Sunrise brief: Great potential for floating solar in the U.S.
Also on the rise: Stanford report finds high electricity prices in California have nothing to do with renewables. Sustainable home takes shape. And more.
Potential floating solar generation is ‘ample’, widespread across U.S. reservoirs
Federally controlled reservoirs have between 861 GW and 1,042 GW of potential floating solar generation capacity, and it is well distributed across the U.S., according to a new study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Sunrise brief: U.S. distributed generation solar panel prices decline on oversupply
Also on the rise: Sunrun fined for worker rooftop safety violation. DC Grid debuts off-grid DC solutions to address growing power demand. And more.
Off-grid solar-plus-storage could power data centers used for training AI models
Firms building datacenters to train artificial intelligence models could power the centers with high-solar microgrids in the southwest U.S., researchers found. The power demand for such datacenters is estimated at 15 GW to 150 GW by 2030.
PG&E granted loan guarantee of $15 billion from DOE
PG&E believes that investing in infrastructure will help it supply the forecasted load growth, increase electric reliability and reduce costs for its consumers across California.
Canadian scientists build micro III-V solar cells with record-breaking open circuit voltage
The proposed cell is based on indium gallium phosphide (InGaP), indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) and germanium (Ge) and has an active area of 0.25 mm2. It can be used for applications in micro-concentrator photovoltaics (CPV).
A novel approach enables comparison of hundreds of generating capacity portfolios
By using a “robust” approach to planning for new renewable and storage capacity to meet future energy demand, stakeholders can identify low-cost portfolios that can be quickly tested against various cost scenarios, said Derek Stenclik of Telos Energy.
Utilities and agencies must come together to build a more reliable, weather-resistant grid
As the heavy majority of the U.S. energy grid approaches the end of its lifecycle, the time is now for a public-private task force to develop a comprehensive strategy to harden the grid and enable technologies that maximize the benefit of targeted investment in the most vulnerable areas.
Moving energy via batteries on railways
SunTrain is hoping to ship renewable energy via battery-powered trains, charged from solar and wind, using rail networks.
Patents to add AI to power grids are surging, says IEA
New patents to integrate artificial intelligence into global grids have grown sixfold over the past few years, with China driving overall innovation momentum. The European Patent Office, co-authors of the report, called for Europe to renew its efforts.
