The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) has approved a 200MW expansion of utility Xcel Energy’s Capacity*Connect virtual power plant (VPP) programme.

Lion Energy has announced a strategic partnership with gigafactory startup American Battery Factory to enable recently announced 4.5GWh offtake agreements.

Dutch TSO TenneT has signed a contract with a developer for a large-scale BESS which will help to relieve grid congestion, possibly enabling the quicker deployment of renewables in the Netherlands.

Australia’s heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels has left households and businesses dangerously exposed to global energy shocks, with the current conflict involving the US and Iran costing motorists more than AU$1 billion (US$710 million) in March alone.

New South Wales has been warned that it must accelerate the development of battery energy storage systems to meet its 2030 targets.

Energy Vault has entered what it has described as “one of the world’s fastest-growing energy storage markets,” acquiring a portfolio of development projects in Japan.

What does the combination of regulatory, supply chain and market pressures mean for the cost of building large-scale BESS this year?

Gridstor and Axpo have executed an energy storage revenue swap agreement for a 220MW/440MWh BESS in Galveston County, Texas.

Multinational power firm Engie has acquired two large-scale BESS projects in Spain, paired with synchronous condensers and has launched construction on a BESS in France.

Private Energy Partners has submitted a hybrid energy project to Australia’s environmental approval process, proposing a 780MW BESS.