Do we have enough engineers to conduct interconnection studies?
As two regional grid operators have flagged a shortage of qualified engineers to conduct interconnection studies, pv magazine usa spoke with Kalyan Chilukuri, a vice president with Electric Power Engineers, about industry staffing challenges and measures that might help.
Battery storage operation under net billing provides “virtually no grid value”: Berkeley Lab study
Net billing for rooftop solar, which incentivizes the use of battery storage to maximize solar self-consumption, is inefficient, researchers found, whereas incentivizing battery owners to discharge power during peak hours would provide greater value.
Nearly all smart inverter manufacturers will be delivering smart inverters within a year
As several states will soon require smart inverters for new distributed resources, and more are considering such a requirement, nearly all manufacturers will be delivering smart inverters that meet a new industry standard by August 2023, finds an analysis by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.
DOE aims for wide adoption of the latest energy efficiency codes for new buildings
Energy efficient buildings, which are part of a least-cost strategy for 100% renewables, are being promoted through a $225 million program designed to accelerate adoption of the latest building energy codes by states and cities.
Connecticut to allow distributed resources to compete with distribution grid upgrades
Connecticut would join five other states in enabling distributed storage, solar and other non-wires alternatives to compete with traditional distribution system capacity upgrades, under a program being finalized by Connecticut regulators.
California rulemaking to pursue demand flexibility through dynamic pricing
Less curtailment of renewables and lower customer bills are some of the benefits expected from demand flexibility. The rulemaking follows a white paper last month proposing opt-in dynamic pricing in California.
States that enable distributed storage will make room for more rooftop solar
In half the states, interconnection procedures for distributed energy resources do not yet mention energy storage. To help states remove that hurdle, and several others, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council is providing guidance on a detailed toolkit.
Solar groups call on EIA to provide data on interconnection, outages, and manufacturing
The data would help solar and storage providers to speed deployment, said Solar and Storage Industries Institute and the national solar trade group, SEIA.
Minnesota’s value-of-solar law helps protect consumers from rising natural gas prices, says group
As utility customers face the higher costs of gas-fired generation, Minnesota’s approach to valuing community solar will help protect customers from price volatility, said a director with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.
EVs that meet a new standard will be able to deliver AC power to the grid
The SunSpec Alliance has issued a “test” version of guidance for implementing the electric vehicle equipment standard.
