Australia’s solar states defying the government coal train
Make no mistake - headlines in the mainstream press this week around Australia, climate change and energy are not positive. But enthusiasm at state level, where arguably politicians have closer relationships with their constituents, appears to run counter to apathy or even obstructionism from the top.
Throwing caution to the wind (and sun): why Solaredge is ‘all in’ on energy storage
We talk about how solar and storage can be competitive with fossil fuels, how Solaredge is maintaining its own competitive advantage as well as some exclusive inside info on the company's forthcoming residential battery energy storage systems.
A flow battery ‘competitive with the LG Chems and Samsungs of this world’
Some choice words from conversations with Scott McGregor, CEO at redT, Avalon Battery president and chief product officer Matt Harper and NEXTracker’s chief technology officer, Alex Au.
ROUNDUP: Australia’s vanadium, UK battery+EV charger deal, DC-coupled optimiser launch from Alencon
News in brief from around the world in energy storage.
‘Transactive energy’ powers households as Australia’s AGL expands virtual power plant
Virtual power plants made up of household solar and battery systems look set to continue their rise in Australia, with utility AGL expanding the scope of an ongoing project significantly.
GlidePath acquires 149MW Texas wind portfolio with storage additions planned
GlidePath Power Solutions has acquired eight wind projects in North Texas serving the Southwest Power Pool.
UK’s blackout first-responders included 475MW of batteries
A report out today on the causes of the UK’s recent blackout, where electricity supply to 5% of National Grid’s customers was cut off “to protect the other 95%”, highlighted that 475MW of batteries were used to help bring the network back online.
Unsubsidised ESS projects to ‘pay dividends’ for New England’s municipal utilities
NEC announced the award of six projects throughout counties in Massachusetts and Maine yesterday, including a 3MW / 6MWh project just contracted with Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant.
North Carolina plans for life after ‘uneconomical’ coal
North Carolina’s draft Clean Energy Plan was published last week, including the retirement of 4GW of coal and putting in place measures to drive renewable energy and EV adoption in the US state.
Podcast audio: SolarEdge’s first battery launch and how solar is ‘now a real contender’
Here's the extended audio version of our recent interview with Lior Handelsman, founder and VP for product and marketing strategy, talking for the first time in depth about the forthcoming launch of a battery system under the SolarEdge brand.
China tariffs: US industry group has ‘deep concerns’
The US Energy Storage Association has expressed “deep concern” that additional tariffs slapped on Chinese goods will adversely affect the domestic energy storage industry.
Almost 4GW of virtual power plants are in operation worldwide, Navigant says
Navigant Research has created a definition for virtual power plants (VPPs) in the course of creating a market report which finds that nearly 4GW of such projects are already in operation, with rapid growth forecasted over the next decade.
‘World’s largest tech investor’ puts US$110m bet on energy storage using concrete
Swiss energy storage start-up Energy Vault will use the investment from Soft Bank's Vision Fund to "accelerate global deployment" of its energy storage tower technology.
‘One generation to end fossil fuels’: BMW supplies batteries to big Dutch hybrid renewables plant
European energy company Vattenfall is combining a 22MW wind power plant with 38MW of solar PV at a hybrid project in the Netherlands, integrating the capacity with 12MWh of batteries from carmaker BMW.
Los Angeles schools save ‘significant’ money on bills with battery storage
The board of education at a California school district which found that it could use batteries to reduce energy bills at seven learning facilities by US$5.7 million has contracted ENGIE Storage to deliver 3.5MW / 7MWh of energy storage systems.
Battery storage called into action as UK suffers country-wide power cuts
Battery storage assets were called into action last week after the UK suffered country-wide power outages following a transmission system stress event.