While we have avoided risking the spreading of false information or reacting too hastily to an ever-changing situation, here are some of the latest developments. This blog continues on from the first edition which ran from 17 March 2020 to 3 April 2020.

With everything going on right now around COVID-19, there has been an increase in installers’ and customers’ desires for information. Aric Saunders of Electriq Power, based in California, goes back to basics to support the large group of installers that are just now trying to get into the storage business.

A survey of COVID-19 impacts on China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA) members has underscored their faith in recovery, despite the worries over income and liquidity reported by nearly 80% of respondents.

Utility company RWE has begun marketing a tech solution through which data centres, which already integrate batteries for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, can use their UPS to “help stabilise the grid”.

Home batteries in a South Australia delivered significant revenues from their first six months of participation in a virtual power plant to help balance the grid, even with only an initial 1MW – 2MW of aggregated customer systems participating.

Production of commercial energy storage systems has begun at Tesvolt’s new 255MWh annual capacity factory in Wittenberg, Germany, with staff working in isolation due to the risk of COVID-19 infection.

SimpliPhi Power closed down its manufacturing operations briefly due to the COVID-19 pandemic last week before reopening this week, having made adjustments to try and ensure the safety of workers.

California, the world’s fifth largest economy and a global innovation engine, is confronting ambitious clean energy and GHG reduction goals. California must achieve 60% renewable energy and 5 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, and a fully decarbonised power sector by 2045.

Intersolar Europe 2020 and ees Europe have been cancelled as Europe continues to battle against the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, organisers Solar Promotion GmbH and FWTM GmbH have announced.

NEC Corporation representatives have said that while the domestic market opportunity for battery energy storage remains fairly small for the Japanese company, it is expected to “increase dramatically” within the next three years at commercial and industrial (C&I) and utility-scale.