Bosch claims it has developed an energy management system for optimising electrical and thermal energy consumption from solar power systems, which the company will launch at this year’s Intersolar exhibition and conference.

The International Electrochemical Commission (IEC) will begin a programme of standardisation for redox flow batteries – which can be used for large scale energy storage applications – following discussions which were initiated in Japan in October 2013.

SolarCity looks likely to resume its programme of deploying residential energy storage systems in California, following a preliminary ruling by the state’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) appeared to rule in the company’s favour.

Representatives of battery and energy storage companies including AES Corporation and FIAMM believe the priority for the nascent energy storage industry should be to standardise technologies, along with developing a regulatory framework that recognises the value of storage.

Energy storage technologies are not the “silver bullet” they have sometimes been hyped as, but nonetheless have a crucial role to play in a decarbonised electricity system, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Global PV company Hanwha Q Cells and energy storage company Systems Sunlight have teamed up to construct a hybrid power system for telecommunications provider MTN Cyprus.

NEC Corporation has commissioned a 2MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system designed to ease the integration of renewable energy into the grid for Italian distribution system operator (DSO) Enel Distribuzione.

Fees being charged to interconnect residential storage systems to the grid in California are “arbitrary” and “punitive”, while some may even be illegal, according to US installer SolarCity.

Electrical storage has been much hyped as a key technology in the ongoing deployment of solar. But as Andy Colthorpe reports, with take-up of the technology so far only patchy, the coming year will be a crucial one for storage to prove its worth.

Japan has launched a subsidy programme to support the installation of lithium-ion battery-based stationary storage systems, offering to pay individuals and entities up to two-thirds of their purchase price.