Distributed Storage

The government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy surveyed householders and small businesses and was told the prospect of firms having to pay higher taxes after installing PV prompted fury – just as the national solar trade body has been telling Whitehall for years.

The Magenta electric vehicle charging station in Mumbai features 21 AC/DC chargers, including four DC chargers ranging from 15 kW to 50 kW of capacity and 17 AC chargers between 3.5 kW and 7.5 kW of capacity.

According to a Swedish-Austrian group of scientists, the combined use of heat pumps and rooftop PV generation may be boosted in Europe by replacing current subsidies with a carbon tax policy. Their analysis showed that the profitability of this combination is strictly dependent on gas prices, and that a slight increase in gas prices would be crucial to sustain strong development.

Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a revolutionary lithium-metal battery chemistry that could allow electric vehicle batteries to almost double their capacity, while also overcoming historic setbacks.

Loom Solar has installed a solar+storage system at a small ashram in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The project features six 440 W PV modules, a 5 kWh (100 Ah/51.2 V) lithium ion storage system, and a 5 kVA string inverter.

The generator can be combined with batteries, solar panels, or small wind turbines. It is based on a proton exchange membrane fuel cell technology and is claimed to have a minimum lifetime of 5,000 working hours.

Companies like Sunrun are implementing grid services using smart batteries to unlock benefits for residential end users and the grid at large. Recent research from New Zealand suggests that these benefits could be dramatic.

Up to eight battery modules from the Chinese manufacturer can be combined to form a storage system with a capacity of up to 25.6 kWh. According to Sungrow, it is not necessary to wire the battery modules.

A new EUPD Research report shows that a PV system can cover 39% of the power demand of an electric vehicle, but this potentially rises to 80% if storage is included.

Rooftop solar is just the start, as energy storage, smart electrical panels, and EV chargers enter the mainstream for solar owners. Here’s a guide to matching your solar array with some of the most popular accessories.