Technology

One of the best tools that would allow utilities to meet their central stated mission of providing a stable electricity supply is one they are fighting the hardest.

NREL has released an inaugural report highlighting utility scale energy storage costs with various methods of tying it to solar power: co-located or not, and DC- vs AC-coupled.

NREL’s Q1 2018 cost report for solar power systems saw a 5% drop in residential costs and a 2.6% fall in commercial, but a 1-2% increase in the utility scale space compared to the previous year.

pv magazine brings you video coverage of our Future PV Roundtable at SPI 2018, which looked at technology development from the cell to the grid level.

In this interview pv magazine talks with the chief research officer at the United States’ foremost clean energy laboratory about the work that NREL has been doing, and what to expect for the future of electricity and transportation.

Ensync has begun work on a microgrid tying together 48 kW of vertical wind turbines, 495 kW of rooftop solar, and 730 kWh of energy storage.

Alta Devices’ gallium arsenide solar research cells have been certified with a 29.1% efficiency, setting a new single junction solar cell efficiency record.

Distributed energy management systems can capture added value from solar and storage by shaving peak loads, providing grid services, and deferring grid investments. Utilities testing such systems have shared their lessons learned, while Western Australia leapfrogs ahead.

The Solar Energy Technologies Office is seeking feedback from solar professionals on what topics it ought research within solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, systems integration and soft cost reduction.

In this latest version of the Suncast podcast, pv magazine Americas Editor Christian Roselund talks about the feasibility of the 100% renewable electricity targets being considered.