Sunrise brief: Clouds and storms are impacted by lingering wildfire particles, researchers say
Also on the rise: Coal is down but not out as nukes and gas are forecast to decline in 2021, solar for an airport enters service, and landfill gas flows for SoCalGas from a facility slated to add a battery energy storage system.
New optical coating could extend lifetime of solar PV cells
The research project is a collaboration between Case Western Reserve University in Ohio and the University of Rochester in New York.
University of Wyoming, 9H partner on a 3 MW solar research facility for students
The solar installation will use First Solar Series 6 modules and the research facility will return up to $10 million to the university through energy savings and services.
Sunrise brief: A Texas-sized ‘oops’ for grid operator ERCOT
Also on the rise: Researchers use AI to model how grid failures cascade in a disaster, VEIR raises capital for its novel transmission line technology, NV Energy issues a community solar RFP, Freedom Solar gains two new partners, and Daqo New Energy signs a polysilicon supply deal.
Sunrise brief: Hit with a $1.8 billion bill, a Texas co-op files Chapter 11
Also on the rise: Siemens Energy will assess its hydrogen technology to supply a Utah power plant, and Hyzon Motors will build a plant to bolster the fuel cell supply chain for big trucks.
NREL looks at barriers to lithium-ion battery recycling and sees opportunities
The analysts assessed the current state of reuse and recycling of large-format lithium-ion batteries used in EVs and battery energy storage and found there is plenty of room for improvement.
California’s rate inequality is likely to worsen as energy transition advances
A new report says that the state’s investor-owned utilities charge residential electricity customers much higher prices than are paid in most of the country, impacting low- and moderate-income people the most.
As Texas recovers, report warns grid operators to plan better for extreme weather
Grid planning fails to consider extreme climate scenarios that a resilient grid needs to handle, said EPRI’s president and CEO. “Traditional planning processes do not represent how resources actually perform under extreme conditions.”
3 graphs that shed light on the ERCOT power crisis
Data firm Lium concluded that ERCOT “probably needed at least another 17 GW of generation” to meet demand as cold winter weather settled in over the state.
Sunrise brief: Southeast utilities ask FERC for market changes that could help renewables
Also on the rise: ERCOT orders rolling blackouts as 30 GW of resources are forced out, PNM shareholders OK merger with Avangrid, location is key when talking about DERs, and Dominion claws back from a big ice storm.
