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Turning air conditions into batteries — This Week in Cleantech

Turning air conditions into batteries — This Week in Cleantech
A factory worker on the Nextracker-dedicated line at JM Steel’s Leetsdale steel facility. (Photo: Nextracker)

This Week in Cleantech is a new, weekly podcast covering the most impactful stories in cleantech and climate in 15 minutes or less. Produced by Renewable Energy World and Tigercomm, This Week in Cleantech will air every Friday in the Factor This! podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s episode features MIT Technology Review reporter Casey Crowhart, who covered how new tech turns air conditioners into batteries. 

1. Red-State Republicans Say They’ll Defend Biden-Era Green Jobs — Bloomberg

Donald Trump has promised to dismantle the IRA if he gets into office, but the substantial investments and job creation from the bill, particularly in red states, make it unlikely that there will be support to dismantle it. Some GOP leaders and lawmakers in red states agree they will defend the IRA if Trump wins the election. Even Republican Tennessee Representative Chuck Fleischmann, with a new battery facility in his district, agreed to brief a potential second Trump administration on battery technology benefits.

Since the IRA passed in August 2022, 325 new clean energy projects have been announced in 41 states and Puerto Rico.

2. Former Rooftop Solar Giant SunPower Files for Bankruptcy — Bloomberg

The entire cleantech sector has dealt with inflation and higher interest rates, but rooftop solar has seen even more challenges. They have dealt with net metering rules in California that reduced the amount of money homes can earn from sending power into the grid and the problem of door-to-door rooftop solar scams.

Now, one of rooftop solar’s largest companies went bankrupt, and carries about $2 billion in long-term debt. Last week, the shares fell down to 48%, reaching a record-low of 33 cents.

3. Around a third of carbon credits fail new benchmark test — Reuters

There is a new standard that aims to serve as the global benchmark for the voluntary carbon market, and 236 million carbon credits which make up 32% of the market did not reach this benchmark All of these carbon credits were linked to renewable energy projects. The issue is that these credits didn’t prove they led to additional carbon reductions beyond what would have happened anyway.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

4. Indiana’s dependence on coal is costing ratepayers millions and holding back clean energy growth — Energy News Network

Indiana ratepayers spend millions per year for power from coal plants, despite having more economical options available, like solar and wind. Outdated electricity market rules often let utility-owned plants keep operating, even if they’re not cost-effective. For example, in the MISO region, limited market competition allows uneconomical coal plants to charge customers. Over three years across MISO, nearly 400 MW of wind power was curtailed in favor of more expensive coal-generated power.

5. Your future air conditioner might act like a battery — MIT Technology Review

One of Nostromo Energy’s cooling systems, which it calls an IceBrick, incorporates energy storage and charges itself when renewable electricity is available and demand is low. Then it provides energy when demand is high. Nostromo’s first system in the US was installed in 2023, with a capacity of 1.4 megawatt-hours.

Cooling represents 20% of global electricity demand in buildings, and can stress the grid during hot days. This new energy storage technology can help solve the problem.