DOE pumps $115 million into clean energy R&D for small businesses
The latest part of the Biden administration’s Build Back Better pledge, the funding will go to grid modernization, carbon removal, renewable energy and energy storage, among other technologies.
Sunrise brief: A Texas-sized ‘oops’ for grid operator ERCOT
Also on the rise: Researchers use AI to model how grid failures cascade in a disaster, VEIR raises capital for its novel transmission line technology, NV Energy issues a community solar RFP, Freedom Solar gains two new partners, and Daqo New Energy signs a polysilicon supply deal.
‘Report card’ hands the energy sector a C- for infrastructure. It’s an improvement.
The report from the American Society of Civil Engineers said renewables are driving an increase in electric transmission infrastructure spending. But reliability remain a problem, as Texas can attest.
Sunrise brief: Hit with a $1.8 billion bill, a Texas co-op files Chapter 11
Also on the rise: Siemens Energy will assess its hydrogen technology to supply a Utah power plant, and Hyzon Motors will build a plant to bolster the fuel cell supply chain for big trucks.
NREL looks at barriers to lithium-ion battery recycling and sees opportunities
The analysts assessed the current state of reuse and recycling of large-format lithium-ion batteries used in EVs and battery energy storage and found there is plenty of room for improvement.
California’s rate inequality is likely to worsen as energy transition advances
A new report says that the state’s investor-owned utilities charge residential electricity customers much higher prices than are paid in most of the country, impacting low- and moderate-income people the most.
These 3 technologies could deliver more solar and wind to the grid
In a U.S. study of the added renewables capacity made possible by grid-enhancing technologies, Brattle Group found that both solar and wind power would benefit in Kansas and Oklahoma through 2025.
Sunrise brief: Air Force funds development of solar PV sheets for use in space
Also on the rise: Volta Energy fund nets $72.6 million for battery and storage startups, and Brooklyn libraries add rooftop solar to power safe-haven emergency services.
As Texas recovers, report warns grid operators to plan better for extreme weather
Grid planning fails to consider extreme climate scenarios that a resilient grid needs to handle, said EPRI’s president and CEO. “Traditional planning processes do not represent how resources actually perform under extreme conditions.”
3 graphs that shed light on the ERCOT power crisis
Data firm Lium concluded that ERCOT “probably needed at least another 17 GW of generation” to meet demand as cold winter weather settled in over the state.
