The great untapped potential of virtual power plants
We need every tool in the toolkit to improve grid reliability, and we need them now, RMI’s managing director, Mark Dyson, told the pv magazine USA Week audience.
500 GW of solar could interconnect at existing fossil-fired generators
Fossil generators sharing their point of interconnection with renewable generators could be a “mainstream strategy” for integrating solar, wind and storage “at speed and scale,” say four researchers.
Solar wins on cost
On Day One of pv magazine USA Week, a panel of experts explored the levelized cost of energy as well as current challenges to capacity expansion.
ESIG calls for adopting standards for transmission-connected renewables, storage
“Too few entities” in the U.S. have adopted a global standard for transmission-connected solar, wind and storage projects that would prevent future large-scale grid disturbance events, says a brief from the Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG).
Survey shows best fast MPPT techniques for PV
A group of scientists conducted a literature review of almost a hundred fast maximum power point tracking algorithms. They extracted ten representative algorithms and showed which of them works best under different scenarios.
Two utilities share their experience with reconductoring that can enable more solar
While replacing existing transmission lines known as conductors with advanced conductors could enable 764 GW of transmission-connected solar by 2035, some utilities are slow to adopt the technology. Two utilities that have used advanced conductors for years shared their experiences on a webinar.
California farmers developing 20 GW solar-plus-storage plan
The Golden State recently signed AB 2661, granting the Westland Water District authority to develop transmission lines that will enable solar energy and storage projects on 130,000 acres of drainage-impaired farmland.
A high-renewables grid with faster transmission buildout can save $270 billion or more
The U.S. Department of Energy found increasing levels of savings under a high-renewables grid across three transmission frameworks: first, accelerated transmission expansion, then point-to-point high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission, then HVDC using more flexibly sized multiterminal converters.
How our aging grid can manage the surge in solar energy
As we introduce more renewable energy into the mix, we must also address these challenges to ensure a reliable grid that can support the nation’s clean energy goals. Nick Tumilowicz, director of product management, distributed energy management at Itron offers four solutions.
Storing solar power through aluminum-rock composite
UK-based Caldera has developed a new heat storage technology that can reportedly convert on-site generated solar power into on-demand heat, thus replacing conventional gas boilers. The system uses a composite of recycled aluminum and volcanic rocks to store heat at up to 500 C and produce steam.
