Solar powered tent eviction, solar worker death, 100% revolutions: pvMB 4/19/18

SunPower plant under investigation after deadly fall – OSHA is conducting an investigation at SunPower’s Hillsboro, Oregon plant after Theodore Erickson fell to his death at the plant. It was Erickson’s first day at the plant, just hours into his first shift when he fell from some kind of portable staircase. Erickson was 27. The investigation could take up to six months. Source: KPTV

Montana State students build solar car – In much more uplifting news, students at Montana State University, hey look at that, another Montana story, are building an incredibly light 350-pound solar powered car. The team is planning on getting the car registered in the state once it is completed and will enter it into an international competition in Austin, Texas this summer. The construction of the car has been a 2-year effort. Source: KBZK

Chint inverters achieve rapid shutdown – “Tigo Energy announced the new Underwriter Laboratories certification of its TS4 Platform Rapid Shutdown Systems with CPS, a North American renowned smart energy solution provider. The CPS inverters listed below were successfully certified with Tigo’s RSS solutions: TS4-F (Fire Safety), TS4-O (Optimization), and TS4-L (Long Strings). Tigo is currently compatible and available with CPS and more tier one certified inverter manufacturing partners throughout the U.S. Contact Tigo about more RSS information for integrated or retrofitted PV installations.” Source: Tigo Energy

Whittier resident with solar-powered tent community ordered to remove it – After ads popped up on Craigslist promoting his tent community for $400 a month, Mark Gutierrez was ordered to remove the structures, which he claims were used to help out the homeless of Whittier, California. Gutierrez also claims that he had nothing to do with the ads in question. The tents come equipped with wi-fi and power via solar panels. Source: NBC Los Angeles

ComEd demonstrates success with Bronzeville microgrid – ComEd announced today that it successfully conducted a test proving that the Bronzeville Community Microgrid can keep power flowing in the event of an emergency. The “simulated islanding” test checked the resiliency of the microgrid by mimicking events that have the potential to affect power delivery, including major weather events or cyber security or acts of terrorism. During the test, a portion of ComEd’s electric grid operated from distributed energy resources to demonstrate the capability of the microgrid to serve the customers in its footprint. The residences, businesses and public institutions served by this circuit in Bronzeville received power from a locally sited battery energy storage system, solar energy and mobile generation. Customers experienced no difference in the level of service during the test and were not separated from the system at any time. Source: ComED

And, to give you something to chew on this weekend:

https://twitter.com/adambrowning/status/1118859815134982144