- Navitas Systems LLC, a leading provider of energy-enabled system solutions, energy storage products, and power electronics for commercial, industrial and government/military customers, has been awarded its first Department of Energy (DOE) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant. The $1M SBIR Phase II award will support the development of innovative battery technology to reduce cost and extend range, overcoming two prominent challenges which limit electric vehicle adoption. Navitas is focused on removing these barriers.
- REFF-West, a renewable energy financing forum in the western United States, will take place September 16th & 17th in San Francisco. Silicon Valley meets Wall Street as industry leaders convene for panels and discussions to highlight financing trends for renewable energy, with a focus on one of the hottest regions for clean tech in the world: the western U.S.
- Clean Energy Collective (CEC) and Midwest Energy (MWE), a customer-owned electric and natural gas cooperative serving central and western Kansas, have broken ground on the Midwest Energy Community Solar Array, a 1.2 megawatt, state-of-the-art solar PV facility that will make solar ownership available to Midwest Energy’s 50,000+ electric members. Midwest Energy is the first utility in the state to offer the community-owned solar solution to its customers, bringing accessibility and affordability to solar ownership in Kansas. CEC will manage construction, operation, and sales of the 3,960-panel facility being built on six acres in Colby, Kan. on land owned by MWE.
- In honor of National Wildlife Day, San Francisco-based nonprofit Everybody Solar has announced they will crowdsource a new commercial solar project for Wildlife Associates, the wildlife sanctuary located in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco. The 25 kW solar array will help Wildlife Associates cut their annual electric bill by $10,000 annually and enable them to reallocate these funds to their core mission, e.g., taking care of wild animals like cougars, condors, ant-eaters, etc., and educating the community about the importance of wildlife conservation and sustainability.