DoE Grants Aim To Find Longer-Duration Batteries

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Utility Dive (UD) had an interesting piece on the recent Department of Energy (DoE) grants that are aimed at finding longer-duration batteries, which are important as more renewables join the grid.

Right now, according to UD, lithium ion batteries don’t provide enough storage capacity (typically four hours) to really be a sufficient for the widespread battery storage that is necessary as renewables increase their penetration throughout the country.

As they should, the DoE is now investing government funds in research-and-development (R&D) to find alternatives.

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UD reports:

Last month, the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) awarded just over $28 million to 10 projects that aim to push the limits of energy storage duration. ARPA-E’s Duration Addition to electricitY Storage (DAYS) program aims to push the duration of energy storage systems out to 100 hours.

One hundred hours, just a little more than four days, is an exponential leap from current durations but the role of ARPA-E is to focus on early stage technologies that are not yet commercial or quite ready for the private sector.

“Wind and solar will clearly be the cheapest forms of electric energy in the future,” Paul Albertus, the director of the DAYS program, told Utility Dive. So, “it is pretty clear that over the next 10 years or so” the need for longer duration energy storage is going to grow, he said.

What’s most interesting, however, is a point made later in the article about the grid. People tend to forget that until battery storage catches up, the grid is still the “storage device” of choice for most renewable energy users. As Alex Eller, senior research analyst at Navigant Research, told Utility Dive:

“It comes back to the fact that grid is built on plants that can run forever, given enough fuel. Until they are not there anymore, that is your long term storage,” Eller said.

More:

DOE energy storage grants look to the day when renewables rule the grid

Make Time To Take The Solar Foundation’s Jobs Survey

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

I know it seems like we just did this, but that’s because as you get older, time speeds up exponentially.

So when you receive your notification from The Solar Foundation that it’s time to fill out their National Jobs Survey again, don’t think it’s a mistake; it really is that time of year again.

It should be obvious, but every year I hear people ask why they should fill it out. How does it help them?

To which I say, are you crazy?

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It’s a 15-minute survey, but the effects of it are felt throughout the entire year. A good showing in the Jobs Census means positive coverage of the solar industry for at least a month after the survey comes out. Then there’s all the follow-up coverage that cite the statistics gleaned from the survey.

Then there’s the fact that the industry continues to show its strength as an economic driver, which translates into real political power. After all, where else can you find the number of solar workers in states down the Congressional district? Nowhere else, that’s where.

The most ridiculous argument I’ve heard people use for not filling out the survey is that it takes too much time. Really? You can’t find 15 minutes in your day to answer a series of questions that ultimately will show your strength and the strength of your industry to the public at large? This. Is. Important. It’s completely worth your time and effort.

As a matter of public record, I fill out the survey every year for my own company, Narrative Solutions. Why? Because the majority of my clients are in the solar industry. So my firm, though it is not exclusively a solar firm, is part of the solar industry. I have a vested interest in seeing all of you succeed. And if my one job adds to the incredible numbers the rest of you put up, well, then so much the better.

Filling out the National Job Survey from The Solar Foundation is your obligation to yourself and to the industry you serve. Take the 15 minutes necessary to fill it out – let’s defy expectations and tell the general public that despite attempts to shut us down (with tariffs), we are a growing, thriving and exciting industry of which to be a part. You can start your survey here – and thank you for your service.

Op-Ed: New Jersey Must Protect Low-Income Solar

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Yesterday, I sung the praises of Vote Solar as an organization that does the work behind the scenes to make your job possible. I listed several of their recent efforts and asked you to support their Equinox fundraiser on October 18.

Then I sat down at my computer this morning and found an article in NJ Spotlight by – you guessed it – Vote Solar (and our friends at GRID Alternatives) fighting for low-income solar

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(As a writer, I must also say I’m always impressed when I see a Vote Solar piece because they are not only poignant and on point, but they’re also so well written. So kudos to the team there for knowing how to construct a good piece of writing.)

The article comes on the heels of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signing into law plans for a community solar pilot which, as the piec e points out, is good on so many levels. It should bring at least $5 billion in new investment to the state and create jobs in a state that already has a thriving solar industry.

But with the planned sunset of the solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) program, it would be easy to forget about low-income communities when it comes to community solar projects – and Vote Solar and GRID Alternatives want to make sure they continue to be part of the discussion. As usual, Vote Solar doesn’t just talk about making a difference; they have a plant to do what they’re suggesting. As the article states:

While the proposed rules include strong targets for LMI participation, we will continue to advocate for financial incentives to support projects for low-income communities. This is especially important given the sunset of the New Jersey Solar Renewable Energy Credit program. Any SREC successor should also include targeted support for low-income projects, as states like Massachusetts have implemented.

This is more evidence that Vote Solar is one of the most critical organizations in the solar industry. Articles like this bring solar home not just to the industry, but to those outside the industry who might be willing to support us. Outreach like this is why the solar industry continues to expand beyond its traditional constituencies.

So throw a little money into the tip jar to support the Vote Solar Equinox fundraiser. They do the work behind the scenes that you never see but that makes your job immensely easier.

Come Support Vote Solar – After All, They Support You

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Lobbying – and organizing lobbying – is often a thankless job. It requires hours of glad-handing, of having a phone of some sort permanently glued to your ear (well, not literally, but you know what I mean) and often without any recognition of what you are doing and/or accomplishing.

That’s why it’s important to recognize those folks who do an amazing job at keeping solar moving forward at the state level, and that’s why this post is dedicated to the amazing team at Vote Solar who, as luck would have it, are having a fundraiser on October 18. All of us should attend (if possible – I hear it’s a kick-butt party) or at least send your money to support their often heroic efforts to fight for solar policy at the state level. Their accomplishments are many, but here’s just a handful of their most recent successes (and this is literally just in the past month):

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New Mexico Terminates Punitive Charge on Solar Customers – Thanks to intense lobbying from Vote Solar and other solar advocates, New Mexico ordered its largest utility to stop sticking it to solar customers by eliminating a usurious charge called Rate 59. The change is going to save solar ratepayers approximately $300 per year
Vote Solar completed a report that found that the community solar pilot program in New Jersey could generate $800 million in ongoing revenue for the state. The report was issued shortly before the first community solar projects in New Jersey were unveiled – so there’s reason to believe the report had an impact.
Thanks to intense lobbying from Vote Solar and other industry groups, California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 100 into law, establishing an aggressive goal of generating 100% of California’s electricity from clean energy by 2045.
The Arizona Corporation Commission listened to Vote Solar and other solar advocates and told two of its utilities to knock it off with exorbitant fixed charges, freeing future solar consumers for being penalized for going solar.
Vote Solar helped the Nevada Public Service Commission develop a proper framework to improve the ability of renewable resources to be integrated into the state’s electrical grid.

Given that they did all this with the resources available to them, can you imagine what they can do if we all supported their noble efforts?

So throw a little money into the tip jar to support the Vote Solar Equinox fundraiser. They do the work behind the scenes that you never see but that makes your job immensely easier.