Grid edge

Grid edge

Virtual Peaker’s platform taps home devices to help utilities balance the grid

The scrappy Kentucky-based startup has landed $16.6M and a slew of big contracts.

By Jeff St. John . 25 February 2022
Electrification

New tools and tech to prep your electrical panel for an all-electric home

Solar, batteries, EVs and electric heat pumps can overload home electrical panels. Lots of companies are coming up with solutions.

By Jeff St. John . 22 February 2022
Grid edge

The country’s first neighborhood microgrid is coming online in Chicago

A network of solar panels, generators, batteries and more will boost resilience for Bronzeville, a historic Black neighborhood.

By Jeff St. John . 9 February 2022
Solar

PearlX has a plan to bring solar and batteries to apartment buildings

Multifamily housing lags single-family homes in solar and storage. A novel project aims to reach this market.

By Jeff St. John . 14 January 2022
Grid edge

Kohler Power buys startup that uses game-theory math to manage microgrids

Heila Technologies has a novel approach to balancing solar, EVs, batteries and generators.

By Jeff St. John . 12 January 2022
Grid edge

Smart meters were supposed to free your energy data. Arcadia wants to finish the job

The community-solar stalwart makes a move into the utility software space.

By Eric Wesoff . 10 January 2022
Grid edge

GE snaps up Opus One and its operating system for a fast-changing grid

Opus One is part of a new breed of software platforms that manage the rapid influx of renewables, batteries, EVs and more.

By Jeff St. John . 10 January 2022
Energy storage

Big batteries are booming in California, but the outlook for small-scale storage just got more uncertain

A new plan for solar net metering could slow adoption of home batteries — just when the state needs them most.

By Elizabeth McCarthy . 23 December 2021
Policy & regulation

The avoided-cost calculator: The controversial metric at the center of California’s solar net-metering fight

Tying rooftop solar payments to climate and grid benefits makes sense in theory. But in the real world, it could get very messy.

By Jeff St. John . 16 December 2021
EV charging

BP is buying Amply, a startup that helps bus and truck fleets go electric

A European oil major stakes a claim in U.S. EV charging and software to lower the cost of electrifying fleets.

By Jeff St. John . 8 December 2021