California’s CalCharge is a partnership between public and private sector, aiming to accelerate the adoption of energy storage in the state. Andy Colthorpe of Energy Storage News spoke with CalCharge president Danny Kennedy, the Australia-born former chief of US residential PV installer Sungevity who has a colourful background in eco-activism and the programme’s recently appointed manager, Alex Luce.

Corporations and utilities are already interested in energy storage but must collaborate to advance deployment and lower costs, avoiding some of the past mistakes of the PV industry, according to the heads of one California-based industry group.

The unsung hero in the grid revolution is the data that enables new technology and provide more control of an increasingly complex system. Andy Colthorpe explored the growing role of Big Data in energy networks in a feature article for the downstream solar technology journal PV Tech Power.

DNV GL’s new recommended practice guidelines for grid-connected energy storage systems is aimed at “reducing risks” for investors and the wider community, the document’s lead author has said.

One of India’s largest solar developers, ACME Cleantech Solutions, believes that its strong track record in PV installations will set it in good stead to pioneer solar-plus-energy storage solutions across the country, in what it claims is an opportune moment to start pilot projects.

Panasonic has given the first indication of the expected size of its investment in collaborator-competitor Tesla’s battery Gigafactory, which according to the company’s president could be up to US$1.6 billion.

Globally, energy storage is developing rapidly. Businesses that are shaping the market are being asked to nominate themselves to join the Energy Storage 100, a new industry initiative from Energy Storage News’ publisher, Solar Media.

Production and deliveries of Tesla’s stationary storage systems have now begun, while a company spokesman said it welcomes new competitors such as Faraday Future to the EV space – in line with Tesla’s stated values to accelerate clean energy deployment.

Glen Dimplex, by some estimates the world’s biggest maker of domestic heating appliances, is due to start recruiting households to participate in the latest phase of an EU trial of energy storage technologies.

Japanese financial services company Orix Corporation has invested in UniEnergy Technologies (UET), a US company delivering large-scale energy storage based around its own vanadium flow batteries.