Understanding renewable energy ‘drought’ at solar, wind sites
An international research team based across Canada, China and the U.S. have said developers must stop focusing not only resource availability, and also consider resource variability and resource extremeness, to avoid extreme or prolonged reductions in renewable power generation at solar and wind sites.
City of Phoenix embraces second-life batteries
A pilot project uses remanufactured lithium batteries from electric forklifts to power lighting in a Phoenix park.
Schneider Electric introduces portable solar power station
The OffGrid portable power station provides power for outdoor adventures as well as in hurricane-ravaged areas.
Georgia facility to recycle 10 million solar panels per year
Unlike the single use of multi-million-year-old fossil fuels, solar panels can be recycled, recovering much of their materials for future use.
As more buildings use heat pumps, four technologies can provide grid support
Wider use of electric heat pumps to heat buildings creates a larger market for renewable energy, but also presents challenges, which can be met through building insulation and weatherization, cold climate heat pumps, thermal energy storage systems, and higher-voltage distribution grids, a report says.
IRENA calls for greater gender inclusion in decentralized energy sector
The International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) latest report says that women’s roles in decentralized renewable energy are critical to achieving universal electricity access in underserved communities.
Powering adventure with solar
The allure of the open road is strong in the United States, where highways can snake through breathtaking landscapes. Recreational vehicles (RVs) make adventuring easy but powering portable homes with diesel generators is a poor solution for today’s travelers. Briter Products President Avanti Lalwani tells pv magazine how her company is putting solar on wheels.
Energy storage is a solved problem
There are thousands of extraordinarily good pumped hydro energy storage sites around the world with extraordinarily low capital cost. When coupled with batteries, the resulting hybrid system has large energy storage, low cost for both energy and power, and rapid response. Storage is a solved problem.
U.S. ethanol facility to host steam-generating heat pump
Western New York Energy says it will install an industrial steam-generating heat pump at its ethanol plant in Medina, New York, with a maximum output temperature of 215 C and a coefficient of performance of 2.7.
Sunrise brief: Government nuclear sites across U.S. going solar
Also on the rise: Solar recycling innovation keeps solar panels out of landfills. U.S. solar industry on track to install 250 GW in five years. And more.
