microgrids

Dismissed by many in the solar industry as an overly-complex, outdated technology, concentrated solar power (CSP) is set for a comeback thanks to a scaled-down, modular approach.

Energy storage is the new solar for an increasing number of Chinese PV manufacturers. However, China still requires enabling policies for storage to provide the end-market volumes needed to bolster the fortunes of manufacturers old and new.

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.

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.

Will a redeployable solar and energy storage solution be the answer to unreliable grid electricity across much of Africa, as its developer proposes? Or will it merely be a temporary solution that will see cash-strapped utilities kick the can of universal energy access further down the road?

While electric companies in the Global North wrestle with how to keep the lights on as ever bigger solar and wind park capacities come online, developing-world utilities are experimenting with new ways of working and transforming the relationship between themselves and millions of new customers.

An international research group has applied for the first time integral backstepping control (IBC) as a control strategy for PV systems connected to microgrids. Through a series of simulations, the scientists found the new approach can provide better results than classic backstepping control (BC) and other techniques.

Kaneka and Itochu have switched on a solar microgrid in Japan. It is powered exclusively by 2.2 MW of PV and 6 MWh of storage capacity. It will sell power to the eight companies operating at the site via a power purchase agreement.

In the assessment of scenarios for a sustainable and resilient energy transition in isolated systems in the Amazon, a portion of photovoltaic generators should be installed centrally in order to guarantee a central system of high performance, availability and reliability without clearing any further forest areas, while another significant portion of the generators should be installed distributed over rooftops and in agrivoltaic projects.

Solar is not only helping to keep the lights on in Ukraine – it also has a vital role as part of Europe’s energy transition and clean energy economy.