To help balance variable renewable generation, California has set flexible demand standards for pool controls. The standards will help the state achieve its target of 7 GW of load flexibility by 2030 while saving consumers money.

Solar industry veteran Jigar Shah, the director of the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) Loan Programs Office, says that virtual power plants are the path to success, as solar net metering now faces an uncertain future.

Ongoing innovation in PV cell technology will have major impacts as solar is deployed at a “multi-terawatt scale” over the next two decades, according to a global team of scientists.

Continued innovation in PV cell technology will have major impacts as PV is deployed at “multi-terawatt scale” over the next two decades, says a global team of scientists.

Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) researchers in the US have developed a new framework to compensate energy storage as a dual-use asset.

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) final report on the future of storage presents “key learnings” from a series of six in-depth studies.

For short-term storage in a 100% renewables grid, thermal energy storage located at concentrating solar power plants could compete with batteries, found a study using an idealised grid model. Seasonal storage needs could best be met with power-to-gas-to-power technology.

Current price signals to distributed battery owners “do not align with grid value,” says a study from the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.