Solar and storage are moving into a new phase, and this week's Clean Power Hour Live covers the technologies, policies, and market shifts shaping that transition.
Tim Montague and John Weaver break down the latest developments across solar, batteries, wind, grid infrastructure, and electrification.
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation supporting virtual power plants and making plug-in solar officially legal. The hosts discuss what these changes could mean for distributed energy, grid flexibility, consumers, and the future of behind-the-meter solar.
They also cover US solar manufacturer ratings, a Google pilot for hourly carbon accounting with battery storage, solar repowering, UK grid interconnectors, the world's tallest wind turbine, and the 45X tax credit. These stories land as California utilities report record profits and power costs in the state run twice the US average.
Episode Highlights:
- Governor Newsom signed bills to contain utility spending and pay customers who let batteries, EVs, and appliances ease grid stress (Canary Media).
- Finlay Colville rates US solar manufacturers from AAA to C, with First Solar at number one (PV Magazine).
- A Google-backed pilot demonstrates hourly carbon accounting for US battery energy storage using granular certificates (Energy Storage News).
- A Foundry Logic study argues replacing old panels adds significant new capacity to the grid (Heatmap News).
- An insider quoted by Roth says, "We are moving into a positive political environment for solar" (Roth).
- Roughly 10 GW of UK grid interconnectors link Britain to Europe (Financial Times).
- Germany installed the world's tallest wind turbine at 300 meters, as tall as the Eiffel Tower. Tim questions the economics, and John points to a higher capacity factor at greater heights.
This episode suits solar professionals, battery storage professionals, project developers, policy watchers, and clean energy investors. California's new VPP and plug-in solar laws, the 45X tax credit debate, and the growth of solar repowering all affect project decisions right now.
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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com
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The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com
