National Grid has reduced its forecasts for electricity storage capacity in the UK down to just 10.7GW by 2050 in the most ambitious scenario set out within its future projections for the energy sector.

Following the wishes of its customers, Germany-headquartered PV firm IBC Solar has launched a new package that helps partners in 30 countries with the planning, installation and maintenance of its lithium-ion energy storage solutions.

A lack of clarity around India’s recently enforced Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill has caused a PV tender delay in the state of Gujarat and prompted the nation’s energy storage alliance to write a letter of appeal to the government.

With the rise of solar-plus-storage applications round the world, Frank Qiao, sales director at Growatt New Energy, talks to PV Tech about some of the key inverter trends and new products.

At least two global technology leaders could set up Gigafactories to manufacture lithium-ion cells in India in the next couple of years, and most major Indian firms are setting up energy storage divisions, according to the head of the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA).

Business models used by Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS), including creating “Hybrid Electric Buildings” with energy storage, take the industry to a “new level”, VC investor Nancy Pfund has said.

Fluence, a new energy storage company, has been launched jointly by global engineering giant Siemens and energy storage system integrator and developer AES.

A supply deal has been signed, for components made by Ideal Power to be integrated into NEXTracker’s solar-plus-storage offerings, including power conversion system and solar PV inverter.

While the global energy storage industry has continued its pace of rapid growth during the past year, well-established markets remain highly concentrated in specific regions of the world. Alex Eller of Navigant Research discusses many of the factors influencing growth trends for energy storage at both utility-scale and distributed levels.

Sonnen is looking to sign up 2,000 Australian customers this year for SonnenFlat, where households sign up to pay a monthly ‘flat rate’ for power while their batteries are used to benefit the local grid.