Joint U.S. House-Senate committee quietly maintains funding for renewable energy, ARPA-E in FY2019
After an attempt to cut EERE and ARPA-E funding by the House, the conference committee has retained funding for both programs at roughly 2018 levels.
California grid operator opens doors for behind-the-meter batteries, distributed resources
A measure allowing behind-the-meter batteries to get paid during periods of electricity oversupply was among the measures approved by CAISO last week. Several of the changes are expected to assist with the integration of higher levels of renewable energy.
Employee owned engineering firm installing advanced electric vehicle charging on campus
Burns & McDonnell, a 6,000-strong engineering firm, is installing a Greenlots EV charging network and integrating it into the company’s campus network. The engineers hope to offer EV related services to their many electric utility customers.
Up to 10 GW more solar, 2-2.5 GW of batteries coming in California
The state’s recent passage of SB 100 and SB 700 is expected to spur a boom in solar and behind-the-meter battery deployment, and pv magazine has done the math on what we can expect.
Scientists claim 10% saving for black silicon cell production with dry etching
Researchers from Michigan Technological University and Finland’s Aalto University say they have demonstrated that the cost per unit of power of black silicon PERC cells could fall 10.8%, despite an increase in cell processing cost.
How solar power saved $6.7 million on a Tuesday
A report analyzing the week of a heat wave in the Northeast estimates that solar power saved $30 million in wholesale electricity costs due to lowering demand at its peak during mid-day – including $6.7 million in savings on July 3rd.
Drones are accelerating solar energy’s cost advantage
In this op-ed for pv magazine, Mike Winn, CEO and co-founder of DroneDeploy explains the value of drone deployment in solar project development and maintenance.
Solar now makes up more than 10% of electricity in five states
Massachusetts has joined California, Hawaii, Nevada and Vermont in the club of states where solar represents 10% or more of in-state generation. Solar made up 2.4% of total generation in the United States during the first half of 2018, with solar and wind together making up slightly less than 10%.
How to install solar power strong enough for a hurricane
The 2017 hurricane season gave analysts at the Rocky Mountain Institute a broad dataset of storm-related solar power plant outcomes, from which they have delivered a list failures and specification for high wind speed survival.
Distributed storage to yield $2-3 of grid savings for each dollar spent
According to a recent study, the benefits of distributed storage would well exceed its costs, making storage a cost-effective resource that utilities must employ under Massachusetts law. The benefit/cost findings may be applicable in other states, to the extent that the Massachusetts grid is representative of other grids nationwide.
