Morning brief: Bifacial solar panels stay tariff-free, Musk’s $775M payout, G.E. sells lighting business
Also in the brief: Solar-plus-storage microgrid project at the San Diego Blood Bank.
Used EV batteries for large-scale solar energy storage
MIT scientists have suggested that used electric vehicle batteries could offer a more viable business case than purpose-built systems for the storage of grid-scale solar power in California. Such ‘second life’ EV batteries, may cost only 60% of their original purchase price to deploy and can be effectively aggregated for industrial scale storage even if they have declined to 80% of their original capacity.
Morning Brief: Six Ohio school districts go solar with no upfront cost, two big solar projects are coming to capped landfill sites in New York
Also in the brief: the California Solar and Storage Association has released an eight-point economic stimulus plan of action, PG&E’s restructuring will likely happen later this month, a new solar car, Mark Menezes’ nomination to become Deputy U.S. Energy Secretary and more.
Morning Brief: the North Carolina solar industry has weathered Covid well, Vistra announces battery expansion
Also in the brief: Consumers Energy is providing 100,000 Google Nest thermostats to Michigan households, Tesla has quietly made Model 3 ready for bidirectional charging, SolSmart adds new partners.
The future of cars is electric – but how soon is this future?
According to a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 58% of global passenger vehicle sales in 2040 will come from electric vehicles, yet they will make up less than 33% of all cars on the road.
Morning Brief: Trump administration slaps retroactive rent bills on solar, wind on federal lands
Also in the brief: Lightyear gets a key supplier, a nine-project network in New York, the 25th National Solar Tour of Homes and more.
Overbuilding solar at up to 4 times peak load yields a least-cost all-renewables grid
The global energy firm Wartsila found a least-cost renewables mix for the U.S. that involves overbuilding renewable capacity, but requires no seasonal storage, and needs only four to ten days of multi-day storage capacity. The analysis modeled meeting current uses of electricity, based on projected technology costs for 2030.
Span wins $10.2 million to modernize the home electrical panel, ease shift to solar, storage and EVs
“The standard electrical panel has not seen major innovation for nearly a century.”
Morning Brief: solar is ‘essential’ in New Jersey, renewables generated more electricity than coal in April
Also in the brief: Elon Musk on cusp of a $730 million award, the 16 Camilla Solar Plant has reached commercial operation, a project approved in Maine and more.
Morning Brief: PG&E customers ready to ride out fire season with batteries, are EVs holding back stationary energy storage systems?
Also in the brief: Chinese EV startup Nio has secured a $1 billion investment, Kore Power has entered into a strategic partnership with ELM FieldSight, Nautilus Solar Energy has closed on a $90 million debt financing agreement and more.
