A new player appears in American thin-film cadmium telluride solar module manufacturing
Toledo Solar is trying to distinguish itself from First Solar’s cadmium telluride dominance by operating in the residential and commercial markets, markets which have been historically unkind to the technology.
Storing wind and solar with new gravity-based system
Scottish start-up Gravitricity is planning a project to store surplus power from renewables at Port of Leith. A 250 kW, grid-connected prototype facility will have its ability to stabilize the network tested. The system involves a 50-foot rig over a 500 to 5,000 foot shaft.
Morning Brief: DuPont Publishes 2020 Global PV Reliability Report, when will renewables pass coal?
Also in the brief: remembering the life of S. David Freeman, farmers in Rhode Island receiving solar grants, JA Solar’s upcoming webinar on the future of PV and more.
Overbuilding solar at up to 4 times peak load yields a least-cost all-renewables grid
The global energy firm Wartsila found a least-cost renewables mix for the U.S. that involves overbuilding renewable capacity, but requires no seasonal storage, and needs only four to ten days of multi-day storage capacity. The analysis modeled meeting current uses of electricity, based on projected technology costs for 2030.
The challenges and tricks of adding battery storage to existing solar projects
Alencon Systems teamed up with Duke Energy to look at some of the challenges faced by a utility when adding a battery storage system to an existing solar installation. DC-coupled or AC-coupled? Grounding scheme?
Morning Brief: NYC replaces fossil plants with storage and renewables, solar boom stalls in Texas
Also in the brief: a look at how pv systems relate to bird mortality, Sunverge has been chosen to manage a Maryland virtual power plant, a solar powered water filtration system and more.
Span wins $10.2 million to modernize the home electrical panel, ease shift to solar, storage and EVs
“The standard electrical panel has not seen major innovation for nearly a century.”
Giant 690-MW Gemini solar project near Las Vegas on BLM land gets the go-ahead
Historic, archeological, and environmental issues have been mitigated. About 70 desert tortoises are being relocated during construction — and the project is full-speed ahead for developers Arevia Power and Solar Partners XI.
Lithium-ion storage is here to stay with no ‘post Li-ion’ era in sight
A German-Israeli research group has gathered to discuss which storage technologies may outperform lithium-ion batteries in the future. They concluded that there is no such a thing as a “post Li‐ion” era in sight. They recommended a “side‐by‐side” approach for multiple technologies in different applications, as well as the hybridization of technologies.
1 MW battery system meets the challenge of supplying power to a remote Alaskan community
Cordova, Alaska, a small fishing community in a remote part of Prince William Sound, has been able to find long periods of fossil fuel independence thanks to a new battery system developed by Saft.
