Energy storage might not be cost effective in Germany as a method of helping the transition to a higher grid penetration of renewable energy, until that penetration level reaches as high as 90%, according to a leading think tank.
French battery manufacturer and designer Saft has been contracted to supply a 1MW/3MWh lithium-ion storage system at an educational facility in California, aimed at mitigating the impact of variable solar generation.
A large scale ‘battery park’ has gone online in West Meklenberg, Germany, designed to stabilise grid frequency in an area where a large amount of power generation comes from wind and other renewable energy.
The developing economies of the world are largely located in geographical regions that have abundant renewable energy resources, be they solar, wind, hydro or in some cases geothermal, yet paradoxically at the individual and rural community level, access to energy is often a very real issue. Establishing a continuous chain of temperature controlled cold environments from the point of harvest to the marketplace and on into the home, a ‘cold chain’, is what is required in order to avoid produce spoilage and to connect farmers with higher value market options in distant urban centres or overseas.
The Australian Energy Storage Council, a new industry representative body has been launched for energy storage in Australia, backed and co-founded by the Australian Solar Council.
Sunworks, the installation arm of PV manufacturing start-up, Solar3D, has begun offering battery storage systems in its solar power projects.
Australian solar and energy storage company ZEN Energy has received a AUS$200,000 (US$184,000) grant from local government toward the development and commercialisation of its energy storage technologies.
Tesla’s lithium-ion ‘Gigafactory’ will be built in Nevada, after company officials including chief executive officer Elon Musk appeared alongside the US state’s governor at a press conference held yesterday afternoon.
The Swiss and Chinese power engineering firms ABB and BYD have revealed a collaboration to develop new storage technologies.
Researchers from Technische Universität München (TUM) in Germany working with lithium-ion batteries claim to have observed lithium plating taking place at close quarters while batteries are in use, gaining insights into the phenomenon in the process.
