U.S. boosts energy storage 126% in Q2
According to the latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor, a quarterly publication from GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association (ESA), the United States deployed 41.2 megawatts of energy storage in the second quarter of 2016, an increase of 126% over the first quarter of the year. The nation is on track to deploy 287 megawatts of energy storage this year.
Quality: Minor differences in yield percentage make the difference between good and bad investment
Changing technology, pressure to cut costs, dizzying price slumps and a number of other issues make solar module quality control as relevant as ever. The danger that modules could fail outright remains slim, so module reliability is still decisive for the success of the investment, explains George Touloupas, Director of Technology and Quality at CEA, in preparation of the 4th pv magazine Quality roundtable at SPI.
NEC enters C&I storage arena
NEC Energy Solutions has launched the DSS distributed energy storage platform to enter the commercial and industrial (C&I) energy storage segment, offering customers distributed energy management services and a future option of utility services through aggregation.
Solar is displacing gas in California’s summer electricity mix
Increased renewable energy output, including solar, cut in-state thermal generation 20% during the summer of 2016.
The United States and China formally join the Paris Agreement
The world’s largest emitters have committed to the global agreement, but the voluntary nature of individual national plans leaves many doubts.
PID-related performance drop in a solar farm
Some PV panels or batches of modules are susceptible to potential induced degradation (PID), while others are scarcely affected. Currently, many PV farm operators in Europe are experiencing this reality. The third instalment of our “Bring on the Black Sheep” series describes a case in which a module manufacturer behaved in a close to exemplary manner, but the inverter manufacturer made life difficult.
Change is coming: the pv magazine USA weekly digest
The SunEdison roadshow continues as GCL-Poly move in and TerraForm Power holds on to staff, while the SolarCity-Tesla merger trundles onwards despite a few unexpected bumps in the road.
Poor quality planning: Shifting the blame, passing the buck
An installation company in the Midwest reports how blame was laid at their door for defective PV panels. The actual cause of the defects probably lie elsewhere.
NREL: 30% wind and solar are feasible on the Eastern U.S. grid – without storage
NREL’s latest study looks at 25% wind and 5% solar on the Eastern Power grids, modeling the system in five-minute intervals.
SolarCity excluded from participating in Nevada grandfathering decision
The Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUCN) has denied SolarCity’s request to participate in proceeding on whether existing residential solar customers in Nevada should have their net metering schemes “grandfathered,” after the utility added fees to the scheme at the end of 2015.
