.gif)
.gif)
Industry News
April 24, 2012
Energy Department Announces Funding to Develop Plug-and-Play Solar Energy Systems for Homeowners
As part of its SunShot Initiative, the Department of Energy announced up to $5 million available this year to develop "plug-and-play" photovoltaic (PV) systems that can be purchased, installed, and operational in one day. This effort is part of the Department’s broader strategy to spur solar power deployment by reducing non-hardware, or "soft" costs, such as installation, permitting, and interconnection, which currently amount to more than half of the total cost of residential systems. The funding will help drive innovations to fundamentally change the design and installation of residential PV systems, reducing costs for homeowners and simplifying installations and grid connectivity.
"Providing families and businesses with new choices to use American energy resources that can save them money is an important part of President Obama’s all-of-the above energy strategy," said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu "The Department’s announcement today supporting plug-and-play solar energy technologies will help make it easier and cheaper for consumers to adopt clean, affordable solar energy, while supporting U.S. manufacturing leadership in the next generation of clean energy technologies and diversifying America’s energy portfolio."
As the costs of solar PV modules continue to come down, "soft" costs and other non-module hardware costs, such as electronics and mounting hardware, now account for a majority of the total costs of systems. This offers significant opportunities to bring down costs through more efficient installation and permitting processes or new ways to affordably and effectively connect solar panels to the grid.
Related: ANSI EESCC Begins Development of Energy Efficiency Standardization Roadmap
Plug-and-play solar energy systems will make the process of buying, installing, and connecting solar energy systems faster, easier, and less expensive, potentially unlocking major cost reductions in this area. Plug-and-play PV systems could be installed without special training or tools, and simply plugged into a PV-ready circuit, through which an automatic detection system would initiate communication between the solar energy system and the utility. Plug-and-play systems are already in wide use in the computer and automotive industries. The Energy Department believes that similar innovations can be made in the solar energy industry to reduce costs and simplify installations.
As part of a planned five-year program, the Energy Department will invest an initial $5 million this year for two projects that will develop innovative plug-and-play prototypes through partnerships with universities, industry, utilities, and other stakeholders. The Department plans to make an additional request of $20 million to Congress over the next four years to support these efforts.
Opinion: Maximising Synergies between Power Electronics and ICT for improving Energy Efficiency
More news and information regarding the latest developments in Smart Grid electronics can be found at Darnell’s SmartGridElectronics.Net.
Share this story
Send via E-mail
Post to Twitter
On the Web:
White Papers
March 11, 2013
Power Modules for Charger Applications
Sponsored by Vincotech
February 27, 2013
The Adaptive Cell Converter Topology Enables Constant Efficiency Over Universal Input AC Line in Front-End, High-Density Power Factor Correction Applications
Sponsored by Vicor Corp.
February 27, 2013
From 48 V direct to Intel VR12.0: Saving "Big Data" $500,000 per datacenter, per year
Sponsored by Vicor Corp.
More White Papers
- Altera Acquires Enpirion for $140 Million, Forms Power Business Unit
- PowerbyProxi Joins Wireless Power Consortium
- SiC Modules, IGBTs and Super-Junction MOSFETs Introduced on Day One of PCIM
- Ericsson Saves Board Space with Surface-Mount Digital Bus Converter
- SiC and GaN Again a Major Focus at PCIM Europe
- Vincotech and Infineon Introduce New Packaging Options at PCIM Europe
- Bosch Claims First Sub-$450 240V EV Charging Station
- DOE Selects Consortium to Develop Next-Generation Batteries for Automobiles
- Gate Drive Optocouplers for High-Speed SiC FETs Deliver up to 2.5A
- Dana Receives Grant from NRCan to Improve Thermal Management for EV Battery Packs
- Power-One Gets $1 Billion – ABB Gets Inverters
- Renesas Adds IGBT Drivers with Micro-Isolator for Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Inverters
- Bosch Claims First Sub-$450 240V EV Charging Station
- Alpha and Omega Delivers "Lowest" On-Resistance in a DFN5x6 with 150V Power MOSFET
- Microchip Expands 8-bit PIC Microcontroller Family with Intelligent Analog Integration
- 500W Full-Brick DC-DC Converter Optimized for Fuel Cell Applications
- Factory to Produce Lithium-Ion Battery Materials Enabling 10-Year Life and 60,000 Cycles
- Europeans Establish Dueling Projects to Advance Power Electronics Technologies
- 1-Watt DC-DC Achieves 88% Efficiency and has MSL 1 Moisture-Sensitivity Rating
- Alpha and Omega Expands Family of EZBuck Regulators Featuring Constant On-Time Control
- Green Building Power Forum 2010: Fujitsu Components America
- Darnell's Digital Power Forum 2009: CUI Incorporated
- Green Building Power Forum 2010: EMerge Alliance
- Green Building Power Forum 2010: Anderson Power Products
- Green Building Power Forum 2009: Independence Station
- Darnell's Digital Power Forum 2009: Coilcraft
- Darnell's Digital Power Forum 2009: Champs Technologies
- Darnell's Digital Power Forum 2009: EXAR Corporation
- Darnell's Digital Power Forum 2009: PMBus
- Darnell's Digital Power Forum 2009: Power Plaza
Design Features
October 22, 2012
Energy Efficiency with Class D Amplifier Modules
Class-D switching amplifiers are helping audio designers create personal multimedia devices and home audio/visual systems that demonstrate how compact and stylish equipment can also deliver high sound quality and high audio output power. The key to this breakthrough, providing freedom from the large and bulky boxes housing traditional audio products, lies in the class-D amplifier’s high energy efficiency, which is typically around 90%. This allows designers to reduce or eliminate heatsinks as well as using smaller-sized PCBs and smaller components such as transformers, connectors and power supplies.
Design Features
October 8, 2012
The Role of Hall Effect Sensors in Power Distribution Infrastructure
Power distribution units (PDUs) form an essential part of modern computing and data communications hardware. They provide multiple outputs for transferring electrical power with maximum efficiency, controlling the power capacity and safeguarding against the possible causes of supply interruption. With an ever increasing need from tech savvy consumers for higher data throughput and greater quantities of data storage capacity, as well as tough international legislation now governing CO&sub2; emissions, the demands being placed on these units are proving challenging for engineering teams to satisfy.
Product Focus
August 13, 2012
The Year in AC-DC Power Supply Technology
The past year witnessed significant new product releases, technological developments, and industry news related to the field of AC-DC Power Supply technology.