Secure financing for energy storage is likely to be the main driver for its deployment, the chief of the UK’s biggest solar developer has said, echoing views given to Energy Storage News by analysis firm Lux Research.

News in brief: A battery park in Germany will be capable of restarting the local grid in the event of a blackout, a public square in Haiti will be lit at night with solar energy, and a revived Solarmax will target its new range of storage and inverter solutions at several European markets this year.

The UK government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is seeking answers from the energy storage industry on how best to define and consider the various technologies, both behind and in front of the meter.

Research firm IHS recently reported that as of the end of 2015, there was a global pipeline of 1.6GW of battery or flywheel-based grid storage projects in place. Andy Colthorpe spoke to principal analyst Marianne Boust, who explained why last year truly saw a “change in stakeholder mentality” in favour of energy storage and why 2016 will be another record-breaking year.

Workable alternatives to utility power involving energy storage are beginning to emerge with new and innovative business models, according to an investment advisor who worked on Younicos’ recent US$50 million “land grab”.

A joint statement on economic and social cooperation between the governments of India and France has “noted the important role of energy storage to promote renewable energies”.

French manufacturer Leclanche will supply battery storage systems to a 13MW capacity storage project with 53MWh of storage duration in Ontario to be used for voltage control and in providing reactive power support to the grid.

Almost US$700 million of corporate funding went into energy storage in 2015, including US$397 million from venture capital (VC) investment, according to the latest report from Mercom Capital.

Although Britain’s government has cut support for renewable energy severely in the past few months, controversially claiming a need to balance the transition away from fossil fuels against the cost to consumers, energy storage may face less of a challenge at the top level, according speakers at a conference in London.

Analysis firm IHS has said that as of the end of 2015’s fourth quarter, the pipeline of planned energy storage projects using batteries or flywheels had reached 1.6GW, in a year which had seen a “change in stakeholder mentality” in favour of the technologies.