Repowering solar power plants for need and greed
Alencon’s silicon carbide-based SPOT allows for repowering solar power plants that need to replace 600V inverters with newer 1000V/1500V gear, or for those that wish to maximize electricity generation at ageing and imperfect facilities with creative engineering techniques.
2,000 gigawatts of solar power needed for 100% renewables
Stanford researchers have a plan that would balance 2,000 GW of solar capacity and 2,300 GW of wind power with 3,300 GW of battery capacity and a large amount of flexible load. Consumers would save 64% on total energy bills, partly from electrification of transportation and heating.
Florida municipal utilities should look to Florida Power & Light for guidance
Daren Goldin, CEO of Goldin Solar, describes the flaws in reasoning behind fixed-rate increase proposals and suggests that utilities instead focus on creating value for customers and exploring business models to benefit customers and their bottom lines.
Hardware brief: mobile military microgrid, $2500 EV tax credit, solar module pricing down, more!
It’s the start of the near year, it’s the start of new gear! Solpad offers an on-the-roof energy storage solution that can easily be scaled upward; Northern Reliability has been chosen to develop a easily movable battery and controllers for the US Navy; Solarrainframe has a mechanical solution to keeping dry under carports, more!
Delmarva Power’s demand charges beaten by Delaware man
State regulators have sided with a man who filed a protest against the power company over an unlisted $500+ demand charge on his monthly electric bill.
SunCast Episode 211 – History of Shoals w/ Dean Solon & Ben Macias
In this episode of SunCast, Nico is joined by Dean Solon and Ben Macias of Shoals technologies to discuss how and why Dean started shoals, what makes Shoals tick and what keeps them at the bleeding and leading edge of the solar revolution.
Pragmatic projection sees solar power nearly tripling in roaring 2020s
NREL’s 2019 Standard Scenarios Report looks at 36 models to project what energy sources the USA might use going forward, and what variables might drive that – with the mid-case projections suggesting wind+solar power meeting 28% of all electricity demand.
St. Louis passes solar-ready construction mandate
All new commercial and residential buildings in the city must have reserved rooftop sections so that solar could be easily installed upon them if need be, according to a new law passed on December 23.
Why don’t early-stage VCs invest in solar any more?
How will solar startups innovate in the 2020s? Where are the disruptive PV technologies?
New York seeks successor to solar power net metering
The state commission is seeking to wean solar customers off of pure net metering charges, while starting to provide motivation to consider demand charges and time-of-use. Current net metering was extended by a year, so expect these changes to be in effect starting in 2021.
