Pika Awarded $875K for Islanding Inverter Development

The U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative has awarded $875,000 to Pika Energy, Inc. to expand the functionality of Pika's islanding inverters to include utility aggregation and demand response, the Maine-based manufacturer announced Wednesday at the Solar Power International conference in Las Vegas.

The company will use its SunShot funds to add new hardware and software features to its model X7601 Pika Islanding Inverter, enabling the inverter for demand response, aggregation and other grid services aimed at evolving the U.S. electricity grid. The enhanced communication and software capabilities will allow utilities to remotely dispatch distributed energy systems in periods of peaking demand.

“The Pika Energy Island™, with its high voltage bus electronics, has the high efficiency and smart operational features necessary to offer utilities a truly distributed path to the smart grid,” said Pika Energy president and co-founder Ben Polito. “We’re thrilled to work with the U.S. Department of Energy on this exciting project, which will leverage Pika’s technology to take a big step toward a smarter, cleaner grid.”

Pika Energy is a provider of smart power electronics for solar-plus-storage. The company’s Pika Energy Island™ system uses a patented 380V direct current bus to integrate solar and batteries on the same bus, enabling building-scale nanogrids using a single islanding inverter.

All Pika Energy products are powered by the company's patented REbusâ„¢ DC nanogrid, a smart 380Vdc bus that provides power transmission, control, and data on the same wires. Our products provide grid-optional clean power that enables buildings to collect, store, sell, or self-consume energy.