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: SPRQ). The business combination is expected to close during the second quarter of 2021.
Upon closing of the transaction, the combined public company will be named Sunlight Financial Holdings Inc. Sunlight Financial LLC will be the new public holding company’s sole operating subsidiary and Sunlight’s existing management team will continue to lead the business.
DGIST enhances quantum dot solar cell performance
by Riko Seibo
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Oct 04, 2024
A research team led by Professor Jongmin Choi from the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at DGIST, in collaboration with Gyeongsang National University’s Professor Tae Kyung Lee and Kookmin University’s Professor Younghoon Kim, has developed a new method that significantly boosts the performance and longevity of perovskite quantum dot solar cells. Their innovative approach addresses a key issue: surface distortions on quantum dots that hinder solar cell efficiency.
Perovskite quantum dots are widely regarded as essential for next-generation solar cells due to their high light-to-electricity conversion efficiency and scalability. However, the process of replacing the “ligands” on their surface often causes distortions, akin to crumpled paper, that degrade solar cell performance.
The research team tackled this problem by introducing short ligands that firmly grip both sides of the quantum dots. This method effectively restores the quantum dot’s distorted surface, resembling the process of flattening crumpled paper. By smoothing the surface, they significantly reduced defects and improved both the performance and the stability of the solar cells. The power conversion efficiency rose from 13.6% to 15.3%, and the cells maintained 83% of their performance over 15 days, marking a major advancement in solar cell technology.
“Through this research, we could minimize surface defects on the quantum dots and stabilize their surfaces by newly adopting these amphiphilic ligands, thereby significantly improving the efficiency and stability of the solar cells,” explained Professor Jongmin Choi. He also noted the team’s intention to extend this approach to other photoelectric devices in the future.
This study, a collaborative effort by DGIST, Gyeongsang National University, and Kookmin University, was supported by the National Research Council of Science and Technology, the DGIST R and D Program, and the New Faculty Research Foundation at Gyeongsang National University. The findings were published in the ‘Chemical Engineering Journal’ on September 15, 2024.
Research Report:Multifaceted anchoring ligands for uniform orientation and enhanced cubic-phase stability of perovskite quantum dots
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Philippines’ Marcos opens first EV battery plant
by AFP Staff Writers
Manila (AFP) Sept 30, 2024
President Ferdinand Marcos inaugurated on Monday the first factory for electric vehicle batteries in the Philippines, calling it the “future” of clean energy.
The Australian-owned lithium-iron-phosphate factory aims to produce two gigawatt-hours of batteries per year by 2030, powering about 18,000 electric vehicles or nearly half a million home battery systems.
“We have worked very hard and tried to do our best to bring this kind of technology to the Philippines with a clear recognition that this is the future,” Marcos said in a livestreamed speech.
“As the first manufacturing plant in the Philippines for advanced iron phosphate batteries… (it) sets the stage for the Philippines to become a player in clean energy storage in our part of the world.”
Located in New Clark city north of Manila, the StB Giga Factory Inc. facility will create 2,500 local jobs and channel five billion pesos ($89.2 million) into the economy each year, Marcos said.
The investment aligns with the government’s efforts to “transition our country to renewable energy”, and would help Manila “entice more investors in renewable energy facilities in the country”, he added.
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Fire breaks out at Chinese battery giant CATL plant
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Sept 29, 2024
A fire broke out Sunday at a factory belonging to Chinese battery giant CATL, which supplies electric vehicle makers including Tesla, but only a “relatively small” impact on operations is expected, the company said.
A CATL spokesperson said no injuries or casualties had occurred at the plant in the coastal city of Ningde, and that “the reasons behind this accident are still under investigation”.
Emergency services were sent to the plant to fight the fire and to organise the evacuation of any people who were inside the 15,000 square metre (160,000 square feet) site, a statement by the Dongqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone said.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze just before 11:30 AM local time (0330 GMT).
It was not immediately clear what was produced at the plant, CATL’s base in the eastern province of Fujian, but the company said the effect of the now extinguished fire would not be significant.
“The impact to CATL’s overall production operation is relatively small,” the spokesperson said.
Videos published by the Chinese business media outlet Cailianshe, and posted on the Weibo social network, showed parts of a large white building in flames with thick gray smoke rising into the air.
AFP could not immediately verify the authenticity of the images.
CATL was founded in 2011 and produces more than a third of the electric vehicle batteries sold worldwide for automakers that include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai.
ehl-reb/des
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