140-474: The Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) is a solar power company with headquarters in Singapore . REC produces silicon materials for photovoltaics (PV) applications and multicrystalline wafers, as well as solar cells and modules. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance New Solar Energy Limited . The previous parent company of REC was ChemChina , one of the largest chemical companies and state-owned by
280-413: A photovoltaic system , or PV system, produces direct current (DC) power which fluctuates with the sunlight's intensity. For practical use this usually requires conversion to alternating current (AC), through the use of inverters . Multiple solar cells are connected inside panels. Panels are wired together to form arrays, then tied to an inverter, which produces power at the desired voltage, and for AC,
420-580: A " Special Relationship " with the United Kingdom and strong ties with Canada , Australia , New Zealand , the Philippines , Japan , South Korea , Israel , and several European Union countries ( France , Italy , Germany , Spain , and Poland ). The U.S. works closely with its NATO allies on military and national security issues, and with countries in the Americas through
560-542: A coordinated, continent-wide military effort. Finally, deteriorating relations between the British military establishment and the colonists, relations that were already less than positive, set the stage for further distrust and dislike of British troops. Following their victory in the French and Indian War, Britain began to assert greater control over local colonial affairs, resulting in colonial political resistance ; one of
700-534: A decentralized government that operated until 1789. After the British surrender at the siege of Yorktown in 1781 American sovereignty was internationally recognized by the Treaty of Paris (1783), through which the U.S. gained territory stretching west to the Mississippi River, north to present-day Canada, and south to Spanish Florida . The Northwest Ordinance (1787) established the precedent by which
840-407: A few prominent industrialists , largely by their formation of trusts and monopolies to prevent competition. Tycoons led the nation's expansion in the railroad , petroleum , and steel industries. The United States emerged as a pioneer of the automotive industry . These changes were accompanied by significant increases in economic inequality , slum conditions , and social unrest , creating
980-666: A global reach. The U.S. is a founding member of the World Bank , Organization of American States , NATO , and the United Nations , as well as a permanent member of the UN Security Council . The first documented use of the phrase "United States of America" is a letter from January 2, 1776. Stephen Moylan , a Continental Army aide to General George Washington , wrote to Joseph Reed , Washington's aide-de-camp , seeking to go "with full and ample powers from
1120-496: A growing number of countries and regions all over the world. The largest manufacturers of solar equipment were based in China. Although concentrated solar power capacity grew more than tenfold, it remained a tiny proportion of the total, because the cost of utility-scale solar PV fell by 85% between 2010 and 2020, while CSP costs only fell 68% in the same timeframe. Despite the rising cost of materials, such as polysilicon , during
1260-587: A high specific heat capacity, and can deliver heat at temperatures compatible with conventional power systems. This method of energy storage is used, for example, by the Solar Two power station, allowing it to store 1.44 TJ in its 68 m storage tank, enough to provide full output for close to 39 hours, with an efficiency of about 99%. In stand alone PV systems , batteries are traditionally used to store excess electricity. With grid-connected photovoltaic power systems , excess electricity can be sent to
1400-691: A limited effect on the users, but their effect on self-consumption of solar power may be limited. The original political purpose of incentive policies for PV was to facilitate an initial small-scale deployment to begin to grow the industry, even where the cost of PV was significantly above grid parity, to allow the industry to achieve the economies of scale necessary to reach grid parity. Since reaching grid parity, some policies are implemented to promote national energy independence, high tech job creation and reduction of CO 2 emissions. Financial incentives for photovoltaics differ across countries, including Australia , China , Germany , India , Japan , and
1540-490: A local user or users. Utility-scale solar is sometimes used to describe this type of project. This approach differs from concentrated solar power , the other major large-scale solar generation technology, which uses heat to drive a variety of conventional generator systems. Both approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but to date, for a variety of reasons, photovoltaic technology has seen much wider use. As of 2019 , about 97% of utility-scale solar power capacity
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#17327874318791680-504: A measure more directly comparable to other forms of power generation. Most solar parks are developed at a scale of at least 1 MW p . As of 2018, the world's largest operating photovoltaic power stations surpassed 1 gigawatt . At the end of 2019, about 9,000 solar farms were larger than 4 MW AC (utility scale), with a combined capacity of over 220 GW AC . Commercial concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, also called "solar thermal power stations", were first developed in
1820-598: A period of heightened, overt racism following Reconstruction, a time often called the nadir of American race relations . A series of Supreme Court decisions, including Plessy v. Ferguson , emptied the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of their force, allowing Jim Crow laws in the South to remain unchecked, sundown towns in the Midwest, and segregation in communities across the country , which would be reinforced by
1960-488: A prominent leader in the early 1960s. The Great Society plan of President Lyndon Johnson 's administration resulted in groundbreaking and broad-reaching laws, policies and a constitutional amendment to counteract some of the worst effects of lingering institutional racism . The counterculture movement in the U.S. brought significant social changes, including the liberalization of attitudes toward recreational drug use and sexuality . It also encouraged open defiance of
2100-579: A rate ranging from wholesale to retail rate or above, as can be excess annual credits. A community solar project is a solar power installation that accepts capital from and provides output credit and tax benefits to multiple customers, including individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other investors. Participants typically invest in or subscribe to a certain kW capacity or kWh generation of remote electrical production. In some countries tariffs (import taxes) are imposed on imported solar panels. The overwhelming majority of electricity produced worldwide
2240-526: A sense of manifest destiny . The Missouri Compromise attempted to balance the desire of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery into new territories with that of southern states to extend it, admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It further prohibited slavery in all other lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36°30′ parallel . As Americans expanded further into land inhabited by Native Americans,
2380-614: A sense of American identity as well. Men who otherwise never left their own colony now traveled across the continent to fight alongside men from decidedly different backgrounds but who were no less "American". British officers trained American officers for battle, most notably George Washington ; these officers would lend their skills and expertise to the colonists' cause during the American Revolutionary War to come. In addition, colonial legislatures and officials found it necessary to cooperate intensively in pursuit of
2520-536: A significant long-term agreement for supply of mono-crystalline silicon wafers to China Sunergy Co. Ltd. Under the agreement, REC were to deliver wafers worth more than US$ 400 million until 2015. It was structured as a take-or-pay contract with pre-determined prices and volumes for the entire contract period. However, in 2009, this contract became the cause of a legal battle between REC and China Sunergy. As spot prices for wafers fell dramatically in 2009, China Sunergy found itself bound to prices well below spot, prompting
2660-447: A source of electricity for small and medium-sized applications, from the calculator powered by a single solar cell to remote homes powered by an off-grid rooftop PV system. Commercial concentrated solar power plants were first developed in the 1980s. Since then, as the cost of solar panels has fallen, grid-connected solar PV systems ' capacity and production has doubled about every three years . Three-quarters of new generation capacity
2800-505: A stall in purchasing, leading REC to terminate the contract. The shares are listed on the Photovoltaik Global 30 Index since the beginning of this stock index in 2009. During the past few years REC's stock price has gradually come down as a result of the demanding times in the solar industry due to overcapacity and heavy price pressure on solar products. Solar power Solar power , also known as solar electricity ,
2940-463: A tenth of their electricity from solar, with China making up more than half of solar growth. Almost half the solar power installed in 2022 was mounted on rooftops . Much more low-carbon power is needed for electrification and to limit climate change . The International Energy Agency said in 2022 that more effort was needed for grid integration and the mitigation of policy, regulation and financing challenges. Nevertheless solar may greatly cut
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#17327874318793080-440: A thin coating of boron. The “Bell Solar Battery” was described as 6% efficient, with a square yard of the panels generating 50 watts. The first satellite with solar panels was launched in 1957 . By the 1970s, solar panels were still too expensive for much other than satellites . In 1974 it was estimated that only six private homes in all of North America were entirely heated or cooled by functional solar power systems. However,
3220-464: A year). Juvenile correctional facilities are operated by local or state governments and serve as longer-term placements for any minor adjudicated as delinquent and ordered by a judge to be confined. As of January 2023, the United States has the sixth-highest per capita incarceration rate in the world—531 people per 100,000 inhabitants—and the largest prison and jail population in
3360-467: Is (or is predicted to become) the cheapest source of energy in all of Central America, Africa, the Middle East, India, South-east Asia, Australia, and several other regions. Different measurements of solar irradiance (direct normal irradiance, global horizontal irradiance) are mapped below: In cases of self-consumption of solar energy, the payback time is calculated based on how much electricity
3500-497: Is a type of solar cell that includes a perovskite-structured compound, most commonly a hybrid organic–inorganic lead or tin halide-based material as the light-harvesting active layer. Perovskite materials, such as methylammonium lead halides and all-inorganic cesium lead halide, are cheap to produce and simple to manufacture. Concentrated solar power (CSP), also called "concentrated solar thermal", uses lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to concentrate sunlight, then uses
3640-591: Is believed to be the first widespread culture in the Americas. Over time, indigenous North American cultures grew increasingly sophisticated, and some, such as the Mississippian culture , developed agriculture , architecture , and complex societies . In the post-archaic period , the Mississippian cultures were located in the midwestern , eastern , and southern regions, and the Algonquian in
3780-455: Is forecast to be solar, surpassing coal as the largest source of installed power capacity. Utility scale is forecast to become the largest source of electricity in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa by 2050. According to a 2021 study, global electricity generation potential of rooftop solar panels is estimated at 27 PWh per year at costs ranging from $ 40 (Asia) to $ 240 per MWh (US, Europe). Its practical realization will however depend on
3920-571: Is key for high self-consumption. The match can be improved with batteries or controllable electricity consumption. However, batteries are expensive, and profitability may require the provision of other services from them besides self-consumption increase, for example avoiding power outages . Hot water storage tanks with electric heating with heat pumps or resistance heaters can provide low-cost storage for self-consumption of solar power. Shiftable loads, such as dishwashers, tumble dryers and washing machines, can provide controllable consumption with only
4060-498: Is known as the presidential system , in contrast to the parliamentary system , where the executive is part of the legislative body. Many countries around the world imitated this aspect of the 1789 Constitution of the United States , especially in the Americas. The Constitution is silent on political parties. However, they developed independently in the 18th century with the Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties. Since then,
4200-421: Is not purchased from the grid. However, in many cases, the patterns of generation and consumption do not coincide, and some or all of the energy is fed back into the grid. The electricity is sold, and at other times when energy is taken from the grid, electricity is bought. The relative costs and prices obtained affect the economics. In many markets, the price paid for sold PV electricity is significantly lower than
4340-438: Is now the United States experienced conflicts with Native Americans, they also engaged in trade, exchanging European tools for food and animal pelts. Relations ranged from close cooperation to warfare and massacres. The colonial authorities often pursued policies that forced Native Americans to adopt European lifestyles, including conversion to Christianity. Along the eastern seaboard, settlers trafficked African slaves through
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4480-569: Is planning to file for insolvency. All of REC's solar cell and wafer production plants in Norway were shut down permanently in 2011 and 2012 due to weak market conditions and prospects of significant negative cash flow. In 2013, REC announced that it would establish REC Solar as an independently listed company, and REC will continue operating in polysilicon business. REC changed its name to REC Silicon in October 2013. The splinter company consisted of
4620-695: Is potentially an important issue, particularly in off-grid applications and for future 100% renewable energy scenarios. Solar is intermittent due to the day/night cycles and variable weather conditions. However solar power can be forecast somewhat by time of day, location, and seasons. The challenge of integrating solar power in any given electric utility varies significantly. In places with hot summers and mild winters, solar tends to be well matched to daytime cooling demands. Concentrated solar power plants may use thermal storage to store solar energy, such as in high-temperature molten salts. These salts are an effective storage medium because they are low-cost, have
4760-489: Is solar, with both millions of rooftop installations and gigawatt-scale photovoltaic power stations continuing to be built. In 2023, solar power generated 5.5% (1,631 TWh) of global electricity and over 1% of primary energy , adding twice as much new electricity as coal. Along with onshore wind power , utility-scale solar is the source with the cheapest levelised cost of electricity for new installations in most countries. As of 2023, 33 countries generated more than
4900-465: Is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity , either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power . Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to convert light into an electric current . Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and solar tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight to a hot spot, often to drive a steam turbine . Photovoltaics (PV) were initially solely used as
5040-552: Is the federal agency charged with addressing most environmental-related issues . The idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since 1964, with the Wilderness Act . The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides a way to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service implements and enforces the Act. In 2024, the U.S. ranked 34th among 180 countries in
5180-768: Is then used for power generation or energy storage. Thermal storage efficiently allows overnight electricity generation, thus complementing PV. CSP generates a very small share of solar power and in 2022 the IEA said that CSP should be better paid for its storage. As of 2021 the levelized cost of electricity from CSP is over twice that of PV. However, their very high temperatures may prove useful to help decarbonize industries (perhaps via hydrogen) which need to be hotter than electricity can provide. A hybrid system combines solar with energy storage and/or one or more other forms of generation. Hydro, wind and batteries are commonly combined with solar. The combined generation may enable
5320-435: Is used immediately because traditional generators can adapt to demand and storage is usually more expensive. Both solar power and wind power are sources of variable renewable power , meaning that all available output must be used locally, carried on transmission lines to be used elsewhere, or stored (e.g., in a battery). Since solar energy is not available at night, storing it so as to have continuous electricity availability
5460-818: The 1973 oil embargo and 1979 energy crisis caused a reorganization of energy policies around the world and brought renewed attention to developing solar technologies. Deployment strategies focused on incentive programs such as the Federal Photovoltaic Utilization Program in the US and the Sunshine Program in Japan. Other efforts included the formation of research facilities in the United States (SERI, now NREL ), Japan ( NEDO ), and Germany ( Fraunhofer ISE ). Between 1970 and 1983 installations of photovoltaic systems grew rapidly. In
5600-463: The 2021–2022 global energy crisis , utility scale solar was still the least expensive energy source in many countries due to the rising costs of other energy sources, such as natural gas. In 2022, global solar generation capacity exceeded 1 TW for the first time. However, fossil-fuel subsidies have slowed the growth of solar generation capacity. About half of installed capacity is utility scale. Most new renewable capacity between 2022 and 2027
5740-603: The Allies of World War I , helping to turn the tide against the Central Powers . In 1920, a constitutional amendment granted nationwide women's suffrage . During the 1920s and '30s, radio for mass communication and the invention of early television transformed communications nationwide. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression , which President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded to with
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5880-553: The Atlantic slave trade . The original Thirteen Colonies that would later found the United States were administered as possessions of Great Britain , and had local governments with elections open to most white male property owners . The colonial population grew rapidly, eclipsing Native American populations; by the 1770s, the natural increase of the population was such that only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas. The colonies' distance from Britain allowed for
6020-817: The Bering land bridge more than 12,000 years ago, and formed various civilizations and societies . British colonization led to the first settlement of the Thirteen Colonies in Virginia in 1607. Clashes with the British Crown over taxation and political representation sparked the American Revolution , with the Second Continental Congress formally declaring independence on July 4, 1776. Following its victory in
6160-549: The Environmental Performance Index . The country joined the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2016 and has many other environmental commitments. The United States is a federal republic of 50 states and a separate federal capital district, Washington, D.C. It also asserts sovereignty over five unincorporated territories and several uninhabited island possessions . The U.S. is
6300-500: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Marshals Service have national jurisdiction and specialized duties, such as protecting civil rights , national security and enforcing U.S. federal courts ' rulings and federal laws. State courts conduct most civil and criminal trials, and federal courts handle designated crimes and appeals of state court decisions . There is no unified "criminal justice system" in
6440-720: The Great Lakes , Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico . British colonization of the East Coast began with the Virginia Colony (1607) and Plymouth Colony (1620). The Mayflower Compact and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut established precedents for representative self-governance and constitutionalism that would develop throughout the American colonies. While European settlers in what
6580-719: The Great Lakes region and along the Eastern Seaboard , while the Hohokam culture and Ancestral Puebloans inhabited the southwest . Native population estimates of what is now the United States before the arrival of European immigrants range from around 500,000 to nearly 10 million. Christopher Columbus began exploring the Caribbean for Spain in 1492, leading to Spanish-speaking settlements and missions from Puerto Rico and Florida to New Mexico and California . France established its own settlements along
6720-524: The House of Representatives , a lower house based on population; and the Senate , an upper house based on equal representation for each state. Federalism provides substantial autonomy to the 50 states, while the country's political culture promotes liberty , equality , individualism , personal autonomy , and limited government . One of the world's most developed countries , the United States has had
6860-596: The Midwest . At the same time, about one million French Canadians migrated from Quebec to New England . During the Great Migration , millions of African Americans left the rural South for urban areas in the North. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867. The Compromise of 1877 effectively ended Reconstruction and white supremacists took local control of Southern politics . African Americans endured
7000-688: The National Park Service and other agencies. About 28% of the country's land is publicly owned and federally managed, primarily in the Western States . Most of this land is protected , though some is leased for commercial use, and less than one percent is used for military purposes. Environmental issues in the United States include debates on non-renewable resources and nuclear energy , air and water pollution , biodiversity , logging and deforestation , and climate change . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
7140-521: The National University of Singapore . Estimated production/capacity REC produce multicrystalline solar cells and solar panels. Estimated production/capacity Numbers not available Plant closed down REC has entered into a significant long-term agreement for supply of mono-crystalline silicon wafer to Suniva , Inc. Under the agreement, REC will until 2013 deliver wafers worth more than US$ 300 million. REC also entered into
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#17327874318797280-652: The New Deal , a series of sweeping programs and public works projects combined with financial reforms and regulations . All were intended to protect against future economic depressions. Initially neutral during World War II , the U.S. began supplying war materiel to the Allies of World War II in March 1941 and entered the war in December after the Empire of Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor . The U.S. developed
7420-778: The Organization of American States and the United States–Mexico–Canada Free Trade Agreement . In South America, Colombia is traditionally considered to be the closest ally of the United States. The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for Micronesia , the Marshall Islands , and Palau through the Compact of Free Association . It has increasingly conducted strategic cooperation with India , but its ties with China have steadily deteriorated. Since 2014,
7560-648: The Pentium microprocessor in accordance with Moore's law , rechargeable lithium-ion batteries , the first gene therapy trial, and cloning either emerged in the U.S. or were improved upon there. The Human Genome Project was formally launched in 1990, while Nasdaq became the first stock market in the United States to trade online in 1998. In the Gulf War of 1991, an American-led international coalition of states expelled an Iraqi invasion force that had occupied neighboring Kuwait . The September 11 attacks on
7700-605: The People's Republic of China , which held its stake in Elkem since 2015 through the China National Bluestar Group. The purchase price was 490 million euros. On 10 October 2021, Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries announced that its subsidiary, Reliance New Solar Energy Limited, had acquired complete control of REC from China National Bluestar Group for US$ 771 million. The predecessor of today's company
7840-534: The Soviet Union's collapse and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the U.S. emerged as the world's sole superpower , wielding significant geopolitical influence globally . The U.S. national government is a presidential constitutional federal republic and liberal democracy with three separate branches : legislative , executive , and judicial . It has a bicameral national legislature composed of
7980-591: The Spanish–American War . (The Philippines was granted full independence from the U.S. on July 4, 1946, following World War II. Puerto Rico and Guam have remained U.S. territories.) American Samoa was acquired by the United States in 1900 after the Second Samoan Civil War . The U.S. Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in 1917. The United States entered World War I alongside
8120-467: The United States and even across states within the US. In net metering the price of the electricity produced is the same as the price supplied to the consumer, and the consumer is billed on the difference between production and consumption. Net metering can usually be done with no changes to standard electricity meters , which accurately measure power in both directions and automatically report
8260-700: The cotton gin made the institution increasingly profitable for Southern elites . This sectional conflict regarding slavery culminated in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Eleven slave states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America , while the other states remained in the Union . War broke out in April 1861 after the Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter . After
8400-486: The electrical grid . Net metering and feed-in tariff programs give these systems a credit for the electricity they produce. This credit offsets electricity provided from the grid when the system cannot meet demand, effectively trading with the grid instead of storing excess electricity. When wind and solar are a small fraction of the grid power, other generation techniques can adjust their output appropriately, but as these forms of variable power grow, additional balance on
8540-537: The fall of communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union , which marked the end of the Cold War and left the United States as the world's sole superpower . The 1990s saw the longest recorded economic expansion in American history , a dramatic decline in U.S. crime rates , and advances in technology . Throughout this decade, technological innovations such as the World Wide Web , the evolution of
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#17327874318798680-445: The largest nominal GDP since about 1890 and accounted for over 15% of the global economy in 2023. It possesses by far the largest amount of wealth of any country and has the highest disposable household income per capita among OECD countries. The U.S. ranks among the world's highest in economic competitiveness , productivity , innovation , human rights , and higher education . Its hard power and cultural influence have
8820-548: The share price of the company soared, reaching a peak of NOK 262 in November 2007, corresponding to a market capitalization of NOK 174 billion. Based on this value, the company was at the time the largest wholly privately owned company in Norway. In 2007, REC decided to build its new world-scale integrated solar manufacturing facility in Singapore, the world’s largest integrated solar manufacturing complex. When completed,
8960-399: The silicon solar cell in 1954. These early solar cells cost US$ 286/watt and reached efficiencies of 4.5–6%. In 1957, Mohamed M. Atalla developed the process of silicon surface passivation by thermal oxidation at Bell Labs . The surface passivation process has since been critical to solar cell efficiency . As of 2022 over 90% of the market is crystalline silicon . The array of
9100-733: The 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord , igniting the American Revolutionary War . At the Second Continental Congress , the colonies appointed George Washington commander-in-chief of the Continental Army , and created a committee that named Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence . Two days after passing the Lee Resolution to create an independent nation the Declaration
9240-408: The 1775–1783 Revolutionary War , the country continued to expand westward across North America , resulting in the dispossession of native inhabitants . As more states were admitted , a North–South division over slavery led to the secession of the Confederate States of America , which fought states remaining in the Union in the 1861–1865 American Civil War . With the victory and preservation of
9380-567: The 1860s was driven by an expectation that coal would soon become scarce, such as experiments by Augustin Mouchot . Charles Fritts installed the world's first rooftop photovoltaic solar array, using 1%-efficient selenium cells, on a New York City roof in 1884. However, development of solar technologies stagnated in the early 20th century in the face of the increasing availability, economy, and utility of coal and petroleum . Bell Telephone Laboratories’ 1950s research used silicon wafers with
9520-684: The 1980s. The 377 MW Ivanpah Solar Power Facility , located in California's Mojave Desert, is the world's largest solar thermal power plant project. Other large CSP plants include the Solnova Solar Power Station (150 MW), the Andasol solar power station (150 MW), and Extresol Solar Power Station (150 MW), all in Spain. The principal advantage of CSP is the ability to efficiently add thermal storage, allowing
9660-466: The 2010s, political polarization in the country increased between liberal and conservative factions. This polarization was capitalized upon in the January 2021 Capitol attack , when a mob of insurrectionists entered the U.S. Capitol and sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in an attempted self-coup d'état . The United States is the world's third-largest country by total area behind Russia and Canada. The 48 contiguous states and
9800-426: The American West have an alpine climate . The climate is arid in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California , and oceanic in coastal Oregon , Washington , and southern Alaska . Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar . Hawaii , the southern tip of Florida and U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific are tropical . States bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of
9940-420: The Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The term "United States" and the initialism "U.S.", used as nouns or as adjectives in English, are common short names for the country. The initialism "USA", a noun, is also common. "United States" and "U.S." are the established terms throughout the U.S. federal government , with prescribed rules. In English, the term "America" rarely refers to topics unrelated to
10080-573: The District of Columbia occupy a combined area of 3,119,885 square miles (8,080,470 km ). The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way to inland forests and rolling hills in the Piedmont plateau region. The Appalachian Mountains and the Adirondack massif separate the East Coast from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest . The Mississippi River System ,
10220-573: The Elder concluded that major military resources needed to be devoted to North America to win the war against France. For the first time, the continent became one of the main theaters of what could be termed a " world war ". The British colonies' position as an integral part of the British Empire became more apparent during the war, with British military and civilian officials becoming a more significant presence in American life. The war increased
10360-683: The January 1863 Emancipation Proclamation , many freed slaves joined the Union army . The war began to turn in the Union's favor following the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg and Battle of Gettysburg , and the Confederacy surrendered in 1865 after the Union's victory in the Battle of Appomattox Court House . The Reconstruction era followed the war. After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln , Reconstruction Amendments were passed to protect
10500-611: The Rocky Mountains, the Yellowstone Caldera , is the continent's largest volcanic feature. In 2021, the United States had 8% of global permanent meadows and pastures and 10% of cropland. With its large size and geographic variety, the United States includes most climate types. East of the 100th meridian , the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The western Great Plains are semi-arid . Many mountainous areas of
10640-647: The U.S. has become a key ally of Ukraine ; it has also provided the country with significant military equipment and other support in response to Russia's 2022 invasion . The president is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces and appoints its leaders, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff . The Department of Defense , which is headquartered at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., administers five of
10780-661: The U.S. territories." Despite disparate systems of confinement, four main institutions dominate: federal prisons , state prisons , local jails, and juvenile correctional facilities . Federal prisons are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and hold people who have been convicted of federal crimes, including pretrial detainees. State prisons, run by the official department of correction of each state, hold sentenced people serving prison time (usually longer than one year) for felony offenses. Local jails are county or municipal facilities that incarcerate defendants prior to trial; they also hold those serving short sentences (typically under
10920-476: The US, residential solar cost from 2 to 4 dollars/watt (but solar shingles cost much more) and utility solar costs were around $ 1/watt. The productivity of solar power in a region depends on solar irradiance , which varies through the day and year and is influenced by latitude and climate . PV system output power also depends on ambient temperature, wind speed, solar spectrum, the local soiling conditions, and other factors. Onshore wind power tends to be
11060-464: The United States and the peaceful transfer of power , respectively. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 from France nearly doubled the territory of the United States. Lingering issues with Britain remained , leading to the War of 1812 , which was fought to a draw. Spain ceded Florida and its Gulf Coast territory in 1819. In the late 18th century, American settlers began to expand westward , many with
11200-714: The United States entered the Cold War, where geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union led the two countries to dominate world affairs . The U.S. utilized the policy of containment to limit the USSR's sphere of influence, and prevailed in the Space Race , which culminated with the first crewed Moon landing in 1969. Domestically, the U.S. experienced economic growth , urbanization , and population growth following World War II . The civil rights movement emerged, with Martin Luther King Jr. becoming
11340-666: The United States has operated as a de facto two-party system , though the parties in that system have been different at different times. The two main national parties are presently the Democratic and the Republican . The former is perceived as relatively liberal in its political platform while the latter is perceived as relatively conservative . In the American federal system , sovereign powers are shared between two levels of elected government: national and state. People in
11480-593: The United States in 2001 by the pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda led to the war on terror , and subsequent military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq . The cultural impact of the attacks was profound and long-lasting. The U.S. housing bubble culminated in 2007 with the Great Recession , the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression. Coming to a head in
11620-597: The United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the Revolutionary War effort. The first known public usage is an anonymous essay published in the Williamsburg newspaper, The Virginia Gazette , on April 6, 1776. By June 1776, the "United States of America" appeared in the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence . The Second Continental Congress adopted
11760-601: The United States, slavery was abolished nationally . By 1900, the country had established itself as a great power , a status solidified after its involvement in World War I . After Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the U.S. entered World War II . Its aftermath left the U.S. and the Soviet Union as the world's two superpowers and led to the Cold War , during which both countries struggled for ideological dominance and international influence . Following
11900-543: The United States, President Jimmy Carter set a target of producing 20% of U.S. energy from solar by the year 2000, but his successor, Ronald Reagan , removed the funding for research into renewables. Falling oil prices in the early 1980s moderated the growth of photovoltaics from 1984 to 1996. In the mid-1990s development of both, residential and commercial rooftop solar as well as utility-scale photovoltaic power stations began to accelerate again due to supply issues with oil and natural gas, global warming concerns, and
12040-541: The United States, despite the usage of "the Americas " as the totality of North and South America. "The States" is an established colloquial shortening of the name, used particularly from abroad; "stateside" is the corresponding adjective or adverb. The first inhabitants of North America migrated from Siberia across the Bering land bridge about 12,000 years ago; the Clovis culture , which appeared around 11,000 BC,
12180-624: The United States, except Iran , North Korea , and Bhutan . Though Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic relations with the U.S., it maintains close unofficial relations. The United States regularly supplies Taiwan with military equipment to deter potential Chinese aggression. Its geopolitical attention also turned to the Indo-Pacific when the United States joined the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Australia, India, and Japan. The United States has
12320-509: The United States. The American prison system is largely heterogenous, with thousands of relatively independent systems operating across federal, state, local, and tribal levels. In 2023, "these systems [held] almost 2 million people in 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,323 juvenile correctional facilities, 181 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons , civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in
12460-559: The arid tropics and subtropics. Deserts lying in low latitudes usually have few clouds and can receive sunshine for more than ten hours a day. These hot deserts form the Global Sun Belt circling the world. This belt consists of extensive swathes of land in Northern Africa , Southern Africa , Southwest Asia , Middle East , and Australia , as well as the much smaller deserts of North and South America . Thus solar
12600-429: The availability and cost of scalable electricity storage solutions. A photovoltaic power station , also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power . They are different from most building-mounted and other decentralized solar power because they supply power at the utility level, rather than to
12740-605: The cheapest source of electricity in Northern Eurasia, Canada, some parts of the United States, and Patagonia in Argentina whereas in other parts of the world mostly solar power (or less often a combination of wind, solar and other low carbon energy) is thought to be best. Modelling by Exeter University suggests that by 2030, solar will be least expensive in all countries except for some in north-eastern Europe. The locations with highest annual solar irradiance lie in
12880-479: The company faced a crisis with falling income and increasing debt. As of May 2010, the market capitalization is down to 18 billion NOK. The large drop in value has been partially blamed on the financial crisis , which caused a near halving of the price of silicon wafers, as well as increasing costs of investments, in particular due to delays in opening a new factory in Moses Lake, Washington . In addition due to
13020-457: The contiguous United States are in the State of California, about 84 miles (135 km) apart. At an elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190.5 m), Alaska's Denali is the highest peak in the country and continent. Active volcanoes are common throughout Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands , and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in
13160-549: The continued weak market conditions and prospects of significant negative cash flow, the board of directors announced in October that REC would permanently close down the production capacity at the oldest multicrystalline wafer plants at Herøya, the multicrystalline wafer plant in Glomfjord and the solar cell plant in Narvik. The remaining Norwegian plant, at Herøya, was closed down in 2012. Its wafer subsidiary, REC Wafer Norway AS,
13300-464: The cost of energy. Geography affects solar energy potential because different locations receive different amounts of solar radiation. In particular, with some variations, areas that are closer to the equator generally receive higher amounts of solar radiation. However, solar panels that can follow the position of the Sun can significantly increase the solar energy potential in areas that are farther from
13440-508: The cost of solar power, which is a problem for countries where contracts may not be honoured, such as some African countries. Some countries are considering price caps , whereas others prefer contracts for difference . In many countries, solar power is the lowest cost source of electricity. In Saudi Arabia, a power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed in April 2021 for a new solar power plant in Al-Faisaliah. The project has recorded
13580-556: The country's GDP. The U.S. has 42% of the world's nuclear weapons —the second-largest share after Russia. The United States has the third-largest combined armed forces in the world, behind the Chinese People's Liberation Army and Indian Armed Forces . The military operates about 800 bases and facilities abroad, and maintains deployments greater than 100 active duty personnel in 25 foreign countries. State defense forces (SDFs) are military units that operate under
13720-469: The country's territory would expand with the admission of new states , rather than the expansion of existing states. The U.S. Constitution was drafted at the 1787 Constitutional Convention to overcome the limitations of the Articles. It went into effect in 1789, creating a federal republic governed by three separate branches that together ensured a system of checks and balances . George Washington
13860-537: The decision to build a new facility for silicon manufacturing expansion in Bécancour , Quebec , Canada . Included in the decision is a 20-year power contract with Hydro-Québec for the delivery of electricity at a competitive industrial rate. In 2010, fully automated and integrated production of wafers, cells, and panels began at the company's state-of-the-art factory in Singapore During 2008 and 2009,
14000-581: The desired frequency/phase. Many residential PV systems are connected to the grid when available, especially in developed countries with large markets. In these grid-connected PV systems , use of energy storage is optional. In certain applications such as satellites, lighthouses, or in developing countries, batteries or additional power generators are often added as back-ups. Such stand-alone power systems permit operations at night and at other times of limited sunlight. In "vertical agrivoltaics " system, solar cells are oriented vertically on farmland, to allow
14140-713: The development of self-governance, and the First Great Awakening , a series of Christian revivals , fueled colonial interest in religious liberty . For a century, the American colonists had been providing their own troops and materiel in conflicts with indigenous peoples allied with Britain's colonial rivals , especially France, and the Americans had begun to develop a sense of self-defense and self-reliance separate from Britain. The French and Indian War (1754–1763) took on new significance for all North American colonists after Parliament under William Pitt
14280-421: The difference, and because it allows homeowners and businesses to generate electricity at a different time from consumption, effectively using the grid as a giant storage battery. With net metering, deficits are billed each month while surpluses are rolled over to the following month. Best practices call for perpetual roll over of kWh credits. Excess credits upon termination of service are either lost or paid for at
14420-586: The dispatching of electricity over up to a 24-hour period. Since peak electricity demand typically occurs at about 5 pm, many CSP power plants use 3 to 5 hours of thermal storage. The typical cost factors for solar power include the costs of the modules, the frame to hold them, wiring, inverters, labour cost, any land that might be required, the grid connection, maintenance and the solar insolation that location will receive. Photovoltaic systems use no fuel, and modules typically last 25 to 40 years. Thus upfront capital and financing costs make up 80% to 90% of
14560-580: The environment for labor unions to begin to flourish . This period eventually ended with the advent of the Progressive Era , which was characterized by significant reforms. Pro-American elements in Hawaii overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy ; the islands were annexed in 1898. That same year, Puerto Rico , the Philippines , and Guam were ceded to the U.S. by Spain after the latter's defeat in
14700-456: The equator. Daytime cloud cover can reduce the light available for solar cells. Land availability also has a large effect on the available solar energy. Solar power plants use one of two technologies: A solar cell , or photovoltaic cell, is a device that converts light into electric current using the photovoltaic effect . The first solar cell was constructed by Charles Fritts in the 1880s. The German industrialist Ernst Werner von Siemens
14840-541: The federal government often applied policies of Indian removal or assimilation . The Trail of Tears (1830–1850) was a U.S. government policy that forcibly removed and displaced most Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River to lands far to the west. These and earlier organized displacements prompted a long series of American Indian Wars west of the Mississippi. The Republic of Texas
14980-606: The first nuclear weapons and used them against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, ending the war. The United States was one of the " Four Policemen " who met to plan the post-war world , alongside the United Kingdom , Soviet Union , and China . The U.S. emerged relatively unscathed from the war, with even greater economic power and international political influence . After World War II,
15120-457: The grid is needed. As prices are rapidly declining, PV systems increasingly use rechargeable batteries to store a surplus to be used later at night. Batteries used for grid-storage can stabilize the electrical grid by leveling out peak loads for a few hours. In the future, less expensive batteries could play an important role on the electrical grid, as they can charge during periods when generation exceeds demand and feed their stored energy into
15260-464: The grid when demand is higher than generation. United States The United States of America ( USA ), commonly known as the United States ( U.S. ) or America , is a country primarily located in North America . It is a federal union of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with
15400-555: The improving economic position of PV relative to other energy technologies. In the early 2000s, the adoption of feed-in tariffs —a policy mechanism, that gives renewables priority on the grid and defines a fixed price for the generated electricity—led to a high level of investment security and to a soaring number of PV deployments in Europe. For several years, worldwide growth of solar PV was driven by European deployment , but it then shifted to Asia, especially China and Japan , and to
15540-463: The integration of Army National Guard units and personnel into the U.S. Army and (since 1947) the U.S. Air Force. There are about 18,000 U.S. police agencies from local to national level in the United States. Law in the United States is mainly enforced by local police departments and sheriff departments in their municipal or county jurisdictions. The state police departments have authority in their respective state , and federal agencies such as
15680-638: The land to both grow crops and generate renewable energy. Other configurations include floating solar farms , placing solar canopies over parking lots, and installing solar panels on roofs. A thin-film solar cell is a second generation solar cell that is made by depositing one or more thin layers, or thin film (TF) of photovoltaic material on a substrate, such as glass, plastic or metal. Thin-film solar cells are commercially used in several technologies, including cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), and amorphous thin-film silicon (a-Si, TF-Si). A perovskite solar cell (PSC)
15820-475: The manufacturing complex was planned to incorporate wafer, cell and module production facilities, with a production capacity of up to 1.5 gigawatts (GW). The development of this site was projected to enable REC’s ability to deliver solar products that can compete with traditional energy sources in the sunny areas of the world without government incentives. In 2008 and 2009 two new factories for multicrystalling wafers were opened at Herøya. In August 2008 REC made
15960-482: The military draft (leading to the end of conscription in 1973) and wide opposition to U.S. intervention in Vietnam (with the U.S. totally withdrawing in 1975). A societal shift in the roles of women was significantly responsible for the large increase in female paid labor participation during the 1970s, and by 1985 the majority of American women aged 16 and older were employed. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw
16100-612: The most attractive to the population are the most vulnerable. The U.S. is one of 17 megadiverse countries containing large numbers of endemic species : about 17,000 species of vascular plants occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of flowering plants are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland. The United States is home to 428 mammal species, 784 birds, 311 reptiles, 295 amphibians , and around 91,000 insect species. There are 63 national parks , and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and wilderness areas , managed by
16240-662: The most violent, the California genocide of thousands of Native inhabitants, lasted into the early 1870s, just as additional western territories and states were created. During the colonial period, slavery had been legal in the American colonies , though the practice began to be significantly questioned during the American Revolution. States in the North enacted abolition laws , though support for slavery strengthened in Southern states , as inventions such as
16380-408: The policy of redlining later adopted by the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation . An explosion of technological advancement accompanied by the exploitation of cheap immigrant labor led to rapid economic expansion during the late 19th and early 20th centuries , allowing the United States to outpace the economies of England, France, and Germany combined. This fostered the amassing of power by
16520-527: The price of bought electricity, which incentivizes self-consumption. Moreover, separate self-consumption incentives have been used in e.g., Germany and Italy. Grid interaction regulation has also included limitations of grid feed-in in some regions in Germany with high amounts of installed PV capacity. By increasing self-consumption, the grid feed-in can be limited without curtailment , which wastes electricity. A good match between generation and consumption
16660-574: The primary colonial grievances was a denial of their rights as Englishmen , particularly the right to representation in the British government that taxed them . To demonstrate their dissatisfaction and resolve, the First Continental Congress met in 1774 and passed the Continental Association , a colonial boycott of British goods that proved effective. The British attempt to then disarm the colonists resulted in
16800-422: The resulting heat to generate electricity from conventional steam-driven turbines. A wide range of concentrating technologies exists: among the best known are the parabolic trough , the compact linear Fresnel reflector , the dish Stirling and the solar power tower . Various techniques are used to track the sun and focus light. In all of these systems a working fluid is heated by the concentrated sunlight and
16940-515: The rights of African Americans . National infrastructure, including transcontinental telegraph and railroads , spurred growth in the American frontier . From 1865 through 1917 an unprecedented stream of immigrants arrived in the United States, including 24.4 million from Europe. Most came through the port of New York City , and New York City and other large cities on the East Coast became home to large Jewish , Irish , and Italian populations, while many Germans and Central Europeans moved to
17080-614: The rocky Great Basin and Chihuahua , Sonoran , and Mojave deserts. In the northwest corner of Arizona , carved by the Colorado River over millions of years, is the Grand Canyon , a steep-sided canyon and popular tourist destination known for its overwhelming visual size and intricate, colorful landscape. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast . The lowest and highest points in
17220-543: The silicon manufacturing facilities at Moses Lake, Washington and Butte, Montana and is based in the United States . At these plants, REC Silicon produces polysilicon and silane gas for the solar industry and the electronics industry. REC Silicon produced 21,405 MT of polysilicon in 2012, and targets a production of 20,000 MT polysilicon in 2013. In 2023, REC announced the REC@NUS Corporate R&;D Laboratory for Next Generation Photovoltaics project with
17360-573: The six service branches, which are made up of the U.S. Army , Marine Corps , Navy , Air Force , and Space Force . The Coast Guard is administered by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy in wartime. The United States spent $ 916 billion on its military in 2023, which is by far the largest amount of any country , making up 37% of global military spending and accounting for 3.4% of
17500-545: The sole authority of a state government. SDFs are authorized by state and federal law but are under the command of the state's governor . They are distinct from the state's National Guard units in that they cannot become federalized entities. A state's National Guard personnel, however, may be federalized under the National Defense Act Amendments of 1933 , which created the Guard and provides for
17640-543: The states are also represented by local elected governments , which are administrative divisions of the states. States are subdivided into counties or county equivalents , and further divided into municipalities . The District of Columbia is a federal district containing the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C. . The federal district is an administrative division of the federal government. Federally recognized tribes govern 326 Indian reservations . The United States has an established structure of foreign relations, and it has
17780-618: The states of Alaska to the northwest and the archipelagic Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean . The United States also asserts sovereignty over five major island territories and various uninhabited islands . The country has the world's third-largest land area , largest exclusive economic zone , and third-largest population , exceeding 334 million. Its three largest metropolitan areas are New York , Los Angeles , and Chicago , and its three most populous states are California , Texas , and Florida . Paleo-Indians migrated across
17920-510: The structure and responsibilities of the national federal government and its relationship with the individual states. The U.S. Constitution is the world's oldest national constitution still in effect (from March 4, 1789). Composed of three branches, all headquartered in Washington, D.C., the federal government is the national government of the United States. It is regulated by a strong system of checks and balances . The three-branch system
18060-407: The system to vary power output with demand, or at least smooth the solar power fluctuation. There is much hydro worldwide, and adding solar panels on or around existing hydro reservoirs is particularly useful, because hydro is usually more flexible than wind and cheaper at scale than batteries, and existing power lines can sometimes be used. The early development of solar technologies starting in
18200-582: The world's fourth-longest river system , runs predominantly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat and fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast. The Rocky Mountains , west of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, peaking at over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado . Farther west are
18340-583: The world's second-largest diplomatic corps as of 2024 . It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council , and home to the United Nations headquarters . The United States is a member of the G7 , G20 , and OECD intergovernmental organizations. Almost all countries have embassies and many have consulates (official representatives) in the country. Likewise, nearly all countries host formal diplomatic missions with
18480-471: The world's lowest cost for solar PV electricity production of USD 1.04 cents/ kWh. Expenses of high-power band solar modules has greatly decreased over time. Beginning in 1982, the cost per kW was approximately 27,000 American dollars, and in 2006 the cost dropped to approximately 4,000 American dollars per kW. The PV system in 1992 cost approximately 16,000 American dollars per kW and it dropped to approximately 6,000 American dollars per kW in 2008. In 2021 in
18620-444: The world's oldest surviving federation, and its presidential system of national government has been adopted, in whole or in part, by many newly independent states worldwide following their decolonization . It is a liberal representative democracy "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law ". The Constitution of the United States serves as the country's supreme legal document , also establishing
18760-553: The world's tornadoes occur in the country , mainly in Tornado Alley . Overall, the United States receives more high-impact extreme weather incidents than any other country. Extreme weather became more frequent in the U.S. in the 21st century, with three times the number of reported heat waves as in the 1960s. In the American Southwest , droughts became more persistent and more severe. The regions considered as
18900-575: Was annexed in 1845, and the 1846 Oregon Treaty led to U.S. control of the present-day American Northwest . Victory in the Mexican–American War resulted in the 1848 Mexican Cession of California, Nevada, Utah, and much of present-day Colorado and the American Southwest . The California gold rush of 1848–1849 spurred a huge migration of white settlers to the Pacific coast, leading to even more confrontations with Native populations. One of
19040-454: Was PV. In some countries, the nameplate capacity of photovoltaic power stations is rated in megawatt-peak (MW p ), which refers to the solar array's theoretical maximum DC power output. In other countries, the manufacturer states the surface and the efficiency. However, Canada, Japan, Spain, and the United States often specify using the converted lower nominal power output in MW AC ,
19180-759: Was adopted on July 4, 1776. The political values of the American Revolution included liberty , inalienable individual rights ; and the sovereignty of the people ; supporting republicanism and rejecting monarchy , aristocracy , and all hereditary political power; civic virtue ; and vilification of political corruption . The Founding Fathers of the United States , who included Washington, Jefferson, John Adams , Benjamin Franklin , Alexander Hamilton , John Jay , James Madison , Thomas Paine , and many others, were inspired by Greco-Roman , Renaissance , and Enlightenment philosophies and ideas. The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781 and established
19320-506: Was among those who recognized the importance of this discovery. In 1931, the German engineer Bruno Lange developed a photo cell using silver selenide in place of copper oxide , although the prototype selenium cells converted less than 1% of incident light into electricity. Following the work of Russell Ohl in the 1940s, researchers Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin created
19460-583: Was elected the country's first president under the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791 to allay skeptics' concerns about the power of the more centralized government. His resignation as commander-in-chief after the Revolutionary War and his later refusal to run for a third term as the country's first president established a precedent for the supremacy of civil authority in
19600-701: Was established in 1996 under the name Fornybar Energi AS. Today's company is a result of a fusion in September 2000 between ScanWafer AS, SolEnergy AS and Fornybar Energi AS. In 2002 REC ScanCell started production of multicrystalline solar cells in Narvik for the sister company REC ScanModule in Glava, Arvika . REC Wafer was at the time the world's largest producer of multicrystalline wafers with factories in Glomfjord and at Herøya . Immediately after its IPO in 2006,
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