NREL-led consortium releases PV reliability forecasting tools
The Durable Module Materials consortium (DuraMAT) announced in its latest annual report the availability of new PV forecasting tools, and new research results towards the goal of more reliable PV modules.
Sandia National Laboratories design grid-resiliency algorithm
The software includes various tools to isolate downed or damaged lines, automate energy production and consumption regulation and troubleshoot unintentional loops.
Sunrise brief: Organic flow battery developer nets $106 million growth investment
Also on the rise: U.S. Airforce embraces e-mobility. Caribbean could become offshore floating solar PV giant. And more.
Using rocks as heat batteries for renewable energy storage
Sandia National Laboratories and CSolPower are researching the use of landscaping gravel as a thermal energy storage medium.
Temperature estimates for floating PV modules
Scientists from the United States and Brazil have developed four different ways to estimate the temperature of floating PV modules. They validated the models with temperature measurements from a floating solar plant in Brazil.
Solar for extreme Arctic conditions
US researchers have installed a pilot 4.3 kW solar system at Oliktok Point, Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle. They want to determine which PV system designs and technologies are most efficient in extremely cold climates with limited sunlight.
A majority of new solar panels will retain 80% production after 30 years
A five-year Sandia Labs study of new solar module degradation found that 13 of 23 tested module types would have effective lifetimes exceeding 30 years.
Alkaline batteries power off-grid home in Navajo Nation
The home chosen for the first demonstration system can use its solar system when the sun is shining and the charged battery when it’s not, even when temperatures spike well over 100 F.
Sandia turns to solar to power the Moon
Researchers from Sandia National Labs are partnering with NASA and the University of Puerto Rico to design microgrid controls for powering habitation and mining operations at NASA’s planned Artemis lunar base.
NREL and Sandia want to hear from you on solar+storage O&M issues
The laboratories are reaching out to industry to better understand how solar+storage technologies were selected, what O&M activities are being conducted, what data is being collected, and what ongoing challenges and needs exist in this space.
