NREL Publishes Landmark Residential Solar PV + Energy Storage Cost Breakdown
Joshua S Hill for CleanTechnica: The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory has published a landmark report extensively detailing component and system-level cost breakdowns for residential PV solar systems equipped with energy storage.
The decreasing cost of solar systems has been well documented over the last several years, with increased innovation and decreasing manufacturing costs combining to make solar PV a competitive and economic choice for residents and utilities across the United States, and in fact the world. As such, the costs attributed to the development of residential and utility-scale solar projects has been well defined for some time - even though that figure keeps decreasing.
Global Annual Installed Capacity of Small and Medium Wind Turbines is Expected to Exceed 446 MW in 2026
Despite weakening policy drivers and competition from declining solar PV prices, the SMWT industry is still poised for growth. With a large amount of wind resource potential still available, plus several growing and emerging markets, the industry is anticipated to sustain itself into the foreseeable future. Click to tweet: According to a new report from @NavigantRSRCH, the global installed capacity of SMWTs is expected to grow from 176.4 MW in 2017 to 446.0 MW in 2026.
"With historically leading markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and China seeing declining annual installed capacities of small and medium wind in recent years, other countries such as Japan, Denmark, and Italy are emerging as forces in the distributed wind market thanks to favorable government incentives," says Adam Wilson, research associate with Navigant Research. "We're also seeing a shift with medium-sized turbines as their niche slowly shrinks as drivers continue to favor small wind turbines for distributed wind and larger multi-megawatt turbines dominating utility-scale applications." Full Press Release:
EnergySage Releases Findings of 2016 Solar Installer Survey
EnergySage released today the results of its second annual Solar Installer Survey, the largest and most comprehensive business climate survey of solar companies nationwide. The report captures key observations of local, regional and national solar installers in both residential and commercial markets. More than 360 experienced solar installers across the United States responded to the survey, which was fielded and authored by EnergySage in partnership with pv magazine.Â
Among the central findings, over half of solar companies surveyed (53%) report that their largest obstacle in closing sales is the confusion created by their competitors and its impact on consumer confidence overall. Similarly, the survey reflects an increasing trend noted in last year's report: customer acquisition has become more challenging due to increased competition and consumers reviewing more quotes before buying. However, the study also reveals that installer confidence levels have increased nationwide in the last year. Â Full Press Release:
US Solar Power Attitudes: 89% of Americans Support Solar Power
GetSolar.com sighting PEW Research: Solar Power in America has gained wide acceptance over the last few years as prices have dropped and solar panel installation has greatly increased. Nine out of Ten Americans (89%) support solar power, regardless of political affiliation, according to a new report. Energy costs and environmental concerns rank highest on the list of reasons for such unprecedented support.
The Pew Research Center, a polling and research group focused on global trends released a report highlighting the changes in American's attitude towards (solar power) in particular, along with other sources of energy. Solar power gained the highest acceptance of any form of power (see chart), with only 9% of Americans opposing it. Wind Power came in a close second at 83%, with other forms of more traditional energy generation taking a serious back seat (with half or less the support of solar). Cont'd...
Wind power fiercer than expected, study finds
Phys.org: University of Delaware researchers report in a new study that offshore wind may be more powerful, yet more turbulent than expected in the North Eastern United States.
The findings, published in a paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, could have important implications for the future development of offshore wind farms in the U.S., including the assessment of how much wind power can be produced, what type of turbines should be used, how many turbines should be installed and the spacing between each.
The study, led by Cristina Archer at UD and Brian Colle at Stony Brook University, analyzed historical data from 2003-2011 at the Cape Wind tower located near the center of Nantucket Sound off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and collected complementary data at the same location in 2013-2014.
Co-authors on the paper, titled "On the predominance of unstable atmospheric conditions in the marine boundary layer offshore of the U.S. northeastern coast," include UD professors Dana Veron and Fabrice Veron, and Matthew Sienkiewicz from Stony Brook.
The paper's main finding is that atmospheric conditions around Cape Wind are predominantly turbulent, or unstable, which is in stark contrast to prevailing data from European offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. European studies of offshore wind document that atmospheric conditions there are predominantly neutral— meaning neither too windy nor too still, but somewhere in the middle, with unstable wind conditions occurring only 20 percent of the time. Cont'd...
Latin America on Track to Install 2.7 GW of Solar-PV Capacity in 2016, IHS Markit Says
Chile continues to spearhead the regions PV installations, accounting for 44 percent of new additions this year.
Clean energy investment in 2016 undershoots last year's record
Investment slowdowns in China and Japan, as well as further reduction in the cost of solar, mean 2016 investment will fall well short of 2015's upwardly revised $348.5bn
Commercial Energy Storage Economics Will Be Attractive in 19 US State Markets by 2021
In its latest report, The Economics of Commercial Energy Storage in the U.S., GTM Research analyzed rate structures across 51 utilities to determine the opportunity for demand charge management for commercial energy storage customers. According to the report, commercial energy storage economics are attractive today in seven U.S. states, and that number is expected to grow to 19 states by 2021.
Intersolar - Storage a Promising Source of Solar Job Growth, Paper Finds
The combined use of solar and storage technologies could lead to 27,000 new jobs by 2021, according to a new discussion paper released by The Solar Foundation
IHS Names SMA, SolarEdge, Schneider Electric, Sungrow, Huawei and ABB as Leaders in PV Inverter Supplier Scorecard
Companies are ranked in the IHS PV Inverter Supplier Scorecard, based on holistic review of PV inverter supplier base
Global Installed Solar Photovoltaic Capacity Will Exceed 756 GW by 2025, says GlobalData
• Cumulative global installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity is set to rise from 271.4 Gigawatts (GW) in 2016 to 756.1 GW by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.1%
• Although growth will decline compared to the 2006-2015 period, which experienced a huge CAGR of 50.1%, it will remain considerable over the next decade, especially in China, says report
Coal and gas to stay cheap, but renewables still win race on costs
This year's edition of BNEF's long-term forecast sees $11.4 trillion investment in global power generation capacity over 25 years, with electric vehicles boosting electricity demand by 8% in 2040.
Lithium-ion Battery Costs
by Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman, IDTechEx
China Produced Almost Half of New Global Wind Installations in 2015, says GlobalData
• China pushed the global wind market to new heights in 2015, representing almost half of new wind installations globally and producing a total annual capacity of 30.5 Gigawatts
• However, after focusing on increasing its installed capacity, the country now aims to shift its focus from scale expansion towards quality and efficiency, says analyst
NEXTracker Led North American Solar PV Tracker Rankings in 2015, IHS Says
North American PV tracker market increased by 135 percent, reaching 5.5 GW last year
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