United States

With standardization and automation, interconnection studies “could be completed in months instead of years,” the groups told federal energy regulators, backing up their claim with a detailed plan to achieve that goal.

Also on the rise: Solar growth occurred despite more than a year of price increases. Interconnection delays and costs plague utility-scale developers. Affordable hydrogen-based system for seasonal energy storage could be achieved at a hydrogen price lower than $3. California PUC raises renewable energy target. Impending 3G shutdown may affect inverters: there’s an app for that.

Winter storm Uri that brought a deep freeze to Texas is also bringing insight into grid vulnerabilities, the need for more renewables, and the potential of solar-plus-storage.

Duke has retired 56 coal facilities since 2010, and over the next five years plans to invest in zero-carbon emissions sources including nuclear, renewables (wind and solar), hydro and battery storage.

With 3G set to be shut down at the end of this month, some solar inverters will lose connectivity and stop reporting data. The free Sunvoy app developed by Ipsun Tech addresses this upcoming obstacle by mapping locations of affected inverters, so that installers may swap out equipment at those sites.

Bloomberg finds that corporations procured a record 31GW of renewable energy in 2021, while LevelTen Energy revealed that the growth occurred despite more than a year of price increases.

The California Public Utilities Commission raised renewable energy procurement targets, plans for a more aggressive decarbonization plan, and includes increased reliability provisions.

Researchers from the United States have investigated how fuel cells and electrolyzers may be able to operate under intermittent availability provided by both wind and solar and have found that an affordable hydrogen-based system for seasonal energy storage could be achieved at a hydrogen price lower than $3, produced from inexpensive renewable electricity at $0.02/kWh.

LevelTen and Advanced Energy Economy point to delays in the PJM grid region, in particular. Construction of the 300GW of renewables and storage projects in PJM’s interconnection queue would support 1.7 million jobs, says AEE.

At a recent power finance conference in New York, experts discussed the growing opportunities for installing storage projects, as well as considerations for where the storage markets need to mature to make them more financeable.