And the winner of the 5th annual Junior Solar Sprint was the solar powered model car, ‘Stewart,’ built by two students from High Tech Middle School North County who won the championship race, finishing the 20 meter track in just 8.32 seconds. Second and third place medals were awarded to students with solar cars named to ‘Ninja Chicken’ and ‘Japan …
Equatorial Guinea Installing Solar Microgrid
The government of Equatorial Guinea is installing a self-sufficient solar microgrid project in Annobon Province in partnership with three American companies: the consulting firm MAECI Solar, GE Power & Water and Princeton Power Systems. This project will be Africa’s largest self-sufficient solar microgrid and will bring significant benefits to the West African nation. It will supply Annobon Island with reliable, …
CSP: ELEMENTS Awarded to Southern Research Institute
Southern Research Institute has signed a jointly funded cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the DOE’s new Concentrating Solar Power: Efficiently Leveraging Equilibrium Mechanisms for Engineering New Thermochemical Storage (CSP: ELEMENTS) funding program. The program is part of the SunShot Initiative. CSP: ELEMENTS supports the development of high-temperature thermochemical energy storage (TCES) systems that …
Prez Michelle Bachelet of Chile Inaugurates Solar Plant
President Michelle Bachelet of Chile inaugurated the Amanecer Solar CAP plant in Copiapo, Chile. The solar project is the largest photovoltaic solar power plant in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. The project was developed, built and interconnected by SunEdison under an offtake agreement with CAP Group. The Amanecer Solar CAP plant has 100 MW of …
Spider ST Solar Roof Mount System Seeing Success
Patriot Solar Group (PSG) has announced they are seeing success with their recently launched Spider ST roof mount system. The Spider ST is a polypropylene polymer-based roof mount for commercial flat roof applications. Because of its design and ease of use, the company says it offers solar installers unique cost saving features. Although mounting systems are defined as “hardware costs,” …
South Africa Lights Up With 2 New Solar Projects
SunPower Corp. and AE-AMD Renewable Energy, a joint venture between the Spanish and the AMDA energía South African Alt-E Technologies, as well as its partners have completed two South African ground-mounted solar projects. The solar power systems are now feeding 33 megawatts (MW) into the grid. Both projects, which were constructed by SunPower, are located near Douglas, South Africa in …
Wind, Solar Solution for New EPA Power Plant Rules
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce later today new rules to reduce carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants by 30 percent by 2030, and a couple of renewable energy sources could help states comply. This article from the Boston Globe says solar and wind energy might be part of the compliance mix. Under the rule, states will …
Researchers Look to Find Motivations Behind Solar
Researchers are trying to figure what motivates which consumers to buy solar equipment. This article from Sandia National Laboratories in California says they’re trying to better understand what persuades people to buy photovoltaic (PV) systems for their homes in hopes of increasing the amount of solar energy in the electricity market from its current share of less than .05 percent …
Wind Leads Renewable Energy Increase in Texas
Oil-rich Texas is seeing a surge in renewable energy use, and that surge is being led by wind. This article from the Dallas Business Journal says an Electric Reliability Council of Texas report shows wind, solar and other renewable energy sources increased 12 percent last year, with wind making up the lion’s share of that increase. Renewable energy produced 38.1 …
UCR Unveils Sustainable Grid Initiative
The University of California, Riverside has launched its Sustainable Integrated Grid Initiative to research the integration of intermittent renewable energy including photovoltaic solar panels, energy storage including batteries, and all types of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. The project is the largest of its kind in the state. “This project puts UC Riverside at the forefront of smart grid and …