Current wireless technology may be adequate for communicating with distributed solar and storage
A study advised by seven electric utilities found that current “long-term evolution” (LTE) wireless broadband technology may be adequate for sending signals to control, or guide, the operations of distributed solar and storage resources.
You too can model solar, wind and storage deployment
NREL has made its capacity planning model freely available for anyone to use. The model can optimize the amounts of solar, wind and storage to be added to the U.S. electric grid. Documentation is included, but a powerful computer and additional software are required.
The Open PV Project goes offline
The U.S. Department of Energy has shut down the site for its Open PV Project, which supplied cost and installation data. Is this the winding down of a project whose time had come, or part of a more disturbing trend?
Is the Trump Administration blocking the science on a renewable-powered future?
A study on reaching high levels of renewable energy has been removed from the NOAA website, and an energy writer says that the release of another study has been blocked.
Yotta gotta lotta $$, module pricing down, insurance for C&I, SMA’s 4.6 MW inverter, more!
As SPI approaches and hardware announcements speed up – we’ll work to keep you up! NREL speeds up ultra-efficiency solar cell manufacturing, SolaRack has a new rooftop attachment seal technique – and it uses 18% less product , APA Solar Racking’s Titan system doing well this year, more!
No climate debate at the DNC, NREL/First Solar improve thin-film cells: pvMB 8/23/19
Happy Friday one and all and welcome to today’s pvMB. Today we’ve got the Detroit Zoo going renewable, LONGi achieves AA bankability and community solar coming to Maryland. Let’s ride!
Sanders dreams of electric sheep, Sungrow considered 100% bankable: pvMB 8/20/19
Hello one and all and welcome to your Tuesday edition of the pvMB. Today we’ve got on our plates NEC installing over 20 MW of energy storage in Maine and Massachusetts, Biomethanation, Neo Volta’s N14 simultaneously operating DC and AC and more!
A household-scale virtual power plant has arrived
Aiming for 70% clean energy by 2030, Colorado’s Holy Cross Energy is piloting a household-scale virtual power plant technology that will help integrate more rooftop solar and storage. A device in each home optimizes provision of power to the grid, as well as grid services.
Solar and pollinators: a photo essay
All the solar installations shown in this photo essay by Rob Davis of Fresh Energy have a mix of flowering species in sufficient diversity, or covering a sufficient portion of the project, to meet pollinator-friendly standards created by entomologists.
Hardware brief: ProteaBracket 34% lighter, silicon carbide subcomponents, wtf!! California, and more!
Its the weekend and time to play with your hardware! Q-Cells is launching a 25 year *hardware* warranty for modules manufactured in Georgia, NREL researchers are designing tools to test individual battery cells, plus the EIA solar module report!
