Solar Energy Storage and Battery News

Scientists at Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have developed a new class of electrolytes they say could bring calcium batteries – currently only a lab technology – a step closer to being a practical reality for energy storage.

The company launched a solid-state battery in August it claimed could recharge itself to some degree from electrons in the air. Now ConFlow is preparing to test its devices with the help of artificial intelligence-powered monitoring devices in the new year.

Batteries that power our smartphones need lithium – an increasingly precious resource. Could Bolivia supply the world?

American John B. Goodenough, Brit Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino, from Japan, have received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing the lithium-ion battery. A statement from the Royal Academy of Sciences of Sweden said the invention “laid the foundations of a society without wires and fossil fuels, and [they] are of great benefit to humanity”.

The Consortium for Battery Innovation has outlined research goals for advanced lead-based battery concepts, claiming the potential of the technology is “nowhere near fully exploited”. The group, comprised of lead-battery industry stakeholders, says such devices can play an important role alongside lithium-ion and other storage technologies in electric vehicles, renewable energy storage and other applications.

Engie has been selected to supply a solar power plant in Guam with 50 MWdc of generation capacity and approximately 300 MWh of storage – with the express purpose to deliver 100% of the electricity after sunset.

Engie has been hired by Guam’s state electricity utility to build two solar-plus-storage plants with a combined capacity of 50MWp/300MWh on the Micronesian island.

Japan risks saddling its citizens with an inefficient, economically obsolete power fleet if it doesn’t rethink its current plans for a large-scale roll-out of new coal, experts have warned.

PacifiCorp has formalised a long-anticipated shift from coal to solar, wind and battery storage, setting ambitious targets underpinned by a belief in clean energy’s sound economics.

A new study shows that solar may help reduce water pumping costs in a desert oasis of Mauritania by more than 300%, while also considerably reducing water losses. The researchers claim that PV water pumping may also help prevent the desertification of these areas.

Originally intended to commission 140 MW of storage, the tender drew three winning projects: a 50 MW system and two 30 MW facilities. Eirgrid has estimated the total value of the contracts at around €6 million per year.

The project is in Giuncaggio, in the northeastern part of the French island, and was built with Tesla Powerpack batteries, a Nidec power management system and a new power management device from the project’s developer Corsica Sole.

A recent project milestone saw the disconnection of properties from overhead lines and will enable 64km of poles and wires to be replaced by off-grid solar-plus-battery solutions.

An €18 million loan has been provided by the African Development Bank. The solar park, planned for capital N’Djamena, will be coupled to 4 MWh of storage.

PacifiCorp released a draft of its long-term energy plan that continues investments in new wind generation and transmission, while adding significant new solar and storage resources. The plan, which is the result of a comprehensive data analysis and stakeholder input process, demonstrates the company’s adoption of additional lower-cost renewable resources to meet customer needs and support for its phased coal transition.