The optimal integration of distributed energy resources such as solar, battery storage and smart thermostats becomes an ever-more complex and pressing question. Rahul Kar, general manager and VP for New Energy at AutoGrid Systems looks at the role artificial intelligence can play in smarter energy networks.

Dr Prof John Goodenough, one of the three inventors of the modern lithium-ion battery has congratulated Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) as it breaks ground on a new laboratory in China to expand its research and development (R&D) into novel energy technologies.

Adding well-optimised energy storage to solar PV projects in the US state of Massachusetts can increase project revenues by up to 50%, Stem Inc has claimed, as the energy storage provider announced the completion of a front-of-meter solar project with 8MWh of storage.

“This next phase we’ve entered is a large number of projects in a lot of places,” Fluence VP for marketing and strategy, Brian Perusse, tells Energy-Storage.news.

Global disruptions have always fostered booms in innovation and COVID-19 is no different. Now, the innovators at the forefront of energy and green technologies must create solutions faster than ever to help to solve this monumental global challenge and Build Back Better.

V2G can significantly reduce energy system greenhouse gas emissions, as well as ensure resilience in the event of power outages and prolong the battery life of an EV, according to a review of nine projects across Europe.

Itochu, a major Japanese corporation which has sold over 330MWh of residential battery storage systems in its home market, has invested ¥1 billion (US$9.35 million) in TRENDE, a renewable energy retailer which counts utility company Tokyo Electric Power among its major shareholders, with a view to launching a range of renewable energy and storage-enabled services.

Vectren, owner of utility firms in the US states of Indiana and Ohio, has unveiled plans to ditch more than 700MW of coal generation and partly replace it with up to 1GW of solar PV.

US residential solar installer Sunrun is deploying aggregated rooftop solar-plus-batteries in partnership with utility Southern California Edison (SCE), in a demonstration project of the systems’ capabilities to run as a virtual power plant (VPP).

A new service from Photovoltaik Institut Berlin (PI Berlin) looks to solve a pitfall that often awaits solar industry stakeholders when adding energy storage to their projects: making sure the production quality of the batteries they choose meets their requirements.