Energy Storage

Directly challenging the bankrupt utility’s system reliability request for proposals, Sunrun has released a paper outlining a renewable alternative: distribution islands with solar and battery backup.

Also in the brief: Engie and JLL develop an energy program for State Fund, Oklahoma Gas and Electric is set to develop solar projects for the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes, PG&E pays Topaz in January.

Elon Musk has spoken of the “exponential” ramp-up of its solar glass tile at the Buffalo factory. Panasonic’s tiles never made the cut for that product

Also in the brief: CVE finances a 31.3 MW SMART portfolio, SolarEdge adds Karamba Security software to inverters, CIT leads $140 million financing for esVolta and more.

MIT researchers model how 4 GW of powerlines connecting the northeast USA to Quebec hydroelectric facilities eliminates the need for up to 60 GW of wind, solar and storage as the two regional power grids approach 100% clean energy.

Also in the morning brief: Maine’s renewable procurement, Scatec Solar’s big South African solar plant, Silfab Solar’s manufacturing expansion in Washington, plus the NABCEP conference is next month.

Yotta has a potential solution for solar-plus-storage in the urban environment. Will the micro-storage startup become the next SolarEdge or Enphase? Or the next JLM energy? And whatever happened to SolPad?

Plus the Rise and Fall of Real Goods Solar, Australian solar predictions and 50 MW of PV in Zimbabwe

S-5! working with a metal roofing company to install two unique products on one site, SMA has launched a containerized medium voltage transformer that ties directly to their big inverters, and – so far – module pricing is flat in China. Send your hardware and service announcements USA-Editors@pv-magazine.com

Plenty of innovative hardware at the show that isn’t a module, battery or racking — as well as services and the Solar Games.