In Print
Joshua Pearce co-authored an article with alumni Aishwarya Mundada (ECE) and Emily Prehoda (SS), “U.S. Market for Solar Photovoltaic Plug-and-Play Systems,” in Renewable Energy.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.11.034
In the News
Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) was quoted in Coal Workers Find Work in Solar Power published in Solar Reviews.
TechCentury, an engineering and technology news web site published by the Engineering Society of Detroit, featured the new plug and play solar research of Joshua Pearce (MSE, ECE). Read the story.
Research by alumni Aishwarya Mundada (ECE) and Emily Prehoda (SS) and faculty member Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) was covered in Plug-and-play solar could be the next clean energy wave in the US-TreeHugger, US market for »plug and play« solar panels is about 57 GW, says a MTU study-Photon Science Daily and other online news sources.
MichiganAgConnection, MinnesotaAgConnection, IowaAgConnection and other publications around the country reported on Pearce’s plug and play solar research.
MITechNews.com published a story on Joshua Pearce’s (MSE, ECE) plug and play solar research.
An article on solar energy by Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) appeared in the Regulation section of the Harvard Business Review Wednesday.
Pearce was also quoted on investment in solar energy research by NASA paying off in an article, “Is NASA a Waste of Money?” in Machine Design.
Plug In for Renewable Energy
A new study shows a huge U.S. market for plug and play solar energy, with billions of dollars in retail sales and energy savings. So what’s holding up widespread use?
Support for solar energy is vast. According to a 2015 Gallup poll, 79 percent of Americans want the U.S. to put more emphasis on developing solar power. Most of the same people, unfortunately, can’t afford to install solar energy systems in their homes. Even after federal tax credits, installing solar panels to cover all of a family’s electricity needs can cost tens of thousands of dollars. For others, a home solar system isn’t a consideration because they rent, or move frequently.
But Michigan Tech’s’ Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) says he knows the solution: plug and play solar.
“Plug and play systems are affordable, easy to install and portable,” says Pearce. “The average American consumer can buy and install them with no training.”
In a study funded by the Conway Fellowship and published in Renewable Energy, Pearce and researchers Aishwarya Mundada and Emily Prehoda estimate that plug and play solar could provide 57 gigawatts of renewable energy — enough to power the cities of New York and Detroit — with potentially $14.3 to $71.7 billion in sales for retailers and $13 billion a year in cost savings for energy users.
