Australian power firm Genex has completed a study showing it is technically feasible to connect a pumped hydro storage facility with its 50MW(ac) Kidston Solar Project in North Queensland, Australia.

Four makers of lithium-ion batteries have been sanctioned by the European Commission for anti-competitive practises, with three incurring fines totalling €166 million (US$176 million) after colluding to “avoid aggressive competition”.

An Arizona scheme to study the use of energy storage and smart inverters in integrating solar to the grid has contracted the deployment of 4MW of AES Energy Storage’s lithium battery systems.

Developers who were successful in winning contracts within last week’s Capacity Market auction have lauded the “crucial role” battery storage is set to play in the future for the national grid.

News in brief: Sunverge launches AC-coupled systems, whether South Australia’s blackouts could have been a different story with batteries, German government approves model region project for renewables, storage and grids.

The number of battery storage projects to have won 15-year contracts in the latest Capacity Market auction is a sign of “considerable confidence” in the technology, according to the director of the Electricity Storage Network.

Storage projects have landed more than 3.2GW of contracts in the latest UK provisional Capacity Market auction results.

A programme by utility Con Edison to reduce stress on the electrical grid at low cost to consumers in two districts of New York will get its first microgrid at a low-income housing complex.

Ireland’s first Tesla Powerpack commercial-scale energy storage system has been installed successfully recently, while England’s first was officially opened with a visit from a government minister yesterday.

A US state-backed organisation is partnering with the government of Singapore to build and test up to three energy storage systems using a variety of technologies on the island state.