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.
Solar recycling innovation keeps solar panels out of landfills
SolarPanelRecycling.com uses AI and proprietary processes to separate critical materials from used or broken solar panels, contributing to a circular economy and reducing waste.
U.S. Department of Energy announces $3 billion for battery manufacturing, recycling
Iron-air battery manufacturing and numerous recycling plants are among the projects to benefit from the latest round of Department of Energy (DoE) funding.
Circular economy and solar photovoltaics: Is there a case for second-life PV modules?
What happens to a solar PV module after its expected 25-year operational life?
Interview: Inside solar panel decommissioning
The practical matter of taking a dead PV system apart and moving its components to their next destination has received less attention than recycling and second-life applications. In the United States, Decom Solar is offering decommissioning for commercial and industrial (C&I) solar projects. pv magazine spoke to Decom Solar co-founder Stephen Burns for an update.
