A utility in Southern California has successfully demonstrated the use of a battery energy storage system to provide a ‘black start’, firing up a combined cycle gas turbine from an idle state.

US-headquartered independent solar power developer 8minutenergy Renewables announced Tuesday that it has expanded into the energy storage sector with a 1GW project pipeline.

Tesla has announced the first programme to aggregate the capabilities of hundreds of its residential and commercial stationary storage systems in a partnership with Vermont utility Green Mountain Power.

Two Congressional representatives in the US have united across party political lines to form the Advanced Energy Storage Caucus, a group dedicated to educating Members of Congress on the benefits of the nascent technology.

Another 500MW of energy storage procurement targets have been bestowed onto California’s three main investor-owned utilities by the state’s Public Utilities’ Commission (PUC), on top of an existing 1.325GW mandate.

The second and final instalment in Energy-Storage.News’ blog on the Aliso Canyon energy storage procurement takes a look at some of the most impressive projects in the deployment, as well as what this all means for the future of the industry.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is continuing its mission of funding priority development projects in emerging economies, this time by signing two grants that leverage US technology and investment to increase access to affordable, reliable electricity in Kenya.

A 500MW energy storage facility with “5-8 hours” storage duration could be built in San Diego, California, with a local water authority seeking detailed proposals for such a project to support the grid and help integrate renewable energy.

In the first of a two-part blog series on the energy storage response to the infamous Aliso Canyon gas leak in California, Energy-Storage.News sets the scene of how the California Energy Commission and chosen system suppliers got their heads around solving a mammoth power shortage with many, many batteries, in a race against time.

Investor-owned energy company National Grid, responsible for electricity and gas delivery in New York, Massachusetts and Long Island, will build a 5MW / 40MWh energy storage facility in Long Island with NextEra Energy.