Ford, Sunrun to backup solar homes with the electric F-150
With Ford Intelligent Backup Power and the Home Integration System, F-150 Lightning will automatically kick in to power the home if the grid goes down, while also giving customers the freedom to charge their truck or power their home using their residential solar installation.
Distributed solar and storage owners face one more hurdle before participating in wholesale markets
“Relatively minor” changes are needed in distribution planning and operations before owners of distributed solar and distributed storage may earn money from participating in wholesale markets through an aggregator, says a report from the Energy Systems Integration Group.
What’s holding back DERs: The manufacturer’s perspective
pv magazine sat down with FranklinWH’s Cheung “Gary” Lam to discuss the development process for his company’s first commercialized product, and FranklinWH’s vision for the future of distributed storage in the US.
Cobalt-free, solid-state, lithium-ion battery plant opens in Silicon Valley
US-based solid-state battery start-up Sparks opened a pilot plant for its patented lithium battery technology based on zero cobalt cathodes. The company wants to challenge China’s dominance in next-gen battery development.
Canadian hydropower dam to be coupled with 180MW of lithium-ion battery storage
TransAlta has planned to start construction on the storage facility in March 2023 and to complete it within nine months. The 180MW battery facility is designed to be charged by the existing Ghost Hydroelectric facility when demand is lower.
Industry heavyweights look to solid-state battery cells, resources, and recycling
Mercedes-Benz has teamed up with ProLogium to integrate solid-state battery technology into a range of vehicles; Panasonic and Toyota launched an industrial-academic collaborative research program concerned with battery resources and recycling; and LG Energy Solution plans to spend $2.1 billion with GM to build another EV battery plant in the US.
California bus company installs solar microgrid to power EV fleet
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority will install 34 new bus chargers, solar panels and a microgrid at its Cerone Bus Yard to provide zero-emissions transporation.
Storing excess energy in underground salt caverns in Kansas
The Kansas Geological Survey may help address the challenge of intermittent production from solar and other renewable sources.
Vistra to expand what was already the world’s largest energy storage facility
Vistra plans a third expansion the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California.
Tesla Energy results up, but mixed, for 2021; solar makes nary a sound on quarterly call
On the company’s Q4 earnings call, the world-leading EV manufacturer again prioritized delivering cars over growing low-margin energy storage products, while solar products were barely noted. Both verticals grew though, solar by 68% and storage by 32%.
