John Fitzgerald Weaver
A penny for your powerlines
Research by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggests that overall costs of transmission needed to integrate variable renewables is between 0.1-1¢/kWh, on top of the 2.9-4.6¢/kWh utility scale wind and solar power costs.
Navy engineer wants infrared scanning and disciplined data to stop solar fires
Lawrence Shaw says understanding solar module hotspots via infrared scans can help quell residential rooftop fire risks, while suggesting missing data represents missing work. Shaw also found the missing USA solar fire data.
Residential solar power growing like a “weed”, straining labor
Roth Capital Partners forecasts 25% year on year growth in both 2019 and 2020 for the U.S. residential solar power market. The firm notes that executive interviews are saying Roth’s projections are conservative, suggesting growth in the 30-50% range.
California needs a fast and furious 4 GW build out of new clean energy capacity
A proposed ruling has been submitted extending gas plant lifetimes by one to three years while 4 GW of new capacity, including demand response, is integrated into California’s power grid by August 1, 2023 to meet expected demand shortfalls during the annual September peak events.
Hardware brief: Minimalist racking, optimized car charging, a 10 GWh/year battery factory & more!
Got new hardware tips? Send them to USA-Editors@pv-magazine.com. Mono-PERC module pricing is still nudging downward, Energy Toolbase has integrated Chint energy storage solutions into its software, and Jinko has a new module.
MIT/NASA robot engineer raises $32 million for air-powered single axis trackers
Single axis solar tracking manufacturer Sunfolding, led by the mind of CTO Leila Madrone, has raised $32 million to expand operations surrounding the deployment of its three-component T29 system.
Making fudge with the smartest people on earth
NREL opened the doors as scientists spoke of advancing perovskites with fundamental research, fast drying solar inks, refining solar windows, and actively pushing into high speed, high volume manufacturing capacity on the multi-terawatt scale.
Virginia is for lovers (of solar power)
The State of Virginia has announced a procurement of 345 MWac of solar power from three solar projects under developing, and one pending, with 20-year power purchase agreements starting at 3.4¢/kWh.
New York City trades gas plant for the world’s largest battery
Regulators have approved Ravenwood Development to build a 316 MW / 2,528 MWh energy storage facility across the East River from Manhattan to replace two gas peaker plants in Queens.
Hardware brief: 300hrs/MW install time, multicrystalline pricing at “historical” lows, power tools, more!
These are our tools, our advanced use of them sets us apart from the animals – so be good to your tools! Foen PV makes beautiful steel – some of it for solar, an earthquake caused a gas plant explosion, and Sensehawk is tying together many tasks via AI.
