The exhibition doors at RE+, formerly Solar Power International and Energy Storage International, opened this morning.
We’ve already reported on some moves from big players at the show: Saft and Fluence have both announced US-based manufacturing of BESS products and components, and Trina Storage just unveiled its first portfolio of US projects in Massachusetts.
Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Or continue reading this article for free
With more coverage to come during the show this week and in the weeks following, here’s a quick selection of news announcements we were sent this morning to coincide with the conference and exhibition programmes’ full opening.
GE Vernova launches 5MWh containerised BESS solution
GE Vernova is the latest battery energy storage system (BESS) solutions provider to launch a 20-foot containerised product with 5MWh storage capacity.
The General Electric spinoff energy company announced the modular RESTORE DC Block for utility-scale projects Tuesday (10 September) to coincide with the first full day of programming at RE+.
Suitable for applications with a duration ranging from 2-hour to 8-hour, it supports use case for co-located renewable energy hybrids and standalone BESS projects.
It forms part of GE Vernova’s complete BESS solution, FLEXRESERVOIR, which includes power conversion system (PCS) and advanced control technologies.
The company claimed the liquid-cooled lithium iron phosphate (LFP) DC block has a 93%+ round trip efficiency, can execute ‘multiple back-to-back’ cycles and has an expected 25-year lifetime. It also features both AC and DC augmentation options.
It puts GE Vernova in the steadily growing, unofficial ‘5MWh container club,’ which is seeing BESS system integrators and manufacturers respond to both growing technology advancements and customer demand in delivering higher energy density products within the 20-foot standard ISO container form factor.
Among two other recent entrants to that club are Powin, which launched its 5MWh Pod in May, and Wärtsilä, which just launched its Quantum 3 solution a few days ago. They join a plethora of other solution providers offering the 5MWh or 5MWh+ option.
US Dept of Interior clears development hurdle for 700MW Nevada solar-plus-storage project
Developer Arevia Power received a Record of Decision (ROD) from the US Department of the Interior for a US$2.33 billion hybrid solar and storage project in Nevada.
Claimed to be the biggest project of its type to date in the US state, it will pair 700MWac of solar PV with a 700MW battery energy storage system (BESS), the developer said on Tuesday. It will connect to Fort Churchill substation in Yerington, Nevada.
Libra Solar Project will be built on public lands overseen by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which has to date cleared the way for dozens of gigawatts of renewable energy projects around the country, and a growing number of battery storage projects too (Premium access).
The ROD means that the Dept of the Interior has made its final determination on a key project, outlining key findings from an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and explaining its decision and any alternative outcomes that were considered.
Arevia Power said the decision authorises the right-of-way grant for Libra Solar, which includes construction and operation of the PV plant and associated infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Congressman Steven Horsford, representing Nevada’s 4th District, said the project will bring well-paid jobs and economic growth to the region while helping address climate change.
“The Libra Solar Project will bring over 1,000 good-paying jobs to Mineral and Lyon Counties and deliver long-term benefits to our communities,” Horsford said, with Arevia Power also agreeing to fund various community programmes and initiatives.
International president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Kenneth Cooper said Libra Solar was bringing “real economic opportunity for Nevada and putting food on the tables of working-class Nevadans.”
“By creating high-paying, middle-class jobs and ensuring robust labor standards, we are not only building renewable energy infrastructure but also investing in the prosperity of our communities. This project is proof that the Biden-Harris administration’s renewable energy tax credits, coupled with strong labour standards, are a blueprint for the success of communities and working families,” Cooper said.
FlexGen launches US-made battery management system
US software-centric battery storage system integrator FlexGen has launched a battery management system (BMS), ‘designed, developed and delivered’ from its North Carolina headquarters.
FlexGen said Tuesday that the production of a US-based BMS overcomes what the company claimed is one of the major challenges facing the domestic industry today: a reliance on BMS equipment made by foreign-owned entities.
That is played out in terms of a perceived risk of vulnerability to cyberattacks and hacking that the US grid could be subjected to and supply chain risk and uncertainty stemming from geopolitical concerns.
In a more technology-specific sense, FlexGen said that the BESS industry is somewhat dependent on BMS devices designed originally to meet automotive industry demands, which are largely single application-driven.
This is in contrast to the utility-scale BESS sector, which needs site-level control capabilities to manage the different multiple use cases for batteries on the grid, according to the company.
The FlexGen BMS is engineered for control at block and site level.
FlexGen CTO Hugh Scott added that the BMS is optimised to enable “greater system efficiency and performance”.
Its launch comes shortly after the company launched the newest version of its AI-enhanced software platform and energy management system (EMS), HybridOS.
