NeoVolta claims combined SGIP+ITC savings mean more than 50% discount
26 May 2020: US energy storage system manufacturer NeoVolta has said that combining incentives available to its customers in California can mean a discount of more than 50% off the cost of the purchase price.
The company’s newest lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery energy storage system, the NV24, has just become eligible equipment under the California Self-Generation Incentive Programme (SGIP).
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
SGIP allows customers of California’s main investor-owned utilities to receive money back on solar purchases and more recently was broadened to add more than a hundred and fifty million dollars to the budget up to 2024 for equipment that promotes resilience from power outages and Public Power Shutoffs, following devastating wildfires.
NV24, which is a 7.7kW / 24kWh system, joins NeoVolta’s NV14 solar battery system on the eligibility list. NeoVolta claimed that some homeowners will be able to combine the SGIP rebate with eligibility for the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) as batteries will be charged directly and only from solar – which reduces the cost by a further 26%. Customers in San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) service areas could get up to US$9,494 off an NV24 installation (which is about 53%), while customers of Southern California Edison (SCE) could save a massive 63% (US$11,420).
Northvolt launches ‘energy-as-a-service’ mobile solution with Vattenfall
21 May 2020: European EV and stationary storage battery and system manufacturing startup Northvolt unveiled a “versatile energy storage solution” in partnership with Vattenfall, earlier this month.
Northvolt, which is aiming to produce dozens of gigawatt-hours of battery cells as well as complete systems from manufacturing centres under development in Sweden and Germany, has launched Voltpack.
The Voltpack Mobile System is a modular lithium-ion battery power supply solution which is aimed at supporting energy storage-as-a-service in market segments including remote grids, weak grid reinforcement, EV charging and grid services opportunities including ancillary services. The system can be leased to sites.
The need for flexible energy solutions such as energy storage is vital for the transition to the new energy system. Energy storage provides fast access to power when customers need to peak-shave or the capacity of the grid connection is insufficient,” Vattenfall Network Solutions Sweden’s head, Torbjörn Johansson, said.
The system has 125kW power output with energy capacity ranging from 245kWh to 1225kWh, operating on Northvolt’s Voltpack Core liquid-cooled industrial-grade batteries. Up to five Voltpacks can be connected in parallel via a central interface hub. Vattenfall’s Torbjörn Johansson said that the company will offer the battery system as part of a concept of “Power-as-a-service,” where the utility system will deliver it as part of a complete energy solution package and manage its operation as per customer requirements.
Wind power veteran consultancy ArcVera sees energy storage market opportunity
20 May 2020: Technical services consultancy ArcVera Renewables has entered the energy storage market for standalone or hybrid energy storage projects.
The US-headquartered company claims to have worked on over 6GW of solar projects over two decades, along with a forty year-plus background in wind energy. ArcVera said it is now providing technical and financial as well as independent engineering services to the energy storage sector.
“Energy storage technology is fast becoming an economic standalone or hybrid solution for renewable energy project developers,” ArcVera Renewables CEO Gregory S Poulos said, adding that ArcVera can offer “accurate and bankable insights”.
“Such highly specialised skills are what clients want to be able to rely on to make confident project development decisions, lower their risks, and maximise project value”.
The company claims it can enable a “reliable and durable integration of storage capacities into a renewable energy plant design,” while it also offers evaluations that assess the manufacture and supply chain to ensure timely delivery of projects as well as assuring performance. ArcVera said it will also offer post-construction services including evaluation and advice on operations and asset management, software control and maintenance best practises.
Alencon launches DC:DC converter BOX range
20 May 2020: Pennsylvania-headquartered Alencon Systems has launched DC-to-DC converter systems that it claims can enable “more power, greater flexibility” for DC power projects.
Alencon said its new products, the BOSS BOX and SPOT BOX are aimed at large-scale project types including DC-coupled solar-plus-storage, PV plant repowering, EV charging, battery balancing and augmentation for energy storage projects.
Compay president Hanan Fishman said the BOX products are easily added to projects on a scale from “hundreds of kilowatts to megawatts in a safe and cost-effective manner”.
“Using Alencon’s patented galvanically isolated building blocks, the BOX platform is able to map wide differences in DC voltage on either side of the device. The ability to map wide differences in voltage is absolutely critical to support a variety of DC based power applications from coupling solar and storage, repowering older PV systems, charging electric vehicles of all kinds and augmenting existing energy storage deployments with new and different battery chemistries,” Fishman said.