E.ON, the German utility giant with 61GW of generation assets, has announced plans to split its business in two. The company will stake its future on renewables in a major restructuring, spinning off its conventional power generation business, in part as a response to the growth in distributed generation. Cosmin Laslau of Lux Research digs deeper.

The UK’s Renewable Energy Association (REA) has launched two new trade groups to represent the solar and storage industries respectively.

Just 3–4% of electricity generated by utilities globally is stored today, according to the International Energy Agency. This is despite the fact that storage can help overcome the energy ‘trilemma’ of curbing rising energy prices, the need to ensure the security of supply and creating a low carbon economy. So, what’s the hold-up? Taking the UK as his starting point but with lessons transferrable to other regions, Roger Lin of NEC Energy Solutions explains and counters some of the myths that stand in its way.

A new scheme to provide grid-balancing services directly from the batteries of electric vehicles (EVs) will be trialled by car maker BMW, in partnership with California utility company Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E).

A community-owned utility company in California is preparing to install a large-scale battery system that could enable the addition of around 50MW of solar generation capacity to the local grid.

Covering the energy storage market has been an interesting – if occasionally bumpy – ride so far and we can expect it to be an even more vibrant and action-packed space from here on in. From the top five most-read news stories to some great interviews via our regular guest blogs, we’ve rounded up some highlights from our year.

Integrated US photovoltaic energy company SunPower’s solar panels will be sold as part of a package that includes energy management software and energy storage capabilities to residential customers in the US and Australia from early next year.

The growth of technologies such as PV and storage will hit utility company revenues to the tune of US$130 billion a year within a decade, according to a study published yesterday by management consultancy Accenture.

German storage system manufacturer Sonnenbatterie, which announced this week the close of a US$10 million equity funding round, said it sees “high growth potential” for its products in Australia, the UK and Italy.

Infrastructure and engineering firm Black & Veatch and power conversion system maker Dynapower have signed an agreement to collaborate on energy storage, with a focus on grid-scale technologies.