Tag Archive for: solarpanels

The heat wave stressed CA’s electric grid but, distributed customer-sited batteries, charged by solar panels, helped keep the lights on.

Residential solar batteries helped California’s grid with peak power during heatwave

This week’s record-breaking heat wave stressed California’s electric grid but, once again, distributed customer-sited batteries, charged by solar panels, helped keep the lights on.

A new analysis by the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA) shows that California had more than 80,000 customer-sited batteries connected to the electric grid capable of providing 900 MW of solar power.

While not all the batteries were set to discharge during the peak hours of 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. on September 6, an estimated 76% were, which as a fleet, were capable of providing up to 684 MW of power at any given moment. CALSSA estimates that 50% of these batteries’ aggregate power was put into use during peak hours, providing approximately 340 MW of power. To put this into perspective, 340 MW is more than a mid-sized power plant.

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Source: Solar Power World

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Japan developed the system for remote control cyborg cockroaches, with wireless control module, rechargeable batteries and tiny solar cell.

Cyborg cockroaches stay charged by carrying tiny solar panels

An international team of researchers have refined a remote-control cyborg cockroach.

You can get down off the table – they’re not in the wild yet. But it’s reasonable to ask why they’d do such a thing.

It’s not because they have a nasty streak. Animals fitted with electronic devices can get into places that humans can’t go.

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Source: COSMOS

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Protecting the orchard without reducing the available growing surface, with solar electricity being generated on the same land.

Sweet return: German farmer gets both solar power and apples

It’s picking season at Christian Nachtwey’s organic orchard in western Germany and laborers are loading their carts with ripe red Elstar apples, ready to be shipped to European supermarkets.

But Nachtwey’s farm is also reaping a second harvest: Many of the apple trees grow beneath solar panels that have been producing bountiful electricity during this year’s unusually sun-rich summer, while providing the fruit below with much-needed shade.

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Source: Beaumont Enterprise

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Sunnova Energy is seeking permission from state regulators to develop microgrids for new housing developments that don't rely on established electric utilities.

A solar firm plans to build off-grid neighborhoods in California

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For more than a century, governments have offered electric utilities a monopoly on selling power to homes and businesses so long as they agreed to serve everybody and subject themselves to regulation.

But as homeowners have begun installing solar panels and batteries, that simple arrangement has become more complicated. That has led to fierce battles between utility companies and relatively young solar businesses that sell and install rooftop systems for use by homes and businesses.

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Source: NY Times

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Solar panels and parking lots can be a good combination as it provides cheaper, cleaner solar energy, and a more pleasant parking experience.

Solar parking lots are a win-win renewable energy solution. Why aren’t they everywhere?

If you park in one of several commuter lots on Michigan State University’s campus, you’ll likely score a premium parking spot. That’s because each parking lot is sheltered from the sun, snow and rain by solar panels. They’re mounted above the lot on steel structures tall enough for tailgaters in RVs to park beneath. Besides providing a more pleasant parking experience, the university gets cheaper, cleaner solar energy from the solar panels.

It’s a great thing to not have to scrape your car free of snow in 20-degree weather. I know, because I was a commuting student at Michigan State for two years and gladly took advantage of the covered parking.

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Source: CNET

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Sono Motors' Solar Bus Kit allows subsystems like the HVAC to be partially powered by renewable energy thereby saving fuel, CO2, and costs

Production design of Solar Bus Kit fleet revealed

Sono Motors recently held its first “Celebrate the Sun” Community event. During which, the Munich-based OEM celebrated the debut of its Solar Bus Kit, a scalable B2B retrofit solution that reduces fuel consumption and inner-city greenhouse gas emissions, thereby contributing to climate protection, the company noted.

The Solar Bus Kit is optimized for the most common 12-meter public transport bus types on the European market, including Mercedes-Benz Citaro and MAN Lion City. Sono Motors will offer a complete and efficient retrofit solution for bus fleet operators who have a compelling need to reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions to meet their sustainability goals.

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Source: Fleet Equipment

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The 48-level building features a “solar skin” facade, from which it will generate energy for 20 percent of its base electrical requirements.

‘Solar skinned’ Melbourne tower approved

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A $1 billion development at 435 Bourke Street has been approved by the Victoria’s planning department.

Designed by Bates Smart, the 48-level building will feature a “solar skin” facade, from which it will generate energy for 20 percent of its base electrical requirements.

To be made from vertical glass photovoltaic panels, the solar skin is designed to capture sunlight and convert the energy into electricity. The innovative skin can also let natural light in, providing the same thermal and insulation capacities as architectural glass.

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Source: Architecture AU

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Onslow, Western Australia is now powered almost entirely by renewable energy, and the utility behind that project wants to roll out the same tech across the state.

Western Australia utility replicating success of 100% renewable energy town

The small town of Onslow, Western Australia, is now powered almost entirely by renewable energy, and the utility behind that project wants to roll out the same tech across the state.

State-owned utility company Horizon Power said today that it will deploy distributed energy management system (DERMS) technology that helps coordinate the use of different resources like rooftop solar PV, battery storage and electric vehicles (EVs).

In the demonstration project at Onslow, the entire town ran on renewable energy and battery storage for a period of about an hour-and-a-half last year, thanks to a microgrid system which allowed it to operate as a self-contained electricity grid.

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Source: Energy Storage News

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All businesses that use electricity during the day are desperate for solar energy. The solar has a massive impact on the electricity bill.

Farmers are embracing solar power to beat soaring energy bills

A solar power firm has reported record demand from farms as the price of electricity has risen.

MyPower, based in the Cotswolds, has installed 27,000 panels in the past year, up from 7,000 in the previous 12 months.

Its managing director Ben Harrison said he believed energy price increases were behind the dramatic sales growth.

“Farms are facing rising electricity bills, and making your own power can help reduce that impact,” he said.

Adam Henson was their most recent customer.

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Source: BBC

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DOE is launching the Cadmium Telluride Accelerator Consortium to make CdTe solar cells less expensive, more efficient & develop new markets.

DOE launches $20 million consortium to advance US-made cadmium telluride solar cells

US Department of Energy (DOE) is launching the Cadmium Telluride Accelerator Consortium, a $20 million initiative designed to make cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells less expensive, more efficient and develop new markets for solar cell products.

CdTe solar cells were first developed in the United States and make up about 20% of the market for solar modules. The Consortium intends to to spur technological advancements in CdTe manufacturing that will help increase America’s competitiveness, bolster domestic innovation, and support clean electricity deployment supporting President Biden’s goal of achieving a net-zero economy by 2050.

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Source: PV Magazine

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