Microgrid

With so much of the space in United States cities allocated for parking, the dual pronged approach of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – production tax credits to drive investment in domestic manufacturing and investment tax credits to attract consumer-side investment – means solar canopies can make a huge contribution to the net zero drive.

Diesel generators have been the workhorse of disaster relief for decades but as the frequency of extreme weather events rises, so do calls to decarbonize the emergency response. Sustainability may not be the only benefit to using solar in a crisis, as pv magazine discovers.

Scientists from China proposed a new method for energy trade optimization between interconnected microgrids and the main utility grid. The novel approach utilizes particle swarm optimization and gravitational search algorithms with Nash Bargaining.

The US Department of Energy’s (DoE) Argonne National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory will carry out demonstration projects to validate long-duration energy storage tech developed by German manufacturer CMBlu Energy. The collaborative project is designed to improve microgrids in cold climates and make fast charging of electric vehicles more affordable in underserved communities.

Researchers from Australia have created a model to optimize the interaction between vehicle-to-home (V2H) systems and residential PV connected to battery storage. They claim V2H can help reduce the cost of energy by 16.7% for workplace charging and 25% for public charging.

The Philippines Department of Energy says the Maharlika Consortium – representing three companies – will develop two microgrid hybrid solar and diesel generator power plants for “underserved” communities located on Panlaitan island and the island of Mindoro.

Israel’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure says it is currently developing a multi-year program for communities attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7. It aims to deploy 5 GW of energy in the destroyed areas, once residents return.

Chinese manufacturer Dyness has unveiled a 1.6 kWh battery designed for balcony PV systems, allowing users to stack up to four units for a total storage capacity of 6.4 kWh, with a reported lifespan of more than 8,000 cycles.

The University of French Polynesia has built a PV-driven hydrogen generation unit that combines a hydrogen chain with a thermochemical unit. The latter is used to recover waste heat from the electrolyzer and fuel cell to enable deferred cooling production for air conditioning.

Researchers have looked into the impact of potential regulated charge exemptions on two types of energy communities in 39 European countries. They have found that communities with collectively owned PV systems achieve greater savings.