A US-based start-up SunCulture Solar has come out of stealth mode and launched a potentially game-changing fully-integrated residential and off-grid solar system that really is ‘plug and play.’
A US-based start-up SunCulture Solar Inc. has come out of stealth mode and launched a potentially game-changing fully-integrated residential and off-grid solar system. ‘SolPad’ Home combines multiple patented technologies into a single device, including breakthrough solid-state battery technology, an innovative inverter system and intelligent software to enable real ‘plug and play.’ This is the only PV system in existence that provides complete integration of energy storage, management and high-efficiency solar cells.
The first grid scale installation of the Tesla Powerpack system in Europe has been completed in the UK by Camborne Energy Storage and is set to provide ancillary services to the National Grid.
The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a grant to SolarReserve South Africa to advance their ‘Urban Solar Farms’ initiative in South Africa.
The Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has set its Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) at 12.75%, more than 50% higher than the targets set by the Central Government.
Ideal Power, a power conversion expert, has partnered with EnerDel and its lithium-ion batteries to create a mobile solar-plus-storage microgrid for the US Air Force.
US car maker General Motors to add 30MW of solar arrays in China, as it commits to 100% renewable energy by 2050 across its global operations in 59 countries.
Despite US solar rapidly transitioning from an alternative energy source into a leading energy solution in recent years, barriers in regulation, communication and technology still prevent the industry from taking off into the mainstream arena, according to a panel of experts at Solar Power International (SPI) 2016.
Energy storage in the US is being propelled forward by falling costs and increasingly favourable markets and policy. But for the full value of storage to be realised, numerous regulatory and fiscal barriers must still be surmounted, writes Matt Roberts, executive director of the Energy Storage Association.
