This week in cleantech and renewable energy news, our member company WaveSense is recognized for helping autonomous vehicles solve inclement conditions. In other news, NJ has approved the largest offshore wind solicitation to date, Shell and NREL have launched a new accelerator program, MA made the top ten list for solar and the DOE announced $148 million in funding. What news have you been reading this week? Share with us @GreentownLabs!

 

Bloomberg – Self-Driving Cars Can Handle Neither Rain nor Sleet nor Snow

• Our member company, WaveSense has been featured for its ability to enable self-driving vehicles in inclement weather. Through the use of ground-penetrating radar, their sensors can detect what’s below the road at speeds up to 65 miles an hour.

 

“WaveSense has built a radar system to scan what’s below the road, down where there’s no snow at all, rather than parse wintry mix on top.

The cluster of sensors, bolted underneath a chassis like a skid plate, can scan 10 feet beneath the ground to reveal soil, water, roots, and rocks. Once WaveSense has scanned an entire roadway, it creates a map of the subsurface strata that can determine the location of a vehicle within a few centimeters.”

 

Greentech Media – New Jersey Approves Largest Single-State Offshore Wind Solicitation to Date

• In a race with federal tax credits expiring, New Jersey is lined up to achieve the largest single-state offshore wind solicitation to date.

“A few days earlier, Governor Phil Murphy called on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) to open two additional 1,200-megawatt offshore wind solicitations, the first in 2020 and the second in 2022. These efforts are part of Murphy’s initiative to make New Jersey a 100 percent clean energy state by 2050.”

 

Greentech Media – Shell and NREL Launch New Multimillion-Dollar Cleantech Accelerator Program

• Combining their forces, Shell and NREL have launched their newest accelerator program. With the resources and expertise available, GCxN will enable emerging companies in the clean energy space.

“Shell, one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, has been steadily growing its presence in the cleantech sector. According to Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, formerly GTM Research, Shell has made six investments or acquisitions in grid edge companies — including e-mobility, energy efficiency and demand response startups — since the beginning of 2017.”

 

CNBC –   From California to Texas, these are the US states leading the way in solar

• The home state of Greentown Labs has landed on the top ten states for overall solar capacity, according to the latest U.S. Solar Market Insights Report. Massachusetts has landed #7 on the list, while California ranks #1.

“Massachusetts has more than 2.2 GW of solar capacity, according to the SEIA. Almost 369,000 homes in the state are powered by solar, while 11,530 jobs there are in the solar industry.”

 

Utility Dive – The Department of Energy announced $148 million in funding for two initiatives to advance energy storage research

• The DOE’s announcement will support two main initiatives: the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), led by Argonne National Laboratory and the Duration Addition to electricitY Storage (DAYS) program

“The DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program announced awards totaling just over $28 million for 10 projects that aim to increase the duration of energy storage systems up to 100 hours.”