Colorado enshrines energy storage as a right
A four-page bill signed by the state’s governor declares that the installation of energy storage by utility customers is in the public interest, and prohibits discriminatory charges or regulatory burdens from interfering with this.
EIA looks at why solar cost estimates vary
Three separate organizations under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Energy track various aspects of utility scale solar power plant’s costs, and are producing very different numbers.
JinkoSolar reveals details of Jacksonville factory in filing
The plant will make modules based on 158.75 mm square P-type mono PERC cells, and JinkoSolar plans to begin operation in October.
U.S. solar module to inverter ratio settles in around 1.25
The DC-AC ratio of U.S. solar plants has been increasing since it measured at just over 1.1 in 2001-2009, however, the average seems to have flattened at just above 1.25 in recent years.
SunPower’s exemption filing strikes to heart of trade dispute
The company is noting its substantial investment in U.S. research and development as well as tools, has further hinted that it may establish U.S. manufacturing for its P-Series modules.
Natcore develops new processes for foil cell
Rochester, New York based technology company Natcore has announced two new processes, which it says could dramatically reduce production costs of its foil cell, which it has been working to commercialize for the past couple of years.
Arizona regulators rebuff utilities, order turn from gas to renewables
As an historic first, the Arizona Corporation Commission has voted not to acknowledge the gas-heavy energy resource plans of utilities, and is pushing instead an aggressive clean energy plan by one of its members.
Pilot project for flywheel storage underway in Hawaii
Utility Hawaiian Electric has announced the start of operations of a pilot project featuring flywheel energy storage technology provided by Amber Kinetics. The project will test the technology’s capability of supporting the grid and allowing further integration of renewable generation.
Berkeley Lab scientists confirm century-old theory of high performance batteries
Researchers in the U.S. have confirmed the existence of a novel state of the element manganese, first proposed in a journal dating from 1928, which could allow for the development of low-cost, high performance batteries for grid level and other energy storage applications.
Solar to help Texas meet this summer’s peak demand
The state is expecting nearly 400 MW of additional utility-scale solar by this summer, as the most significant source of new generation to help it meet summer peak capacity needs.
