In this week’s Solar News Roundup, we’re talking storage: Google and NV Energy join up to bring a massive solar-plus-storage plant to a data center outside of Las Vegas, and manufacturer Kyocera is set to launch a new type of lithium-ion battery.
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The best of EnergySage in 2019
2019 was a big year for the U.S. solar industry: the country surpassed 2 million solar installations early in the year, California celebrated 1 million rooftops with solar this December, and in between the cost of solar reached historic lows. It was a year in which interest in solar–and energy storage–soared nationwide, but especially in wildfire-torn California.
Continue readingBreaking down the consumer demand for batteries in California
Throughout the country, interest in energy storage systems is increasing. In fact, residential energy storage installations increased 500% from 2017 to 2018, according to the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). Nowhere is this more apparent than in California, where energy storage has truly taken off.
Continue readingDoes solar-plus-storage still work during an outage?
Battery storage paired with solar panels is a great way to save money on electricity bills in the long term, especially with new rate plans like time-of-use becoming more prevalent. But does adding a battery mean you’ll be able to produce, store, and use electricity with solar when the grid is down? Do you even need a battery? In this article, we’ll dissect how solar and storage can make for an effective grid resiliency technique.
Continue readingAn overview of Lumin’s energy management system
When thinking about installing a solar or a solar-plus-storage system at your home or business, there’s one piece of information that is of the utmost importance: how much electricity do you use, and which of your home appliances use that electricity. That’s exactly where Lumin can help: the three-year-old, Charlottesville, Virginia-based company is joining the relatively nascent field of creating smart circuits, allowing you to dynamically choose or automate what to power with your solar and storage, which is especially useful in the event of an outage.
Continue readingSoleil Lofts’ virtual power plant: what you need to know
In August 2019, the solar and storage industries took a giant leap forward with the introduction of the Soleil Lofts virtual power plant project. The apartment complex, which lies just south of Salt Lake City, Utah, is a unique, first-of-its-kind collaboration between a building developer, an energy storage company, a major utility and a local solar installation company. To learn how the Soleil Lofts project came together, and to get a feel for the lessons learned during the process, EnergySage sat down with Jess Phillips, the CEO and founder of Auric Energy, the solar and energy storage developer responsible for the project.
Continue readingHybrid inverters: what you need to know
There are plenty of options available when it comes to selecting a solar inverter: these inverters vary in size, efficiency, performance, and capabilities. So what’s the best solution for you? If you’re thinking about adding a battery to your solar panel system now or in the future, you may want to consider installing a hybrid inverter.
Continue readingAC vs. DC solar battery coupling: what you need to know
Solar batteries are becoming popular additions to solar energy projects of all scales. When it comes to the way your solar panels, batteries, and inverters are all wired together on your property, there are two main options: alternating current (AC) coupling and direct current (DC) coupling. Both AC and DC coupling have advantages and drawbacks that are dependent on the specifics of your solar plus storage installation.
Continue readingSolar news: August 23rd, 2019
In this week’s Solar News Roundup, Tesla launches a new solar rental model, and the energy storage market for California’s major utilities continues at impressive deployment rates, especially in SDG&E territory.
Continue readingUtility-scale battery storage: what you need to know
With the declining cost of energy storage technology, solar batteries are becoming an increasingly popular addition to solar installations. However, it’s not just residential and commercial solar shoppers who benefit from installing energy storage. In fact, utility-scale battery storage is increasingly playing a major role in the operation of the electric grid, providing cost savings, environmental benefits and new flexibility for the grid.
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