pv magazine tackles extreme weather, resiliency, the future of storage and more in Virtual Roundtables USA
The new-look discussions dove into all things shaping the solar industry and renewable energy as a whole in 2020, including the global pandemic, extreme weather and natural disasters, the election and more, all presented in the light of rapidly-changing technologies and materials.
Morning Brief: MIT spinoff developing next-gen CSP, The fate of the storage ITC in a split congress
MIT-spinoff 247Solar’s hot-air-driven Brayton Cycle system “operates at atmospheric pressure and requires no steam, molten salts, or heat transfer oils” and stores heat in ceramic pellets instead of molten salts. Also — more confusion for FERC chair Neil Chatterjee
Vanderbilt University, Nashville sign power contracts for 125 MW solar project
The new installation is being developed by Silicon Ranch in Tullahoma and will help Vanderbilt become 100% renewably powered, while bringing the City one-third closer to its RPS goals.
Global solar module demand will grow 15% and reach 143 GW in 2021
PV Infolink finds that global solar panel demand may increase by 15% next year — driven by the completion of projects that were delayed by the pandemic.
The US installed 4.5 GW of utility-scale solar in 2019
For the third year in a row, more utility-scale solar was installed in the Southeast than any other region in the country, while trackers dominate the mounting market.
FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee, open to carbon pricing and renewables, is demoted by Trump
Important FERC orders that initiated energy storage and DER markets happened on Chattejee’s watch.
Australia makes another massive battery play
The state of Victoria is on track to host one of the world’s largest lithium-ion batteries. The 300 MW/450 MWh Victoria Big Battery will be constructed on the outskirts of Geelong.
Clean energy election roundup: Nevada to go 50% renewable by 2030, Columbus 100% by 2023
A number of important clean energy initiatives were on the ballot across the country: Boulder, Colorado’s effort to form a municipal utility, Denver’s clean-energy-focused sales tax increase — plus one major utility in Wisconsin’s unprecedented commitment to solar.
Morning Brief: Trump lies about fracking employment, Feds revive and seek input on west energy corridor
Also: Don’t build a battery that costs $1 billion, only works 2% of the time and only moves around 100 GWh of electricity. Instead, build an Energy Imbalance Market or an Extended Day Ahead Market for $100 million that moves around hundreds of GWh of electricity
Unbound Solar busts residential solar myths
After surveying 1,000 people who have either installed or strongly considered installing solar on their homes, Unbound Solar has identified many of the common misconceptions and concerns that could be holding back residential solar development.
