There’s definitely a value to storing solar energy in batteries, and then discharging that energy to meet grid and customer needs. Measuring that value — and finding a way to share it between battery-equipped solar customers and their utilities — is a trickier matter. Out in Sacramento, Calif., a long-running solar-storage pilot project has been testing out this interplay. … Read More →
The California ‘Duck Curve’ That Will Jolt Its Power Grid
When the sun starts to set in California, there’s one thing you can count on: thousands of megawatts of natural gas-fired power plants quickly firing up to keep the state lit. It’s a daily phenomenon that will become more pronounced than ever this winter as California’s ambitious clean energy goals have boosted the state’s use of renewables. The surge in intermittent solar power will test the statewide electricity grid because it exacerbates the need for alternative sources such as gas outside of daylight hours. … Read More →
Western Grid Integration Could Produce Significant Cost Savings, Environmental Benefits
Combining the electric grids operated by PacifiCorp and the California Independent System Operator (ISO) to create a regional power marketplace could reduce energy costs by billions of dollars and help states meet their environmental goals, including California’s 50 percent renewable energy mark, according to a study released today. … Read More →
Grid Integration Puts California Ahead On Solar Goals
In 2006, the California legislature passed what was known as the “Million Solar Roofs” bill, laying out what seemed at the time to be an extremely ambitious set of goals for integrating solar power into the state’s energy mix. With a $50 million budget, the California Public Utilities Commission contracted Itron to manage the California Solar Initiative Research Development and Deployment Program and lead the development of a sustainable and self-supporting solar industry in the state by 2016. … Read More →
Tesla batteries to power office buildings in California
Tesla’s batteries aren’t just for cars anymore. They’ll be used in battery farms at buildings around California. A big real estate developer and a well-connected tech startup have a plan to install batteries from electric car company Tesla at office buildings in a Los Angeles suburb. … Read More →
Battery-stored electricity could reduce power use and save money, report says
Utilities would save consumers money and help support the electric grid if the companies tapped unused power stored in existing home and business batteries, according to a report released Thursday by the Rocky Mountain Institute. … Read More →
Inside Southern California Edison’s energy storage strategy
Last winter, Southern California Edison (SCE) sent the U.S. energy storage sector into a frenzy with a single announcement: It would purchase over 250 MW of energy storage in one fell swoop — more than five times the amount California regulators required it to do at the time, and easily the biggest single storage procurement to date. … Read More →
Zero-net energy home pilot set to open in Fontana
Global renewable giant SunEdison announced Wednesday that it would supply advanced battery technology for nine Southern California homes that will generate and store their own energy. The first of the project’s so-called zero-net energy homes, which are being built in Fontana, is expected to be completed by the end of September with the remaining eight finished by the first quarter of 2016. … Read More →
Renewable Energy’s Potential May Be Understated
In February 2013, California energy officials sat down with power-industry executives to figure out how to avert an approaching calamity: The rapid rollout of wind and solar electricity was stressing the state’s grid. The more renewable energy California added, the more its power supply could be whipsawed by a cloudy day or a windy storm. … Read More →