Webinar: California’s Pioneering Policies for New Homes: Greater Efficiency with Required Solar Energy

Tuesday, September 11, 2018, 1-2:15pm ET

 

 

In May, California became the first state to require new homes to include solar power. Unsurprisingly, the announcement of this path-breaking decision has been met with considerable interest and curiosity. This webinar will put the requirement into context by describing the California Energy Commission’s efforts over time to improve the energy efficiency of new homes by strengthening building codes and encouraging the installation of solar energy systems, which laid the groundwork for the recent solar requirement. The webinar will explain the requirement, how it will be implemented, and how other states might adopt similar policies. The webinar will also discuss California’s attempt to adopt a carbon metric in future cycles of the state’s building energy efficiency standards and the implications for buildings in the state. There will be opportunity for audience questions.

 

For a brief infographic describing California’s new residential building energy efficiency standards, see http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/2019standards/documents/2018_Title_24_2019_Residential_Standards.pdf

Presenters:

• Maziar Shirakh, Technical Lead for Zero Net Energy (ZNE) Building Energy Efficiency Standards, California Energy Commission

• Danny Tam, Mechanical Engineer, California Energy Commission

To Register visit: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1101477947186448386

Declining Battery Storage Costs Raise Questions About The Role Of Natural Gas

July 17, 2018
Author: Seth Mullendore, Clean Energy Group | Project: Resilient Power Project

Evidence is building in support of battery storage as a serious challenger to the perceived dominance of natural gas in our current and future energy system. Batteries are beginning to complete head-to-head with natural gas peaker plants, and they’re starting to win.

Peaker plants are designed to fire up whenever electricity demand rises above the level that baseload fossil plants, nuclear, and renewables can satisfy – think hot summer days when air conditioners are turned up full blast or cold winter nights when heating demand skyrockets. There are more than 1,000 peakers currently in operation across the U.S. Most of these are powered by natural gas, and many of them are located in communities already burdened by poor air quality and public health issues.

For the rest of the story visit: https://www.cleanegroup.org/declining-battery-storage-costs-raise-questions-about-the-role-of-natural-gas/

Skyscrapers could soon generate their own power, thanks to see-through solar cells

A solar window created by scientists at Michigan State University in East Lansing reached an efficiency of 5% using organic photovoltaics.

RICHARD LUNT/MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

By Robert F. Service Jun. 28, 2018 , 11:00 AM

Lance Wheeler looks at glassy skyscrapers and sees untapped potential. Houses and office buildings, he says, account for 75% of electricity use in the United States, and 40% of its energy use overall. Windows, because they leak energy, are a big part of the problem. "Anything we can do to mitigate that is going to have a very large impact," says Wheeler, a solar power expert at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.

A series of recent results points to a solution, he says: Turn the windows into solar panels. In the past, materials scientists have embedded light-absorbing films in window glass. But such solar windows tend to have a reddish or brown tint that architects find unappealing. The new solar window technologies, however, absorb almost exclusively invisible ultraviolet (UV) or infrared light. That leaves the glass clear while blocking the UV and infrared radiation that normally leak through it, sometimes delivering unwanted heat. By cutting heat gain while generating power, the windows "have huge prospects," Wheeler says, including the possibility that a large office building could power itself.

For the rest of the story visit:
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/06/skyscrapers-could-soon-generate-their-own-power-thanks-see-through-solar-cells

Webinar: Building Markets: Energy Storage in Massachusetts and Offshore Wind in Rhode Island

August 9, 2018

1:00pm — 2:30pm ET

This webinar highlights two winning programs from CESA’s 2018 State Leadership in Clean Energy Awards: Massachusetts’ Advancing Commonwealth Energy Storage (ACES) Program, and Rhode Island’s Block Island Offshore Wind Farm.  

In Massachusetts, the Advancing Commonwealth Energy Storage (ACES) Program was created to jump-start the state’s energy storage industry by piloting innovative, broadly replicable energy storage demonstration projects with multiple value streams, thereby priming Massachusetts for increased commercialization and deployment. ACES will demonstrate nine storage use cases to accelerate the adoption of storage technologies, provide benefits to customers and utilities, and highlight market and regulatory barriers. The 26 demonstration projects supported by the ACES program will collectively add 32MW/83MWh to the grid where only 4MW/7MWh currently exists.

For more info and to register visit: https://www.cesa.org/webinars/building-markets-energy-storage-in-massachusetts-and-offshore-wind-in-rhode-island/?date=2018-08-09

CREATE College Readies Largest Rooftop Solar Array in Wisconsin

By Irina Ivanova  MoneyWatch  June 20, 2018, 9:03 AM

In New York or California, $1 million can get you a middle-of-the-road house in a trendy part of town. At Wisconsin's Madison College, that could just about pay your electric bill for a year.

The community college, which has about 37,000 students, spends about $1 million every year to power the main building on its Truax Campus. So to keep costs down, the college started construction this month week on a massive solar rooftop project. It's set to be the biggest solar project in Wisconsin when it's completed in the fall.

"It's about 20 tractor-trailers' worth of equipment," said Ken Walz, a Madison College instructor who is leading the project.

For the rest of the story visit: 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wisconsin-readies-largest-solar-panel-array-in-state-madison-college/

Webinar: The Future of Electrification and What It Means for Clean Energy

Tuesday, June 26, 1-2pm ET 

 

 

There is great potential for electricity to replace liquid and solid fuels for transportation, industrial processes, agriculture, and heating and cooling. In April the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) published the U.S. National Electrification Assessment, which examines four possible pathways of how electrification could proceed in the coming years and decades. In the report’s most ambitious scenario, electricity's share of total energy supply would rise from 19 percent today to 50 percent by 2050.

 

In this webinar, Francisco de la Chesnaye, Senior Program Manager at EPRI, will present the report’s findings and discuss the potential implications for state renewable energy initiatives. There will be opportunity for audience questions.

For more info visit:https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/270973932131618305

Australian solar plant to have world's largest power storage capacity

The joint venture between two major Japanese power providers has invested in renewable-energy projects abroad, such as this Indian solar farm. (Photo courtesy of JERA) 

TOKYO -- A roughly $1 billion solar energy project in Australia will employ one of the biggest power storage facilities in the world, with Japanese and Western companies contributing funds.

As part of this, a 250-megawatt plant in the state of South Australia will use a 100MW lithium-ion battery storage system. The storage capacity will be on par with a wind farm battery system from Tesla in Australia, now the largest of its kind on the planet. Power generated at the forthcoming plant will be sold to local utilities.

For the rest of this story visit:https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Australian-solar-plant-to-have-world-s-largest-power-storage-capacity

Webcast: Solving the 'Flexibility Gap' How Hydro, Solar and Wind Can Work Together

May 14, 2018 12:00PM EDT

A certificate of attendance will be offered.

How are renewables, including pumped-storage hydropower, working together to provide energy storage and meet transmission grid flexibility?

Get the answers in 1 hour from 3 dynamic speakers. Debate and discuss energy storage in general and how intermittent renewables such as wind and solar can be balanced using pumped-storage hydro.

What You'll Learn:

•	Ideas and insights on how wind, solar, and hydro can work together to provide energy storage
•	Success stories of how existing technology can provide energy storage without requiring batteries
•	What's next for energy storage policy and market development?

Who Should Attend:

•	Developers, Utility Executives, Engineering Managers, C-level Executives, Consultants, Installers, Policymakers, and Investors

To Register: 

https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1190750&tp_key=31071ba922&sti=em2&pwhid=68c376539d091da92bc964a79fb48fc9e052b971a359f93c1b266a0c4f1b495d18d9e0dda4db0d916e38e47459278eb504810105e243e96a20860558c7a11ba0

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry Announces $68.5 Million for Advanced Vehicle Technologies Research

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today (May 1), U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced up to $68.5 million in available funding for early-stage research of advanced vehicle technologies that will enable more affordable mobility, strengthen domestic energy security, and enhance U.S. economic growth.

“Transportation is fundamental to the American way of life,” said Secretary Perry. “Investing in early-stage research of advanced transportation technologies can give families and businesses greater choice in how they meet their mobility needs while reducing energy costs and making our transportation more efficient and reliable.”

Funded through the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, projects selected through this Vehicle Technologies Office funding opportunity will address priorities in advanced batteries and electrification, including cyber security related to electric vehicle charging; materials for both lighter weight vehicle structures and advanced powertrains; technology integration and energy-efficient mobility systems; and engines and fuels, including technologies for off-road applications as well as the co-optimization of engines and fuels.

For the rest of the story visit:
https://www.energy.gov/articles/secretary-energy-rick-perry-announces-685-million-advanced-vehicle-technologies-research

What Are Flotovoltaics?

Photo by Adam Warren (NREL).

What are flotovoltaics? It's floating solar and an emerging application where solar panels are designed and installed to float on bodies of water.

Localities in the United States are showing an increasing interest in installing this innovative solar technology and our technical experts at NREL have received numerous requests for analytical support as this new exciting new application for solar power begins to reveal its potential.
Learn more about flotovoltaics in our new FAQ at https://www.nrel.gov/technical-assistance/blog/posts/stat-faqs-part1-floating-solar.html

https://www.nrel.gov/technical-assistance/blog/posts/stat-faqs-part1-floating-solar.html