Welcome to Friday and this week's installment of Friday Files.

 

DOE SunShot Initiative has two solar funding opps

SunShot is a collaborative national initiative to make solar energy cost competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade.

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·         Plug-and-play funding available – The Department of Energy is seeking proposals to develop a plug-and-play photovoltaic (PV) system that can be installed without special training or tools and simply plugged into a PV-ready circuit. This funding opportunity will provide up to $25 million for multiple projects over five years to make consumer friendly solar energy systems widely available in the marketplace. Get details >>

·         Funding opportunity to improve solar forecasting -- DOE also has a funding opportunity that aims to improve the accuracy of solar forecasting in the subhourly, short-term (1–6 hours), and day-ahead timeframes. Up to $9 million will be available over three years for projects that help better predict PV system power output. Get details >>

 

Canada launches smart grid repository

Developed by SmartGrid Canada and funded by the Natural Resources Canada ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative, the new repository serves as a gateway connecting the Canadian smart grid community to relevant sources of information in one centralized location. It's similar to the DOE-funded Smart Grid Information Clearinghouse in the U.S. As SmartGrid Canada notes, increased smart grid activity across Canada, creates a need to share knowledge and collaborate on R&D, demos and implementation projects. Visit Canada's smart grid repository >>

Pushing harder on that Green Button

The White House announced six more utilities and electricity suppliers have joined the Green Button initiative, the industry-led effort that enables electricity customers to

download information about their household or building energy-use in a consumer- and computer-friendly format. They are: Chattanooga EPB, National Grid, Rocky Mountain Power, Pacific Power, PPL and TXU Energy. They join 15 others that have already agreed to base their Green Button functions on a common technical standard developed in collaboration with a public-private partnership supported by the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Meanwhile, several new companies announced they are developing applications or services for businesses and consumers using this industry data standard: EnergyAI, Melon Power, Performance Systems Development, Retroficiency, Snugg Home, and Wattvision. Learn more about the Green Button and the DOE's Apps for Energy Challenge which has a May 15 deadline.

 

From the school of smart ideas (and ugly sweaters)

Getting kids engaged in saving energy was the idea behind an Energy Challenge recently concluded in British Columbia's largest school district. The competition involved four secondary schools and the idea was to see which one could save the most energy in a week's time. Pulse Energy’s software was used to create a baseline for each school, representing energy performance over a ‘typical’ week. Turning off lights, eating cold lunches in the cafeteria and turning down the heat on Ugly Sweater Day were among the energy-saving activities at the schools. Winner was LA Matheson, which used 2,000 kilowatt hours or 18.2% less than the baseline in just a week. Read more about the Energy Challenge >>

 

Tesla's Model S beta prototype tour

Tesla is touting its Model S as the world's first premium electric sedan. It promises a 17-inch touchscreen, a thrilling drive experience and seating for seven. The reason we mention this is that we noticed the Model S beta prototype tour has just made a stop at a mall near us – and in fact will be in a number of cities in North America this month and next. We can dream, right? See the tour schedule >>

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