Technology

Alta’s COO: “An agreement has been reached between Alta Devices and Hanergy to allow Alta to bring in outside investors to breathe new life into the company, and to get the thin film GaAs technology leader back on track.”

Researchers see wind and solar headed to over 40% of US electricity generation, even without major national policy. However, analysts project that beyond 40%, the intermittent nature of these sources will drive costs higher without nuclear power than with it.

Soltec single axis tracker research shows greater production in a two-in-portrait configuration versus a single module by just over 2%, driven mostly by lower module temperatures as well hardware design adjustments.

A report from US research labs shows natural gas as the leading reason wholesale electricity pricing has fallen over the last decade across the country, however, looking at key markets it is clear there are larger downward effects where wind and solar have been most heavily deployed.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The impacts of solar on New England’s grid are transforming the needs of the system, and this is new ground for the region.