Tell the kids, that 50% solar powered future of ours, it’s going to work just fine – NREL says so!
National Renewable Energy Lab researchers hourly modeled the whole of the United States, and when more than half of all electricity is coming from solar power, there would be no technical deal killers, but many spring days with free electricity that we would have to learn to use, and a need to financially recognize the predictability and grid stabilizing attributes of solar and storage.
Solar capacity could soar with electrified transport and heating
With wide adoption of electric vehicles and heat pumps, Colorado’s least-cost grid would reach 21 GW of solar capacity, 12 GW of wind, and 7 GW of storage by 2040, while electric rates would decline. These modeling results apply to other states as well.
Federal grants aim to spark investment in U.S. solar manufacturing
Seven early-stage solar manufacturing firms have won U.S. Department of Energy grants to develop prototypes, which they could use to help attract private investment. DOE’s 21 PV research and development grants may hold more interest for established manufacturers.
Saving water with solar and wind
Scientists at Princeton have found solar and wind energy offer the added environmental benefit of reducing water usage, by comparison with hydroelectric dams. Their findings, say the researchers, could have a positive impact on groundwater sustainability in drought-prone regions such as California, where they conducted a case study.
Do you take this battery, through degradation and replacement, till death do you part?
DNV GL has released its 2019 Battery Scorecard, looking at various factors weighing on battery degradation, with a focus on the financeability of energy storage projects.
Solar (and efficiency) are driving down peak demand in New England
The impacts of solar on New England’s grid are transforming the needs of the system, and this is new ground for the region.
Grid solutions: An interview with Greg Tremelling of Oztek
In this interview, pv magazine sits down with Greg Tremelling, VP of business development at Oztek Corp, to talk about his company’s solutions and where he sees the energy storage industry going.
First Solar advises contracting for solar capacity, not MWh, to enable flexible operation
Flexible solar plant operation can save a utility money. First Solar says it’s time for solar power purchase agreements to catch up to that fact.
Hardware brief: Module pricing falling, Enphase at 450W, sexy solar panels get $3.2 million, more!
We were gone till November, now we’re here. The US Air Force is researching space based solar power, SimpliPhi has discounts on energy storage products for Californians, and ESS Inc has raised $30 million to help roboticize a 1 GWh/year capacity factory to build flow batteries in Oregon!
A penny for your powerlines
Research by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggests that overall costs of transmission needed to integrate variable renewables is between 0.1-1¢/kWh, on top of the 2.9-4.6¢/kWh utility scale wind and solar power costs.
