Gita Subramony, ERS, for Zondits Zondits spoke with the team at Sustainable CUNY, of the City University of New York on their role in streamlining solar and solar + storage installations in NYC. Sustainable CUNY has been working on reducing barriers to solar installations in NYC since 2006 and is also working to incorporate energy … Read more
Mark D’Antonio, ERS, for Zondits As the demands on the electric grid continually evolve and as there is greater consideration of temporal and locational capacity needs, distributed energy resources (DER) and energy storage (ES) systems are increasingly being considered for a multitude of applications on either side of the meter. Capacity deferral, generation mix, demand … Read more
Mathew Gard, ERS, for Zondits For a few hours on May 13, 2017, 67% of the electricity passing through the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) was from renewable sources. The ISO serves electricity to 80% of the state of California and parts of Nevada. Over the course of the entire day on May 13, 42% … Read more
From Beer, A Better Battery? The plan came together — where else? — at the bar. Last April, over pints at Backcountry Pizza in Boulder, Tyler Huggins (PhDCivEngr’16) and Justin Whiteley (PhDMechEngr’16) were honing their idea for “growing” a battery from beer — specifically, from the wastewater discharged by breweries. If successful, their invention would … Read more
Jesse Remillard, ERS, for Zondits A recent episode on the 99% Invisible podcast investigates how electric meters work and the origins of net metering, as well as the future of electricity markets. The 99% Invisible podcast is all about the things that largely go unnoticed but are essential to the modern world we live in. … Read more
Is the Battery Rush Distracting Us From Better Energy Storage Options for the Grid? Batteries are helping the grid everywhere from Aliso Canyon to South Australia. But some are concerned that battery-based storage might not be the universal panacea that evangelists believe. Launching the Tesla Powerwall in 2015, for example, Elon Musk claimed: “The size … Read more
An electric utility will pay EV owners 5 cent per kWh of charging during off-peak hours Electrek, April 17, 2017 We previously reported on several reward programs for electric vehicles owners charging during off-peak hours, like BMW’s program in California and the Netherlands is trying to make it a nationwide standard for EVs, but now we … Read more
Elon Musk: Tesla’s Solar Roofs Will Be Cheaper Than Regular Roofs & Have “Infinity Warranty” Futurism, May 11, 2017 Last night, Elon Musk announced via Twitter that orders would begin today (May 10th, 2017) for his revolutionary solar roof hardware. In another tweet, he promised that ordering would be available in most countries throughout the world. … Read more
How Batteries Could Revolutionize Renewable Energy Time, May 1, 2017 All over California, there’s evidence of the state’s goal to lead the country in renewable energy. Enormous farms of shiny solar panels have popped up across southern California, and gigantic wind turbines dot the landscape outside nearly all the major cities. There are less flashy—and … Read more
New York Public Service Commission scraps net metering and approves new rates structure to value DER PV Tech, March 10, 2017 The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved a new rate structure for distributed energy resources (DER) that is set to more accurately value and compensate for solar, while also boosting energy storage … Read more