pvMB 3/7/19: PanelClaw Partners with Yotta, China plans a space-based solar station…and more!

Hey evrybody, the weekend is nearly here, but what’s already here is your Thursday edition of the pvMB. Today we’re taking a look at San Diego Gas and Electric’s time-of-use billing, Microsoft purchasing 74 MW of solar energy in North Carolina, HellermannTyton releasing First Solar module-specific wire hardware and everything else that matters today in solar.

March 7, 2019 Tim Sylvia

Image: PanelClaw

PanelClaw Partners with Yotta for Rooftop Panel-Level Solar-Plus-Storage – “Yotta, a developer of innovative panel-level energy storage solutions, and PanelClaw, a global leader in flat roof racking, are pleased to announce that they will be working to develop Yotta’s patented SolarLEAF energy storage solutions as an attachment to PanelClaw’s rooftop racking solution… The SolarLEAF™ system is the world’s first and only thermally protected panel-level energy storage solution. It can be seamlessly integrated in the PanelClaw system and will be placed in lieu of heavy concrete blocks.” Source: Mercom Communications

San Diego Gas and Electric begins mandatory time-of-use billing – As the month changed to March, so too did San Diego Gas and Electric’s billing structure, as the company has instituted mandatory time-of-use billing. Now, instead of being charged for how much energy they use, customers will be charged for when they use the energy. Rates will correlate to “on-peak,” “semi-peak,” and “off-peak” time periods and again fluctuate between winter and summer. A major reason for the shift is the large amount of distributed solaron California’s grid. As the sun sets and the solar stops producing, there is a spike in demand, driving up prices. Source: Del Mar Times

China planning space-based solar station by 2050 – A new space race? Science and Technology Daily, the official newspaper of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, has announced that the nation has plans to launch a solar energy array into space, creating a system that will beam the energy back down to Earth. Furthermore, plans for this system anticipate it to be launched by 2050. Experiments are being done to test the effectivity of of microwaves beamed back to Earth on living organisms. Source: Forbes

102 MW solar plant planned in Virginia – In a historic underselling, ABC 13 is describing the potential 102 MW solar project proposed in Pittsylvania County, Virginia as the largest in the county. Folks, this would be among the largest installations on the entire East Coast. The project would be located on 1,000 acres just off of Climax Road in Gretna, VA. There are, however concerns among landowners and citizens in the area, which has proven to be an issue for large projects in Virginia before. Source: ABC 13

Maine mulls bid for solar on governor’s house – Gross metering hasn’t even been overturned in Maine yet and distributed solar is already taking over at the highest level. A bid is currently being reviewed, submitted by ReVision Energy to develop a solar installation on either the rooftop or property of the Maine governor’s mansion. This is about as close to a 180 degree flip as can be had, considering the previous administration’s lack of interest in distributed solar. Source: WGME

Microsoft purchases 74 MW project in NC from Invenergy – Microsoft has announced yet another investment in renewable energy, this by partnering with invenergy to construct and purchase the power from a 74 MW solar plant in Beaufort County, North Carolina. The project is expected to be completed before year’s end and will bring Microsoft’s renewable portfolio to more than 1.3 gigawatts. Source: Invenergy

HellermannTyton releases First Solar module-specific wire management – There is nothing in this world uglier that poor wire management. Chaotic wires look like an ugly plate of electrical spaghetti. Looking to fix this issue before it becomes one, HellermannTyton has announced the Series 6 RPC Hanger and Series 6 Fir Tree Fastener, both products specific to First Solar’s Series 6 modules. Both can be pre-installed while the module is still on a pallet. Source: HellermannTyton

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