Energy efficiency is a good substitute for long-term storage, NREL study says
Reducing building energy usage by about 60% is key to a least-cost 100% renewable energy grid, the study found.
Sunrise brief: U.S. module supply risk is ‘material,’ warns analyst firm
Also on the rise: SEIA urges an end to Section 201 tariffs on solar imports, CATL signs a battery deal with startup EV maker Fisker, and Solar Landscape wins 46 community solar projects in New Jersey.
When oversized is really the right size
Researchers concluded that wind and solar generation resources that were sized at 1.5x along with three hours of energy storage would meet all but 200 hours of demand scattered throughout any given year.
Honeywell, Duke Energy partner on flow battery test project
The battery, which uses an electrolyte to convert chemical energy into electricity for storage and deployment, will begin testing in 2022 at Duke Energy’s Emerging Technology and Innovation Center in Mount Holly, North Carolina.
Watch: Solar panels blasted with sound to better understand microcracking
Researchers at NREL and EPRI focused heavy bass sounds on solar panels to simulate the effects of wind-caused deflection.
Early results of utility scale solar+storage revenue models
Adding batteries to solar increases revenue in different ways in different places.
Sunrise brief: Calculating the economic lift offered by community solar
Also on the rise: Polysilicon prices are likely to stay high as a ‘crazy year’ extends into ’22, Hawaiian Electric is seeking energy and capacity, and the latest landfill-hosted solar array enters service.
Researchers probe light-induced degradation that impacts silicon solar cells
Light-induced degradation (LID) shaves the efficiency of silicon solar cells by about 2%, which adds up to a significant drop in power output over the lifespan of the technology deployed in the field.
Sunrise brief: Customer-sourced power makes it into a utility’s resource plan
Also on the rise: SolRiver Capital buys an Oregon solar development portfolio, Swell Energy expands its distributed power plant model, and a shift in focus is coming to a DOE loan program.
EIA global forecast sees a resurgence of coal for electric power
Solar and wind will grow, but coal will again be cost competitive, reversing what EIA said was a trend observed over recent decades.
