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Attention DER/PV interconnection teams: Your system planners are relying on you!
Recently I spoke with two very large investor owned utilities (IOUs) that are trying to backfill information for thousands and tens-of-thousands of PV systems located in their service territories. In other words, these system planners do not have equipment...
Evidence of satellite-truth when comparing to ground irradiance measurements
Troubleshooting ground measurements with satellite irradiance data We recently reported how the use of SolarAnywhere® Data made it possible for us to detect an unreported irradiance sensor calibration issue at one of the nation’s most trusted reference stations: the...
Utilities with industry-leading customer satisfaction use WattPlan
The 2017 J.D. Power Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM results are in, and utilities that rank highest not only provide excellent reliability and rate options, many of them are also taking advantage of online engagement tools to improve the...
How Duke Energy sped up payment processing by 90% with ePayments
In late 2016, Clean Power Research announced a new integration between PowerClerk® and Stripe for ePayment processing. Stripe allows applicants to pay fees such as application fees via an online system integrated with PowerClerk’s workflow, rather than physically...
Why EV strategy is important for utilities: SMUD’s story
Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is increasing, and utilities are taking notice. In a May 25, 2017 webinar, “Shifting Utility EV Strategy into Drive: Best Practices and Lessons Learned1,” Thor Hinkley, EV senior program consultant at CLEAResult, pointed out that nearly...
The August 21st solar eclipse: How and where it’ll impact solar production
On August 21, 2017, the U.S. will experience a solar eclipse for the first time since May 2012. The eclipse will cause an obscuration of the sun’s light, resulting in a reduction of the energy from irradiance that will hit the Earth’s surface. As the eclipse crosses...
Three reasons not to build your own software
We often talk with utility customers who are considering the classic build versus buy decision for software. Should they use their own utility IT staff, or a subcontractor, to build and maintain custom software? Or should they partner with a vendor with a...
How Orange and Rockland Utilities reduced interconnection application errors by 95%
PowerClerk: The DER interconnection control center In September 2016, we released an important new integration capability that enables utilities to use PowerClerk® to create their own distributed energy resource (DER) interconnection control center. By using web...
Adapting utility processes to the reality of distributed PV
Utility processes and systems impacted by distributed PV In previous blog posts, we’ve looked at how the growth of distributed PV can impact grid operation at the system level. These blogs addressed how distributed PV can lead to the often referenced “duck curve,” and...
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What solar leasing companies need to know to protect their investment—and their bottom line
A critical aspect of the financial health of solar leasing companies or other ‘third-party owners’ (TPOs) is the performance of their ‘fleet’ of installed PV. When a PV system is not operating at peak performance, it's not producing as much power as expected, which...
How to account for seasonal variability in solar power production
Intuitively, we know that solar power generation is dependent on seasonal weather conditions. The January and February PV Power Maps, published in the May/June 2013 issue of Solar Today, illustrate that this year was no exception, with month-to-month variability...
Reducing PV project risk (and costs) with better PV modeling
Investment in PV presents unique risks, as the amount of energy a PV system produces is as variable as the weather. Unfortunately, quantifying PV risk can be just as daunting as predicting the weather. Today, researchers have access to more research methods and more...
See for yourself: 2012 was a good year for solar
Not only was 2012 a record-shattering year for PV system growth in the U.S., it was also a good year for solar power production. Compare our monthly average maps for 2011 and 2012 to see that many locations in the U.S. experienced significantly higher PV energy...
CAISO addresses changing grid infrastructure
In a recent interview with Fierce Energy, President and CEO of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), Steve Berberich, spoke about where CAISO is headed in 2013. As one of the largest electric grid operators in the United States, CAISO is responsible for...
Hot topic: forecasting solar for grid integration
Grid-integration of distributed generation sources continues to be a hot topic for utilities and independent system operators (ISOs). Last month, the Utility Variable Generation Integration Group (UVIG) held its 6th annual workshop on Variable Generation Forecasting...
Tilt vs. flat-mount PV: does it really matter?
Have you ever wondered if PV system orientation really makes that much difference to the amount of power produced by a PV system? As the map below illustrates, the answer is typically yes, but to varying degrees. This ‘Energy Gains’ map depicts how tilting solar...
Top 2013 trends part 3: utility and ISO integration of high penetration PV
Over the past few weeks, we’ve plotted out emerging solar industry trends for the upcoming year, including solar soft cost reductions, and a re-examination of net metering. These first two topics are primarily about the financials of PV: reducing system costs and...
NREL turns to SolarAnywhere for NSRDB
Yesterday, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced the newest release of the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB). The database is widely used by solar system designers, building architects and engineers, renewable energy analysts and others to...
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U.S. solar trends: 2015 edition
As everyone recovers from their New Year’s Eve festivities, shakes off the cobwebs and gets back to work, it’s time for our annual look at trends and predictions for the coming year. Who knows if we’ll be right, but it’s always fun to prognosticate. Here are the three...
Using ground plus satellite solar irradiance data to reduce risk, increase project profitability
If you stopped by the Clean Power Research booth (#118) at the most recent Solar Power International (SPI) Conference in Las Vegas, you would have noticed a tall metal frame supporting some measurement equipment. While this structure could have passed for a new-age...
Reflections on SPI 2014: How today’s U.S. solar industry is the same, different and revolutionary
Clean Power Research had a first-floor booth at Solar Power International (SPI) this year, and it drew great traffic. It didn’t hurt that we had a cool meteorological station in our booth from GroundWork Renewables that also drew a lot of attention, since Clean Power...
New York State solar incentive programs consolidated into NY-Sun
This month, under direction from the New York State Governor’s office, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and PSEG Long Island (now operating Long Island Power Authority’s electric system) merged their solar incentive programs under...
Intersolar North America 2014: The year of O&M and bankability
I often hear complaints that solar tradeshows aren’t offering much that is new and exciting—but I beg to differ. Every year I see trends emerging—trends that are often overlooked until months after the show. Intersolar North America was no exception. This year I was...
Just how great was the solar resource in 2013 in California? Record setting!
2013 marked the driest year on record in most regions of California. While this weather pattern led to many brown lawns and thirsty reservoirs, clear skies allowed many locations to experience well above-average PV energy generation potential. To better understand...
Getting to the bottom of the EEI and NRDC statement on net metering
The Edison Electric Institute (“EEI”) and the Natural Resource Defense Council (“NRDC”) recently issued a joint statement targeted to state utility regulators “to advance support for utility policies that enhance the electric power grid for the benefit of all...
Infographic: Keeping Track of Solar
2013 saw record-breaking solar growth in the U.S.—an increase of 41% over 2012—and 2014 is expected to see even larger gains. With more than 440,000 solar electric systems operating across the U.S. today, keeping track of these distributed resources is more important...
2014 solar trends episode 2: The Utility Strikes Back & the Return of the Utility
The double title really says it all about the relationship between the solar industry and utilities. Are utilities a force for good, or do they represent the “dark side” when it comes to solar? In reality, the solar industry needs utilities. Utility-scale solar relies...