(Source: Qcells)

Qcells and Navajo Power Home (NPH) have announced a partnership to provide electricity to an estimated 300 homes on the Navajo Nation reservation. 

Earlier this year, Qcells donated 1,000 solar panels to Navajo Power Home. The company says this was both the first solar panel donation received by NPH, as well as the first at-scale donation from a solar manufacturer to support the electrification of tribal lands. 

In addition to Qcells’ donation, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded a $5 million Fixed Energy Improvements in Rural Areas Grant to Navajo Power Home to expand its services.

Between the donation and grant from DOE, NPH will meet its goals to power 1,000 homes by the end of 2025 and grow its team of 13.

“We are proud to be providing people living on the Navajo Nation with access to reliable, affordable power for the first time,” says Danny O’Brien, president of Corporate Affairs for Qcells. 

“From turning on the lights to refrigerating groceries, we are excited to work with Navajo Power Home to make this a reality in more than 300 homes in the Navajo Nation. This donation really speaks to our ongoing commitment to sustainably power communities around the world with our U.S. manufactured solar panels and our full suite of clean energy solutions.” 

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Jennifer M. Granholm

Clean energy employment increased by 142,000 jobs in 2023, accounting for more than half of new energy sector jobs and growing at more than double the rate of the rest of the energy sector and the U.S. economy overall. 

This is according to the 2024 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), a study designed to track and understand employment trends across the energy sector released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). 

It says that as the private sector continues to announce major investments in American-made energy, the 2024 USEER shows that the energy workforce overall added over 250,000 jobs in 2023, with 56% of those in clean energy. 

Unionization rates in clean energy, at 12.4%, surpassed the average rate in the energy sector of 11%, driven by growth in unionized construction and utility industries. The sectors experiencing significant growth include renewable energy, as well as transmission, distribution, and storage. 

“We are now starting to see the job impacts of investments made through the infrastructure and inflation reduction laws: first in construction and as America builds more of these factories, we’ll see hundreds of thousands more,” says U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. 

“The data clearly show that clean energy means jobs – good jobs, union jobs, and jobs retained – in communities across the country as we race to dominate the global clean energy economy.”

This year’s report reflects survey responses from 42,000 businesses nationwide.

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With Ford Intelligent Backup Power and the Home Integration System, F-150 Lightning will automatically kick in to power the home if the grid goes down, while also giving customers the freedom to charge their truck or power their home using their residential solar installation. February 2, 2022 Tim SylviaWhen the the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck hits the road later this spring, it will deliver the same utility that has made the F-150 line a leader among all truck offerings. However the Lightning will be able to deliver something that no pickup truck has done before: it can power your home.Ford has teamed up with Sunrun to enhance home energy management, leveraging the substantial onboard battery capability of the Lightning with Ford Intelligent Backup Power, to give customers the ability to use bidirectional power technology from their all-electric truck to provide energy to their homes during an outage, or to reduce their reliance on the grid when electricity prices are high.With Ford Intelligent Backup Power and the Home Integration System, developed in collaboration with Sunrun, F-150 Lightning automatically kicks in to power the home if the grid goes down. The Home Integration System and Ford Charge Station Pro, the truck’s charging unit, are composed of a power inverter plus a dark start battery and transfer switch, enabling the two-way power flow. Buyers of the extended-range F-150 Lightning automatically receive the Ford Charge Station Pro, while standard-range truck customers can purchase the 80-amp Ford Charge Station Pro and pay for activation separately.The Home Integration System and Ford Charge Station Pro are designed in what is called a vehicle-to-grid direct current configuration (V2G-DC). In V2G-DC, power conversion and smart functions are housed in the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), where the EVSE essentially works like a stationary smart inverter offering grid-support benefits and communication functions to asset operators, in addition to converting power.The Lightning’s extended-range battery system can store up to 131kWh of electricity and deliver up to 9.6kW. For comparison, a Tesla Powerwall 2, one of the leading home storage solutions can store up to 14kWh of electricity and deliver up to 5kW continuously, with a max peak of 7kW.As a battery alone, the Lightning has a storage capacity equivalent to roughly 9.4 Tesla Powerwall 2 units.  Ten batteries would cost approximately $5,500 each before installation costs, while the Lightning is available at a price that can range from $39,974 to upwards of $95,000, depending on which available options the customer chooses. Plus, you can’t drive a home battery to work.Once power is restored, the system automatically reverts back to utility power, but users can configure the system to charge their truck using their residential solar installation, if they so choose. Based on an average U.S. home at 30 kilowatt-hours of use per day, F-150 Lightning with extended-range battery provides full home power for up to three days, or as long as 10 days when used in conjunction with solar power or considerable energy usage rationing.Outside of the development assistance with the Home Integration System Ford and Sunrun are partnering to provide a seamless installation solution with Sunrun employees installing the specific charging hardware. As part of the partnership, Ford shares that customers interested in combining Ford Charge Station Pro installation with solar power may be eligible to do so for zero dollars down and reduced installation pricing.This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

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