Does Solar Panel Cleaning Make a Difference? (spoiler alert – I think it does)
Cleaning solar panels - before and after.
Level low carbon playing field critical to energy future, Energy UK says
Establishing a level playing field for low carbon technologies must be a priority for government if the power sector is to realise the full benefits of the energy transition, Energy UK has said. The trade association this week published its Future of Energy report, a series of forward-looking studies of numerous elements of the energy
What Value is Resilience to Energy Storage Systems
New findings from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Clean Energy Group (CEG) that when the value of resilience is taken into account — preventing power outages — several more integrated solar-plus-storage projects are economically viable. The findings, presented in a new paper, use detailed modeling of several different building
Germany Looks to Put Thermal Storage Into Coal Plants
A new pilot will replace coal with molten salt to create giant Carnot batteries. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt or DLR) is investigating whether Germany’s coal plants could be reused as energy storage assets. The research body, which has a track record in concentrated solar power (CSP) development, is planning
UK solar firm Hive partners CellCube, Immersa for flow battery development
Hive Energy, a UK-based utility-scale solar developer, has entered into a consortium with vanadium redox flow battery manufacturer CellCube and Immersa to jointly build solar-plus-storage projects in the UK. And the trio already has its first project in the works, expected to complete later this year. HICC Energy, as the consortium has been billed, was
GB smashes coal-free record on solar-filled Easter weekend
Great Britain has smashed its record of continuous coal-free electricity generation, going more than 90 hours without coal over the Easter weekend. The period lasted from Thursday night until Monday evening, and comes almost exactly a year after the last coal-free record of 76 hours was set. Figures from Drax Electricity Insights shows that coal
‘Invisible’ ground-integrated 50kW residential solar system installed
A 50kW ‘ground-integrated photovoltaic’ (GIPV) residential solar system has been installed in Burnham Market, Norfolk. The system sits in a trench in the land, making it invisible until around 7 metres away. It’s being lauded as the largest residential system in the UK and is expected to generate 50,000kWh a year. The project was led
Farewell FiTs: 242.5MW deployed in late FiT deployment surge
Almost 242.5MW of solar was installed under the feed-in tariff in Q1 2019, representing a significant surge as the scheme was shuttered for good. The feed-in tariff closed to new applicants from 1 April 2019 and, as has become customary under the scheme’s ‘boom and bust’ cycles, installers up and down the country rushed to
U.S. energy storage market to double two years running
The U.S. energy storage market nearly doubled in 2018 and is expected to double again in 2019. This is according to Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Energy Storage Association’s (ESA), “U.S. Energy Storage Monitor 2018 Year-in-Review.” The report found that 777 megawatt-hours of grid-connected energy storage were deployed in the U.S. in 2018,
Farewell FiTs: Industry leaders embrace a ‘new era’ for UK solar
UK solar is entering a “new era” following the closure of the feed-in tariff last weekend, and industry leaders are prepared to embrace the sector’s subsidy-free future. Chris Hewett, chief executive, the Solar Trade Association: “Having grown accustomed to the ups and downs of the UK solarcoaster, perhaps it was too much to expect a