Solar
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News
California Blackouts Bring Calls for Investigation
California’s governor demanded an investigation into the cause of a series of power outages—the first since an energy crisis in 2001—that blacked out parts of the state in recent days. California Independent System Operator (CAISO) has struggled to ensure reliability since Friday, Aug. 14, when, amid triple-digit temperatures, it declared a statewide Stage 2 Emergency, […]
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Fuel
Coal-Fired Generation Down 30% in U.S., 8% Worldwide
Analysis from a global energy organization said power generation from coal-fired units fell 8.3% in the first half of 2020, with the world’s coal fleet running at less than half its capacity. The drop for U.S. coal generation was more steep, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting the output from the nation’s coal […]
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News
Clean Energy Adds Jobs, but Pace Is Slow
An analysis of federal labor data for the clean energy sector shows renewable energy and other industries are adding jobs after months of declines brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. But the gains in July were lower than those in June, signaling sectors such as solar, wind, energy storage, energy efficiency, and electric vehicles continue […]
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Press Releases
Denver Selects Partners for Equity Driven Community Solar Garden Project
DENVER (Aug. 5, 2020) – The City and County of Denver will host up to 15 MW of community solar gardens on municipal rooftops, over parking lots, and vacant land as part of a signed Master Services Agreement with McKinstry, GRID Alternatives, and Unico Solar Investors. The project is part of the Renewable Denver Initiative, which […]
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Press Releases
Murata Electronics and Yotta Energy Announce Collaboration to Enable Innovative and Safe Energy Storage Solution
Austin, Texas (August 6, 2020) – Murata Electronics today announced its collaboration with Yotta Energy to enable the development of a modular, solar energy storage solution that utilizes Murata’s FORTELION™ battery cells. The Murata Electronics and Yotta Energy collaboration brings Yotta’s panel-level energy storage one step closer to commercialization. Yotta’s PV-Coupled™ technology includes the SolarLEAF™, […]
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News
Pandemic Brings Pause, but Future Looks Bright
The solar power industry has been hammered by the global lockdowns due to the coronavirus, but technology advancements that continue to lower costs point to a rapid recovery. The COVID-19 pandemic has not been
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Supply Chains
The Growing Strain of Power Sector Supply Chain Disruptions
Power sector supply chains, hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, are feeling the double whammy of uncertainty posed by a broad U.S. executive order. As was clear at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s
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News
POWER Digest [August 2020]
Utility Expects New Schedule for Olkiluoto 3 Reactor. Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) said it expects to soon receive the revised schedule from the Areva-Siemens consortium for the commissioning of the Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) EPR. Fuel loading of the reactor, which was planned for June, has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and other […]
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Renewables
Oil and Gas Field Operations Increasingly Reliant on Renewable Power
More oil and gas companies are ditching diesel and natural gas generation for renewables to power field operations, a new study from IHS Markit suggests. The market research company says it has so far tallied
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International
Keeping the Lights on in South Korea
South Korea has flourished over the past six decades, transforming its place on the world stage. However, progress has come at a price—far higher than average pollution generated from its energy grid. On its path of progress, the country has capitalized on the promise of cheap coal power. Meeting its energy and emissions goals will […]
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Smart Grid
Obvius Partners with OpenEGrid to Provide California Rule 21 Compliant Solutions
IDAS Turn-Key Panels Deliver Flexible Solutions to Meet Each Partner’s Unique Needs Tualatin, OR, July 21, 2020 – Obvius, a Leviton company and a leading provider of data acquisition solutions, announced today their partnership with OpenEGrid to provide a California Rule 21 compliant, site ready, integrated hardware solution. Solar Asset owners can now leverage the […]
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News
Gas, Solar Will Power Pittsburgh Airport Microgrid
A microgrid project pairing natural gas with solar power is taking shape at Pittsburgh International Airport, with the installation expected to be the primary source of electricity for the property by the summer of 2021. Construction of the microgrid (Figure 1) began a few weeks ago with site preparation work, which included rerouting an electrical […]
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Press Releases
Recurrent Energy Reaches Key Milestone on Texas Solar Projects
GUELPH, Ontario (July 21, 2020) – Canadian Solar Inc. (“Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ) today announced its wholly-owned subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, LLC (“Recurrent Energy”) closed $282 million of debt financing to construct its Maplewood and Maplewood 2 solar projects, located in Pecos County in the Permian Basin of West Texas. The financing was provided by a […]
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Press Releases
Camouflage for Solar Panels
HENDERSON, Nev. (July 21, 2020) — GDI LLC’s patented Solar-Image™ process can transform unattractive panels into a solid color, a full-color pattern, or a panoramic photo, all while maintaining high output power. Panels on a terracotta tile roof, for example, could present a photo-like image of the tiles underneath, making them practically disappear. An acre […]
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Press Releases
LG Chem Unveils New Full Home Backup Solution in Cooperation with SolarEdge
SEOUL, South Korea (July 21, 2020) — LG Chem, South Korea’s leading manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion batteries, has once again joined forces with SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (SolarEdge), a global leader in smart energy, to bring compatibility with the LG RESU10H (400V, 9.8kWh) home battery. By incorporating SolarEdge’s single phase Energy Hub Inverter and backup interface, […]
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News
BayWa r.e. builds Poland’s biggest subsidy-free solar park
BayWa r.e. has begun construction on the Witnica solar park, which will be by far the largest solar power plant in Poland. The 64.6 MWp project, which is due for completion by the end of 2020, is being built without the need for any government subsidies, and the electricity generated will be sold locally to […]
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Press Releases
NIPSCO Announces Addition Of Two Indiana-Grown Solar Projects
MERRILLVILLE, Ind., July 17, 2020 — NIPSCO, a subsidiary of NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI), today announced the next phase of its plans to transition to lower-cost, cleaner energy resources, with the addition of two new solar farms that will be based in central Indiana. The announcement is part of the energy provider’s “Your Energy, Your […]
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Renewables
Renewable Energy Growth Stymied by Pandemic, but Optimism Is High
The renewable energy sector was on a steep growth curve entering 2020 with a lot of experts predicting a record year. Then COVID-19 disrupted the entire world, causing trouble in supply chains and putting millions of workers in unemployment lines. However, a new report released by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), a renewable […]
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Hydrogen
Power-to-Gas Offers an Optimal Path for a Carbon-Free California
California is widely regarded for environmental leadership, especially around clean energy policy. The state has set an ambitious goal of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045. Decarbonizing its electric power sector requires new approaches and ways of thinking to meet carbon reduction goals, all while minimizing land use, emissions, and cost. One promising approach is […]
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POWER Podcasts
What Is DERMS and How Can It Help Utilities?
A distributed energy resource management system, or DERMS, is a software platform used to manage a group of distributed energy resource (DER) assets—such as rooftop photovoltaic solar panels, behind-the-meter batteries, or a fleet of electric vehicles—to deliver vital grid services and balance demand with supply to help utilities achieve mission-critical outcomes. As a guest on […]
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Press Releases
Working Together for Clean Energy: SUNY Fredonia, NYPA, Oriden, and Solar Liberty Team Up for Premier Solar Energy Project
FREDONIA, N.Y. (July 7, 2020) — The State University of New York at Fredonia (SUNY Fredonia) announced today that construction is starting on its first solar/battery project,enabling the Chautauqua County campus in Western New York to lead by example in reducing its carbon footprint with innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy technology. The New York […]
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Press Releases
280 Megawatt-dc Holstein Solar Project Achieves Commercial Operation in Texas
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (July 7, 2020) — 8minute Solar Energy (8minute) and Duke Energy Renewables announced that the 280-megawatt (280 MWdc / 200 MWac) Holstein solar project in Nolan County, Texas has begun commercial operation. Holstein is 8minute’s first solar project to come online in Texas, marking a significant milestone as the company expands its operational footprint outside […]
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Markets
Minutes Matter in the Energy Imbalance Market
An energy imbalance market (EIM) is a voluntary market that provides a sub-hourly economic dispatch of participating resources for balancing supply and demand every five minutes. One such market is the Western
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News
Algeria Targets Renewables to Diversify Generation
Algeria, like other countries that are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), wants to diversify its electricity production, and is looking to solar power for the bulk of its
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Commentary
Competitive Markets and Environmental Goals—Yes, They Can Coexist
While the nation is rightfully consumed with responding to the COVID-19 crisis, other battles are being fought that also will have decades-long consequences. One of those involves states seeking to override
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Energy Storage
Hybrid Power Plants Are an Inefficient Usage of Battery Technology
Hybrid power plants, also known as solar plus storage or wind plus storage projects, have gained significant traction in recent years. These projects combine solar energy or wind energy with battery energy storage. The result is a somewhat dispatchable renewable energy power plant, which can provide smoother (less-volatile) energy, and can shift time of delivery […]
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Renewables
Infrastructure Plan Supports Solar Power, Energy Storage
Energy industry analysts have said government support will be needed to help the sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced legislation that includes measures to help the solar and energy storage industries. The $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill introduced in the House on June 22, known as […]
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Press Releases
CS Energy Announces Completion of the Largest Landfill Solar-Plus-Storage Project in Massachusetts
EDISON, N.J., June 23, 2020 — CS Energy, LLC, a leading integrated energy firm that designs and builds optimized projects in the solar, storage and emerging energy industries, announced its successful completion of a 4.5 MWdc solar project installed with a 3.8 MWh lithium-ion storage solution on a landfill cap site located in Amesbury, Massachusetts. […]
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News
Vectren Will Close Coal Units, Add Renewables
Vectren Corp., the electric utility that serves much of southern Indiana, has announced a plan to shutter its remaining coal-fired power plants and transition to renewable energy. The utility also said it would add gas-fired generation to back up those renewable resources. Vectren’s June 15 announcement comes about two years after Northern Indiana Public Service […]
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Renewables
[VIDEO] POWER Insights: Finding the Best Solar Power System
Direct Solar America is a solar energy brokerage. The company helps customers find and install the best available solar energy system, working with both residential and commercial and industrial clients. It’s a question often posed to POWER: What is the best solar energy system for my home or business? In this edition of POWER’s Insights […]