Technology

Accelerated and unprecedented additions of renewable generation and energy storage will be needed, but the cost of making the shift is far lower than the status quo, a report argues.

SunDown detects and classifies per-panel faults without the need for additional sensors and was developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts.

Six decades of global concentrated solar power documentation make up the bulk of Sandia National Laboratories’ archive.

An international team of scientists observed a cooling effect in a large radius around solar arrays. The cooling may have implications for local ecosystem management.

The laboratories are reaching out to industry to better understand how solar+storage technologies were selected, what O&M activities are being conducted, what data is being collected, and what ongoing challenges and needs exist in this space.

Also on the rise: Massachusetts considers SMART program changes, EV demand could tighten li-ion battery supplies for utility energy storage, and Greenbacker adds to its Colorado solar portfolio.

Cell manufacturers are expected to prioritize larger customers in the automotive industry over relatively small energy storage system integrators.

Also starting up: SolaBlock tapped for sustainability challenge prize, and BlueDot Photonics closes a $1 million funding round.

Solar is growing at an unrivaled rate, and wind is now the nation’s largest single renewable energy source.

Also on the rise: Koch makes a $100 million investment in li-ion battery recycling, and battery energy storage pairs well with solar, says the EIA.