Microsoft is going to be the off-taker of power from a 37MW wind power project in Europe, trialling the use of integrated battery energy storage to trade the energy.

E.On has become the first company to have secured an Enhanced Frequency Response (EFR) contract in Britain last year to announce the completion of its project, following the installation and connection of a 10MW battery at a biomass plant last month.

While it may seem like an obvious choice for US states to include energy storage into their Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) commitments, in reality, standalone targets and mandates for energy storage procurement have been preferred.

Both energy storage asset owners and companies setting up to provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services for battery installations need to commit to higher levels of due diligence when selecting contractors according to RES Group’s head of solar and O&M.

UK electrical distribution system operator Northern Powergrid has begun using a £4 million (US$5.27 million) battery paid for by consumers to sell services to National Grid, despite plans from the national regulator Ofgem to prevent distribution network operators (DNOs) from doing so in future.

One of New Zealand’s main gas and electric distribution companies has turned to distributed energy storage systems as a cost-effective alternative to long-distance wires and related infrastructure.

The largest grid-connected energy storage system in Massachusetts will be used to determine the value of the technology throughout the US Commonwealth territory, supported by a Department of Energy Resources (DOER) grant.

​Green Charge, a subsidiary of Engie, will install 1.6MWh of energy storage alongside solar at five schools in California’s Visalia Unified School District.

Battery vendors are being hit by a combination of rising prices for raw materials and continuing currency uncertainty, resulting in rapidly changing costs for businesses according to Easystart.

In a world where energy storage will play an increasingly important role – in balancing renewables, reinforcing the network, and reducing energy costs – how important will ‘brand’ be?