Last week, two significant milestones in the emergence of a market for large-scale battery storage on the grid were laid in Ontario, Canada.

The US’ installed base of utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) increased by 80% in 2022, as the industry had a record-breaking year.

Utility Hawaiian Electric has finalised a plan to completely use renewable resources by 2045, including mid-term goals of adding renewables generation and rooftop solar by 2030.

UGL has been selected to design, test and commission a BESS which will provide power for BHP’s iron ore port in Western Australia.

A large-scale pumped hydro energy storage project in Washington State has passed a key stage of approvals, while another in South Dakota has been dropped.

Wärtsilä has revealed details of fire testing its large-scale battery storage product was put through, which the company claimed went beyond commonly accepted requirements.

Energy optimisation software provider Peak Power has received US$35 million investment, while startup Financial Machines has launched its own platform, with both targeting the US energy storage market.

Senators in Maine are considering legislation to accelerate energy storage development, including a focus on who is allowed to own resources placed on transmission and distribution grids.

Sungrow has received a Certificate of Approval (COA) in New York City for its Powertitan battery storage solution, joining just a handful of other approved products on a list produced by the city’s fire department.

BMW has partnered with a California utility to test out vehicle-to-X technologies, while fellow carmaker Volvo has invested in a bi-directional charging solutions provider.