SunPower teams on modelling high-penetration PV on California energy network

Two grants totalling US$1.5 million have been awarded to SunPower from the California Solar Initiative Research, Development, Deployment and Demonstration (CSI RD&D) Program to explore the planning and modelling for high-penetration PV on the California transmission and distribution network. Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is also partnering with SunPower on a second project to research the required hardware and software tools needed for providing bi-directional communication and management between PV systems and utility controls using advanced metering infrastructure.

"Participating in research and development projects under the California Solar Initiative, and partnering with leading solar technologists, will be a benefit to SunPower's business and broaden the success of solar programs in California," noted Bill Mulligan, SunPower's Vice President of Technology and Development.

The CSI RD&D Program is investing US$50 million to fund solar research and demonstration projects designed to reduce the cost and accelerate the installation of solar and other distributed technologies that could employ solar for generation, storage, or that could reduce the use of natural gas.

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  • Photovoltaics International 14th Edition

    Photovoltaics International 14th Edition

    Published in November 2011, the 14th edition of Photovoltaics International provides a variety of technical papers from some of the industry’s stalwarts. Features include: TÜV Rheinland on junction box testing; Laser Zentrum Hannover on laser edge isolation of mc-Si cells; Calisolar on the importance of traceability; Fraunhofer ISE on EWT cells; and EPIA on Europe’s LCOE.

  • Photovoltaics International Lite, Volume 05 - 2011

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    This digital interactive Lite sees Tom Cheyney follow Agua Caliente’s progress on becoming one of first truly utility-scale PV power farms, where 40–50MW (AC) will be commissioned by the end of the year. We also feature one of the world’s largest silicon thin-film PV power plants, Avenal; a report on warnings of the collapse of module prices from Solarbuzz and PI-Berlin presents tips on PV module testing. A print version of this edition will be distributed at Solar Power International 2011 in Dallas, Texas.

  • Manufacturing The Solar Future: The 2011 Production Annual

    Manufacturing The Solar Future: The 2011 Production Annual

    Manufacturing the Solar Future is the primary source guide for detailed information on the PV production process. This annual provides technical details on how the leading companies and research organizations worldwide are addressing this need by dramatically improving their manufacturing processes.

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