The New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY BEST), like much of the storage industry worldwide, appears primarily concerned with two things – technological development and looking at how policy, regulatory bodies and other factors can help shape viable markets. Andy Colthorpe spoke to John Cerveny, director of resource management of the association about what makes New York’s storage market tick.

US battery and energy storage system manufacturer Aquion Energy has closed a US$36.8 million financing round, which it will use for purposes including scaling up production and deploying storage projects internationally.

Canadian Solar has finalised a deal to provide 4MW of energy storage, to be used to support the electrical grid in Ontario, Canada.

US utility company Southern California Edison (SCE) has announced that it will procure 261MW of grid-connected storage capacity from a handful of suppliers, after a competitive solicitation process.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), has given utility company AGL Energy (AGL) the task of examining the business case for grid-connected energy storage in South Australia, with AGL to receive AUS$445,000 (US$390,000) of funding.

Axion Power International, a maker of lead carbon battery systems, has been selected to supply energy storage and frequency regulation to a 9.1MW solar farm in Pennsylvania, the company has announced.

The US Department of Energy’s Sunshot initiative has announced US$15 million in funding to aid the integration of solar into the electrical grid infrastructure using energy storage systems.

In the UK, the National Grid has recently warned the government that its capacity to supply electricity is at a seven-year low due to recent generator closures, fires and outages. The margin of capacity over demand is expected to be just 4% this winter.

Zinc redox flow batteries could be a “viable substitute” for simple cycle peaking power plants in the US, especially as the increase of solar penetration adds concerns over grid stability, according to a new whitepaper.

Nine companies conducting research and development projects in energy storage have partnered with, and are set to receive financial support from, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).