Innovations in long-duration energy storage
Long-duration energy storage (LDES) is essential for decarbonizing the grid but gigawatt-hour scale systems continue to be tricky for companies with big ideas.
Canadian manufacturer releases carbon-fiber solar panel for boats
Lightleaf’s new 110 W PV module features monocrystalline solar cells from SunPower Maxeon, with 25.1% efficiency. It has a rigid carbon-fiber foam foundation instead of glass, and weighs just 2.5 kg.
Enel adds 2 GW of North America renewable capacity in 2022
Utility-scale solar and wind projects developed by Enel totaled 1.98 GW last year, while power purchase agreements reached 630 MW. The company added three major North American businesses last year.
New lithium iron phosphate battery for residential, off-grid PV
Discovery Battery’s new lithium iron phosphate battery system has a nominal voltage of 51.2 V and a capacity of 100 Ah. Up to six 5.12 kWh battery modules can be stacked in a single enclosure, and up to four enclosures can be connected in parallel for a total capacity of 120 kWh.
Multi-unit housing EV chargers participate in demand response program
The partnership between AutoGrid and SWTCH Energy marks the first demand response program in North America to incorporate EV chargers in multi-unit residential buildings
Sunrise brief: Vertical PV for clean energy and crop production
Also on the rise: Solar total installed capacity to grow 84% in two years. Home Depot to install 13 MW rooftop solar portfolio across California stores. And more.
New method to measure energy yield of bifacial PV systems
Canadian scientists have developed a new way to measure the energy yield of bifacial PV systems. They said they considered the spectral albedo of ground cover like snow and sand to predict energy gains of up to 2%, in comparison with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard.
500 MW compressed air energy storage project in California secures offtaker
Under a 25-year agreement valued at nearly $1 billion, a California community choice aggregator will purchase 200 MW of 8-hour energy storage from Hydrostor’s planned 500 MW facility.
Westbridge boosts capacity of Alberta solar-plus-storage facility
The 40% expansion to 330 MW was undertaken to help the Alberta government achieve its decarbonization goals, with the project providing clean power to 62,000 households.
Sunrise brief: Silicon Ranch brings in $600 million of new equity investments
Also on the rise: Three off-grid solar generators on display at CES. NRG Systems provides monitoring solution for largest PV plant in Canada. And more.
