Having been subject to discussion for years within the academic sphere, energy storage projects have become a topic of high interest to energy sector focused investors in recent years. Philipp Lobnig of E-nable+, an online platform connecting energy projects with investors, offers his views on the key questions these investors should be asking.

Indian Discom (distribution company) Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (Tata Power-DDL) and German government-owned entity GIZ have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work jointly on promoting rooftop solar, energy storage systems, EVs and smart grid initiatives.

Chris Pritchett of UK law firm Foot Anstey recently served as moderator for the “Developers and financiers debate” at the Energy Storage Conference at the Solar & Storage Live 2017 show in England. Afterwards, Andy Colthorpe caught up with Chris for an in-depth interview on camera.

The amount of VC funding invested in battery energy storage companies in the first nine months of this year has more than doubled from the equivalent period of 2016, according to a report from Mercom Capital.

Independent accreditation and testing company DNV GL has created Battery XT, the first testing-based verification of battery lifetime for Li-on batteries.

The Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission has approved two new programmes expanding its customers’ abilities to install rooftop PV and energy storage systems, while also clarifying the terms of its existing programmes.

In its home territory of Germany, energy storage provider Sonnen is making a play to replace utilities, but its business models in the US will instead emphasise cooperation with existing energy suppliers.

Australia’s government has dropped plans for introducing a Clean Energy Target (CET) post-2020, opting instead for a technology-neutral plan that it claimed would prioritise reliability and bringing prices down.

US trade association groups, the Energy Storage Association and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), have called on their respective industries to assist hurricane relief efforts in the US and its territories.

One of the ‘value of energy storage’ questions that was being asked a lot two or three years ago was around the use of batteries and decentralised system architecture instead of traditional “poles and wires” grid networks. However, advancements in this area have been slow to materialise and Navigant Research’s recent ‘Energy Storage for Transmission and Distribution Deferral’ report sought to fill the knowledge gap. Andy Colthorpe took the opportunity to ask lead author Alex Eller three quick questions around the topic.