It would behoove res solar installers to consider jumping into EV chargers for added customer value and to expand their product offerings. Surveys show that solar owners are more likely to add a charger and vice versa. SunPower has an alliance with Wallbox, Sunrun has a deal with Ford and Sunnova works with ChargePoint, operator of the largest network of EV chargers in North America.
Consumer demand for solar has gone up and federal renewables goals are putting more pressure on the the solar and energy storage industries. However, supply chain issues around raw and manufactured goods persist for panels and the accessory tech needed for installs. Warehouses and distributors have upped purchases of solar equipment where they can, making it harder to source hardware.
The PJM Interconnection is forecasting that summer and winter peak load will grow by 0.4% and 0.7% a year, respectively, over the next ten years. This growth is driven by expectations for new data centers in Dominion’s service territory and plug-in EVs that cross the PJM region. PJM does expect some utilities to actually see declines, though.
Inverter companies are expanding into res energy storage. Enphase has the IQ battery and its advanced hybrid IQ8 microinverter; SolarEdge released its res battery, the DC-coupled lithium-ion SolarEdge Energy Bank; and Tigo recently began producing Energy Intelligence Inverter and Battery product lines (designed by them but produced by partners).
EcoFasten lays out their latest solar mounting and attachment offerings: the RockIt System, RibFit System, SimpleBlock-PV, and ClickFit (the only rail-based offering they have). They offer these with what they call a Four-Seal watertight tech for sealing the penetration at four levels. The company also has solar roof attachment solutions and eBoS components.
European leaders did not account for certain pitfalls associated with decarbonization as they pursued longer-term goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at least 55% by 2030. Europe’s natural gas production has been declining for years and many countries are shuttering coal plants. Many countries now have dwindling natural gas supplies, something that is further cementing Russia’s position as top supplier.
NREL and two other govt orgs will be investigating the impact of high wind loads on solar power structures like heliostats and parabolic troughs. The results of the study will be used to create computational models that can be used by the solar industry.
This article takes a very detailed deep dive into assessing risks around typical solar systems and problems for insurers and owners. It looks at fire hazards, environmental risks (snow, wind, ice, frost-heave, gravity), drainage obstruction, water intrusion and ponding. The article also looks at damage to roofs from installation, engineering standards, design complexity and more.
EnergySage ran a profile of GoodWe, a global solar and storage inverter manufacturer. They discuss their history and mission and step through the company’s latest product offerings which include 3 different res inverters plus complete solutions from PV-only, hybrid systems (i.e. systems with energy storage). For medium and large-scale commercial rooftop solar they have a new MT series.
Top mounted solar attachments are becoming more popular given that they remove a time-consuming shingle removal part of installation on comp shingle roofs (no prying the shingles up and risking breakage). One company offering it, SunModo, say that orders for their NanoMount are starting to outpace orders for their traditional flashed attachments.