PODCAST: The year’s biggest stories in solar and energy storage and looking ahead to 2021

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
Image: Iberdrola.

In this final episode of the Solar Media Podcast for 2020, Liam Stoker and Andy Colthorpe reflect on the biggest stories of the year and gaze into their crystal balls for 2021.

We reflect on how capacity expansion announcements and new technologies took the upstream solar sector into a new era, how the net zero movement spread and, yes, what impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the industry supply chain. In energy storage, we discuss why California was rarely out of the headlines, some of the world’s biggest projects and a ‘mysterious’ new contender in the long-duration space.

There’s also time to reflect on some of the lighter stories of 2020, and both Liam and Andy provide their predictions for 2021.

The podcast can be streamed below:

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Alternatively, you can subscribe and listen to the podcast on the Solar Media Editor’s Channel, which is now on all popular audio channels, including;

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts

The Solar Media Podcast will be back in January for an entirely new season, but Andy, Liam and the rest of the Solar Media editorial team wish all of our listeners a happy holidays and a prosperous new year.

15 September 2026
San Diego, USA
You can expect to meet and network with all the key industry players again in 2025 from major US asset owners, operators, RTOs and ISOs, optimizers, software and analytics providers, technical consultancies, O&M technology providers and more.

Read Next

May 15, 2026
Spanish developer and independent power producer (IPP) Zelestra has energised its 1GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in the Atacama Desert in Chile.
May 15, 2026
The “vast majority” of issues identified in Intertek CEA’s 2025 audits were system-level defects that could pose risks to projects if undetected and unresolved.
May 15, 2026
Iberdrola Australia has submitted a 1,000MW battery energy storage system to Australia’s EPBC Act for federal environmental assessment.
May 15, 2026
Australia’s New South Wales has seen 532MW of firming projects contracted through its seventh infrastructure tender, securing two projects designed to strengthen electricity supply during periods of peak demand and system stress in the Sydney-Newcastle-Wollongong region.
Premium
May 14, 2026
Energy-Storage.news Premium speaks with Pat Wood III, co-chair at Pew Charitable Trusts about the company’s DER Policy Playbook