Investors are becoming increasingly comfortable with energy storage as an asset class but numerous regulatory and market design hurdles remain across European markets.
The energy transition arm of Italy’s Enel Group has started construction on a 20MW/40MWh behind-the-meter battery energy storage system at Imperial Oil’s petrochemical complex in Sarnia, Ontario, which it claims will be the largest in North America.
The first awards of funding designed to “turbocharge” UK projects developing long-duration energy storage technologies have been made by the country’s government, with £6.7 million (US$9.11 million) pledged.
The EStor-Lux battery site in south Belgium fully launched commercial activity in December and has successfully participated in grid frequency auctions.
Guidehouse Insights says that the annual power capacity deployments of battery-based residential energy storage systems (RESS) are expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.3% from 2021 to 2030 globally.
Optimisation deals have been announced for battery storage systems in the UK for Habitat Energy and Centrica with developers Eelpower and Arlington Energy respectively.
The first ever solar-plus-storage hybrid resources system in the Philippines is now in operation after energy company AC Energy (ACEN) switched on the site’s battery energy storage system (BESS).
Construction has started on a 3.5GWh pumped hydro plant in Gran Canaria, Spain, and progress has been made on two other projects totalling 18GWh of storage in mainland Spain and Nevada, US.
Industry-watchers will closely follow how the recently completed acquisition of energy storage system integrator NEC ES by LG Energy Solution pans out.
