Sunrise brief: Tesla battery fire at PG&E facility now under control

Real barriers to virtual power plants  The technology is available for virtual power plants to be rolled out across the United States, argues Jigar Shah, the director of the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office. Their implementation would result in a cascade of benefits, including extending the adoption of distributed energy resources like rooftop PV and lowering electricity costs for consumers.

Three major drivers in solar growth  Three forces are driving solar adoption today: the economics of energy, the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine, and a growing global focus on green and net zero initiatives. What matters is that these three drivers change the dynamics of investment – there is a growing body of capital looking to align with low-carbon, net-zero initiatives. Yet as the debate rages about operational versus overall sustainability, what is the future of solar for ESG finance?

Battery manufacturing ramps up in the U.S.  Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has resulted in numerous battery manufacturers announcing plans to begin production in the United States, supporting the transition to clean energy as well as clean transportation.

Fire at PG&E’s Tesla battery in California is now under control  A Tesla Megapack battery caught fire at PG&E’s Elkhorn large-scale battery storage facility in Monterey County, California, in the early hours of September 21. The fire was brought fully under control by the late afternoon, and its cause is under investigation.

Sunpower launches two new batteries for residential applications  The two batteries have a storage capacity of 13 and 19.5 kWh, respectively. Both lithium-ion systems use LiFePO4 as the cathode material and have a round-trip efficiency of over 86%.