This Friday briefing looks at the trend of long-duration energy storage (LDES) technology companies eyeing project development, the role Europe’s gigafactory projects play in the continent’s energy storage system (ESS) market, and the inherent challenges that come with vertical integration.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is putting US$2.3 billion into projects increasing energy resiliency in rural communities, with two energy storage projects already shortlisted for awards in Arizona and Nebraska.

JSW Renew Energy Five – a wholly owned subsidiary of JSW Neo Energy – has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) for the first of two 250MW/500MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) projects.

Developer rPlus and utility PacifiCorp have amended an existing PPA for a solar-plus-storage project, to increase the energy storage resource’s planned size from 400MWh to 1,600MWh.

We discuss a 40MWh project in Finland with both the BESS provider Merus Power and customer/project owner eNordic, the investment manager in the region for private equity firm Ardian.

Energy-Storage.news Premium sits down with Helena Li, executive president at Trina Solar, to discuss the launch of Elementa 2, the group’s new integrated battery storage solution.

Developer Someva Renewables and utility AGL have proposed a project in New South Wales combining wind, solar and up to 500MW/2,000MWh of energy storage.

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has given the go-ahead for a large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) co-located with a wind plant in California.

UK-based clean energy developer Harmony Energy now has a pipeline of BESS projects that are ready-to-build in France, Germany and Poland, its chief investment officer said at the Energy Storage Summit EU in London last month.