Battery adoption skyrocketed in the 2010s and lithium-ion reigns supreme
A new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration takes a look at the surge in battery adoption over the past decade, with focuses on legacy and emerging markets, as well as how other technologies stack up against lithium-ion.
Morning Brief: California ISO brings the largest battery storage resource in the nation online
Also in the brief: IREC on energy storage interconnection, Wunder Capital and partners to invest more than $100 million in U.S. commercial solar, Photosol buying land rights near coal plants with eye toward transmission, and NREL on recycling solar panels.
Freedom Solar posts most profitable quarter ever
A record-setting 2019 has led into an even stronger 2020, with the company hoping to ramp up success in the typically-busy second half of the year.
Update on Natron Energy, sodium-ion battery builder with $35M from ABB, Khosla, Chevron
The startup is “going after some applications that have been traditionally lead acid and some that have been lithium ion. Think ultra-fast discharges, unbelievable cycle lives, low cost, and non-toxic materials.”
Victory for wholesale energy storage, but does Order 841 allow FERC to assault net metering?
Order 841 lets regional transmission operators create wholesale markets for energy storage — potentially including fleets of behind-the-meter storage systems.
Morning Brief: newer solar equipment ages gracefully, Solar FlexRack provides trackers for 14 MW of projects
Also in the brief: nearly 1 MW of solar has been installed on the roof of a 300,000-square-foot Kroger bakery facility, a big-rig driver installing solar on his truck, camouflage for solar panels and more.
Longroad just completed financing and sale of the 294-MW Muscle Shoals solar project to Ørsted
Longroad CEO: “There is definitely not an oversupply of tax equity.”
Project Suppliers: First Solar modules, Nextracker trackers and inverters from Power Electronics
LF Energy and the pursuit of a modularized grid
In hopes of creating a grid that is modular, flexible and more resilient than the current one, LF Energy has launched its Digital Substation Automation Systems initiative, which looks to make interoperable substations that are both hardware and software agnostic.
Morning Brief: The long, sad story of Stion has ended, RMI launches climate-aligned finance group
Also in the brief: Florida Power & Light quietly reduces solar commitment, and new MWT BIPV from Sunport Power.
Discriminatory rooftop solar charges may violate antitrust law
The U.S. Department of Justice has argued that in Arizona, a utility’s discriminatory charges for rooftop solar owners can be “unlawful.” The Center for Biological Diversity also supported the four rooftop solar owners whose lawsuit has progressed, arguing the legal significance of Arizona’s renewables goals.
