Financial services giant Morgan Stanley has anticipated that the US energy storage market will grow faster than current consensus expectations, while Deloitte has earmarked the technology for exponential growth – although not perhaps this year.

Listed funds in the UK which own a significant portion of the country’s utility-scale solar PV assets are not currently convinced by battery storage’s feasibility, but remain primed to deploy the technology at scale when the time is right.

News in brief: A selection of news highlights from the energy storage sector including a new approach to benefit stacking from Panasonic in Colorado.

To widen the access for solar to low-income utility customers, non-profit solar organisation GRID Alternatives and PV microinverter producer Enphase Energy have partnered to launch a new solar-plus-storage project in California for up to 50 customers.

Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) and Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) have been awarded a US$3.24 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate the use of energy storage to stabilise high penetrations of solar energy into Texas’ electric grid.

Elon Musk’s electric vehicle and storage company Tesla has officially changed its name from ‘Tesla Motors’ to ‘Tesla Inc’ according to a new regulatory filing.

While Brexit – the impending departure of the UK from the European Union – looms, bringing uncertainty into the country’s economy and international relationships, the role energy storage will play in a decentralised, low(er) carbon and more flexible energy system at least seems a little more assured than it did before.

A 1MW ‘virtual power plant’ part-funded by the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR), utilising energy storage across 29 customer sites, has been connected in O’ahu, Hawaii, by Stem.

System provider JLM Energy has launched the first in a suite of energy storage products that connects battery storage directly to solar panels.

Increasing Li-ion demand will help to continue to lower energy storage costs, but also brings up an important issue: what should be done with the batteries after they are used in vehicles? Chris Robinson of Lux Research weighs up the pros and cons of recycling versus repurposing for second-life use.