Sean White‘s Solar and Energy Storage Podcast

Energy Storage Systems (ESS) and the NEC with Bill Brooks and Sean White Part 1

In this podcast we have Bill Brooks talking energy storage system (ESS) Codes, including the NEC, IFC, IBC, IRC, IEC, but mostly the NEC.

Be sure to get Sean and Bill’s latest book, which is the 3rd edition of PV and the NEC, based on the 2023 NEC.

To find where to get different versions of the NEC including the 2023 NEC for free check out the NEC tab at solarSEAN.com. 

Disclaimer: This podcast was recorded in 2021.

Keywords/topics covered:

Self-consumption, EVs, frequency regulation, voltage regulation, energy storage systems, ac-coupled, dc-coupled, SolarEdge, Generac, Powerwall, Enphase, ac-modules, Outback Power, multimode inverter, Sunny Island, Sunny Boy, Article 702, 705, 710, isolation device vs. transfer switch, microgrid mode, interactive inverters, reverse dc-coupled, 400V bus voltage, dc converters, 690.71, Article 480, electric supply and distribution network, NEC Handbook Commentary, UL9540, UL 1973, LG Chem, nominal voltages, lead-acid 2V, alkali, lithium iron phosphate 3.2V, cobalt type of lithium-ion 3.6V, LiFePo4, nickel, charging ranges, batteries are not constant voltage, dc-converters required, storage battery, telecoms industry battery systems not regulated by NEC, NEC 90.2, equalization, sulfation, Trojan L16, lead-acid battery IRC UL 9540 requirements, no UL 9540 listed lead-acid batteries and IRC requires UL 9540 for residential (in dwellings), off-gassing, stratification, emergency disconnects, Hawaii systems, energy storage system labeling, rules for protection of battery terminals for wiring, Article 110, spaces between batteries on NABCEP PVIP exam, ground fault protection.

Links:

Bill Brooks, P.E.: www.brooksolar.com

www.solarSEAN.com

www.HeatSpring.com/SEAN 

NEC Article 690 Part IV Wiring Methods & Materials from PV and the NEC 3rd Edition book by Sean White and Bill Brooks

Buy this book here:

https://www.amazon.com/PV-NEC-Sean-White/dp/100318099X

 

This long podcast is a reading of chapter 5 of the book, which covers NEC Article 690 Part IV of the 2023 NEC.

 

Every 3 years when the NEC comes out, it is a tradition for me to read and post a poetry reading of Article 690 Photovoltaic Systems. I have already posted parts I through III on this podcast, which you can go back and listen to.

 

Sean White and Bill Brooks will be presenting this material at RE+ in Vegas in September and at Intersolar in San Diego in January, so be sure to check out their live workshops in person. The 2023 NEC material will be posted on HeatSpring soon, as it is in production now, so keep an eye out!

 

The NEC can be dry, and we do our best to make it exciting!!

 

Don't get shocked, unless you are shocked about how we present ourselves!!

Rod Matthews of Brevian Energy on Microgrids

Rod Matthews specializes in commercial and industrial (C&I) scale micro-grids and we get into the details of what a microgrid is and how they can benefit customers.

Some of the topics we cover include:

1. Microgrid definitions (NREL and NEC, which are different).
2. Minigrid definition (never connected to the grid)
3. Time-of-Use (TOU) Rates up to $0.74/kWh (or 1 Euro per kWh in Germany)
4. NABCEP PV Technical Sales (PVTS)
5. Lithium Ferrous Phosphate, aka LFP, Lithium Iron Phosphate
6. Dendrites with lithium-metal batteries
7. Silicon anodes
8. Virtual Power Plant (VPP) design
9. Distributed Power Energy Resource Management System Service
10. Artificial Intelligence and Microgrids
11. Internet of Things (IOT) sensors
12. Operation and Maintenance (O&M) contracts
13. Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
14. Capital Expenditures (CapEx)
15. Grid controller systems
16. Microgrid Equipment
17. Demand Charges vs. Energy Charges
18. Expensive electricity is good for the industry
19. Living without electricity
20. Intersolar in San Diego in January
21. RE+ in Vegas in September
22. The renewable energy family at the conferences
23. Sailor of the year
24. Doing good for the planet while making money
25. Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA)

Check out Rod's Brevian Energy website:

www.brevianenergy.com

To learn more about solar, storage and the solution to all of your and everyone else's troubles, go to www.solarSEAN.com or www.HeatSpring.com/Sean

World’s Largest Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)

There are many ways to define the largest BESS and since the industry is growing so excitingly fast, it is difficult to explain exactly which is the largest.

 

We are going to talk about 7 big ones here:

 

1. Vistra: Moss Landing California US 2021 400MW/1600MWh

2. Crimson Storage: Blythe California US 2022 350MW/1400MWh

3. Manatee: Florida US 2021 (largest with PV) 409MW/900MWh

4. Victorian Big Battery: NSW Australia 2021 300MW/450MWh

5. McCoy Solar / BESS: Blythe California US 2021 230MW/920MWh

6. Elkhorn Battery: Moss Landing California US 2022 182.5MW/730MWh

 

Number 7 on this list is not the 7th largest battery today, but gets mentioned because it was once the largest in the world, first to reach 100MW way back in 2017 and was made because of a crazy social media bet.

 

If you are listening to this podcast in 10 years, it will be funny to compare these largest systems to the new largest BESSs in the world. What will they be? 100GWhs? Crazy to imagine this kind of growth!!

 

For more knowledge about energy storage systems, go to www.solarSEAN.com and take some energy storage classes!!

Lithium-Ion Battery Chemistries

Sean is recording this podcast from Australia where he is about to teach a utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) course for CPD International. This is some of the material that will be included in the course.

 

In this podcast, we will go over different battery chemistries, focusing on the three main types of lithium-ion batteries used these days, which include:

 

1. Lithium Iron Phosphate (aka LFP or LiFePo or LiFePo4)

2. Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (aka NMC or NCM)

3. Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide (aka NCA)

 

We will talk about the availability of these elements on Earth, the toxicity of them, we will compare and contrast to lead-acid and nickel iron batteries and we will take a dive into the controversial Cobalt, which is said to have a supply chain where child labor is often used in the Congo. Australia does lithium and cobalt mining, which is part of the solution, however the use of cobalt free lithium-ion batteries, which means LFP seems to be the solution, however the batteries with cobalt do have a higher specific energy (not to be confused with energy density).

 

Specific energy = energy per weight (most important for EVs)

Energy density = energy per volume

 

For more go to www.solarSEAN.com or take an energy storage class at www.heatspring.com/sean

 

Thanks for listening!!

Jeffrey Max, CEO of Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., Serial tech entrepreneur and investor

Jeffrey Max is the CEO of Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. otherwise known on the stock market ticker as ASTI. Jeff is a turnaround CEO and we're going to find out what that means, Serial tech entrepreneur and investor. In over 30 years he has founded, built and incubated different global companies with multiple exits in financial services, payments, mobile commerce, adtech and aerospace. Jeff is driving the company's global positioning as a leader in flexible thin-film solar technologies. In addition to several Board positions, Jeff advises and mentors a select group of portfolio companies and founding executives in aerospace, biomed and adtech. Jeff Max has been the Chief Executive Officer of Ascent Solar Technologies since October. 

Microgrids

"Microgrid" is a term that is thrown around a lot and a lot of people using this term are not using it as it is defined in the NEC. The 2023 NEC has a few new microgrid terms. Additionally the 2023 NEC has renamed AC Coupling and DC Coupling  to be AC Interconnected and DC Interconnected.

 

Have fun and listen and by the way, go to www.solarSEAN.com and become certifiably NABCEPed!

Herve Billiet, Co-founder and CEO, Ipsun Solar and Ipsun Sunvoy

Herve Billiet is an electro-mechanical engineer who co-designed the first Belgian solar car way back when he was 21 years old. Soon after, he was invited by MIT in Boston to advance its sustainable transportation initiatives.

 

He went on to design his first residential solar PV system in 2009 using the 2008 National Electrical Code. Herve is from Europe but he knows the National Electrical Code he's not an expert over there designing solar systems in Europe.

 

And another thing is he worked for a few consulting firms, Accenture among them, and the US Department of Energy as a Strategy Consultant working on some of the largest renewable energy projects in the world. I bet that's getting bigger every day.

 

He's a business partner with Joe Marhamati whom he met at the Department of Energy’s Headquarters to establish Ipsun Solar. Herve and Joe grew Ipsun Solar from a small local installer to a prominent installer in the Northern Virginia Washington DC area doing both residential and commercial solar and advocacy for solar. Herve and Joe were seen roaming the NABCEP conference. Cool dudes! While they were running a solar business Herve saw the need for better software and co-founded Ipsun Sunvoy and we're going to get into what they do but they make tools and things coordinating different types of software and communications together. It’s awesome!

 

He’s a proud father of three boys, a CEO and he is fighting climate change.

Climate Change Activism Coupling (CCA-coupling)

At the COP 27 conference there was a lot of talk about other issues besides climate change, which I thought was interesting. Here were my notes:

 

I find it interesting at COP27 that there are a lot of other issues that are not directly about solving the CO2 crisis. Human rights, sexual rights, indigenous rights and economic injustice are all very important and all can be indirectly linked to climate change problems, but we need to get the jerks that are against justice on the side of reducing CO2 growth fast in order to move forward fast.

 

There are many jerks, especially in Florida (that’s a joke), that see human rights as something called “woke” and then when you combine it with CO2 problems, they are automatically against both at once. We need to fix the emergency, make the race to lower the CO2 rate an economic issue that even greedy selfish people can stand behind. Greedy selfish people can stand behind energy security, energy independence, ramping up the cheapest form of energy production, factories in America, good paying jobs, making it a made locally issue. We are not going to get there without the greedy selfish people on our side. We must get along!  We are at a time when doing the right thing is also doing the greedy thing, since renewable energy is the future and will make the next wave of millionaires and billionaires.

 

This podcast was originally written at the UN COP27 conference in Egypt in November 2022 and then tied up back at home.

 

To learn about the technical aspects of solar go to www.solarSEAN.com and become certifiably NABCEP.

Bill Brooks Talks PV IV Curves

In this podcast Bill gets down to the basics talking about PV IV curves, Short Circuit Current (Isc), Maximum Power Current (Imp), Open Circuit Voltage (Voc), Maximum Power Voltage (Vmp), Maximum Power Point (MPP), Light Emitting Diodes (LED) in reverse is a solar cell or aka photo diode and if you put power into a solar cell it makes invisible light (infrared).

 

To learn more go to www.solarSEAN.com and get NABCEP certified while you are at it!