Solar Energy Storage and Battery News

Big storage comes to Ireland
A 200 MW storage project is being developed by Hanwha Energy Corporation and Lumcloon Energy. The €300 million facility is intended to stabilize the grid to host more renewable energy capacity.
Sep 10, 2019 // Storage, Grids, Germany, tender, Europe, Hanwha Q Cells, Richard Bruton, Hanwha Energy Corporation, Lumcloon Energy Limited, LSIS, Nigel Reams
Bipartisan bill looks to simplify distributed solar permitting in US
A Republican senator from Maine and a Democratic senator from New Mexico have introduced legislation that aims to slash costs and red tape currently complicating local permitting for distributed renewable energy, energy storage and electric vehicle (EV) charging systems.
Sep 10, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Residential, Markets & Finance News, Storage, Grids, Rooftop PV, USA, storage, North America, rooftop solar system, distributed solar, investment tax credit, Ross Hopper, Maine
Italian utility-scale solar boom a no-go without storage, event hears
The colossal solar boom Italy wants to drive in a decade could lie beyond reach if developers do not act to embrace energy storage more decisively, industry players have argued at a recent event.
Sep 10, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Storage, ENERGY STORAGE, Italy, Europe, solar-plus-storage, subsidy-free pv, BESS
RES battery prevented complete blackout in the UK
On August 9, a thunderstorm caused 1.5 GW of generation capacity to go offline within seconds in the U.K. The incident caused millions of households to temporarily lose power but the situation could have been considerably worse if not for the country’s battery storage reserves.
Sep 9, 2019 // Storage, TESLA, UK, Australia, Europe, neoen, Oceania, RES battery
Ameren puts forward plans for 30MW of solar-plus-storage in rural Missouri
Utility Ameren Missouri is planning three grid-scale solar facilities with energy storage, marking what is claimed will be the first ever instance of an energy company in the US Mid-West state powering its customers’ homes with batteries.
Sep 5, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Storage, USA, pv power plants, solar pv, solar-plus-storage, BESS, North America, Missouri, ameren, battery energy storage systems
Australia’s Clean Energy Council calls for drastic power market reform
Australia needs to drastically overhaul its power market in order to harness and benefit from the country’s skyrocketing rooftop solar and battery market, according to the Clean Energy Council (CEC).
Sep 5, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, Storage, Rooftop PV, Battery Storage, Australia, Oceania, Clean Energy Council, rooftop solar, LRET, David Parker
Hydrogen-powered bicycles offer new electromobility concept
With the 200 hydrogen bikes offered to journalists and world leaders at the G7 summit in Biarritz proving popular, manufacturer Pragma Industries has received an order for 1,000 of them from Chilean president Sebastian Pinera. The company’s founder, Pierre Forté, wants the bike to have a societal impact in developing countries.
Sep 4, 2019 // Technology, Manufacturing News, Storage, Transport, Solar to Fuel, Lithium-ion batteries, Toyota, France, Europe, hydrogen, Daimler, hydrogen-fueled cars, Pierre Forté, Pragma Industries, Sebastian Pinera, Solar to Fuel, Solar to Hydrogen, Producing Hydrogen, Hydrogen from renewable, Renewable fuels
Dutch government treats 21 municipalities to smart EV chargers
Vehicle-to-grid functions could soon become increasingly important. While policymakers discuss the necessary regulations in other nations, the Netherlands government is motoring ahead with the technology.
Sep 4, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Storage, Grids, Transport, Germany, Europe, Netherlands, vehicle-to-grid, Stientje van Veldhoven, Nissan Leaf, Renault Zoe, Mobility House
Solar to power 7MW ‘water battery’ at Aussie university
Energy use by air conditioning can be both expensive and taxing for the environment, with the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), Queensland, Australia, set to trial a three-storey ‘water battery’ to reduce both energy demand and cost.
Sep 4, 2019 // Storage, Thermal, Australia, queensland, Oceania, thermal energy storage, air conditioning, water battery, cooling, USC
The Biggest Batteries Coming Soon to a Grid Near You
The 100-megawatt club is about to get a lot busier. Here are the world’s eight largest battery storage projects.
Sep 3, 2019 // Storage, California, USA, storage, TESLA, South Australia, North America, lithium-ion battery, AES, NextEra, Vistra
Africa’s ‘largest’ solar-plus-wind-plus-storage project unveiled
Japanese developer Eurus Energy and Australian-headquartered wind developer Windlab have signed a deal with Kenyan authorities to develop an 80MW solar-plus-wind-plus-storage facility in central Kenya.
Sep 2, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Storage, Grids, Windlab, solar-plus-wind-plus-storage, Africa, Eurus Energy
SEIA: US renewable purchase reform must not entrench utility dominance
The pressure building for the US to water down decades-old federal energy policy risks further tilting the scales in utilities’ favour, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
Sep 1, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Storage, Policy, USA, SEIA, FERC, solar-plus-storage, Jimmy Carter, North America, Abigail Ross Hopper, NARUC
The weekend read: Chile taps ‘white gold’ for security of energy supply
Chile is home to a massive 10.3 million tons of lithium reserves, most of which is found in the Atacama Desert in the northern part of the country. With some of the highest solar irradiation levels on Earth, this region also boasts the perfect conditions for generating solar power. Developments in the photovoltaic market, alongside implementation of more efficient energy storage systems, are positioning Chile as a regional leader in this field. So what does the future hold for battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Chile, and what obstacles lie in their way?
Sep 1, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Storage, Engie, Chile, South america, BESS, lithium, Sebastián Piñera, AES Gener, Claudia Rahmann, Juan Carlos Jobet, Javier Giorgio
‘Energy storage is not enough, a renewables grid needs flexible gas back-up’
The managing director of London-based energy infrastructure company Statera has told pv magazine a clean energy grid in the U.K. will require as much flexible gas plant capacity as battery storage.
Sep 1, 2019 // Plants, Storage, Grids, storage, UK, Europe, flexible gas plant, Statera, Tom Vernon
Mini series: The evolution of testing
Tara Doyle started her career in the solar energy industry more than 15 years ago, and today serves as the chief commercial officer at PVEL, which claims to be one of the first testing laboratories to focus on bankability for the downstream PV buyer community. The lab serves developers, financiers, O&M companies, asset owners, and insurers.
Sep 1, 2019 // Storage, Inverters, Opinions, California, USA, storage, Inverters, PV module, North America, pvel, DNV GL, Tara Doyle