In the hierarchy of grid needs, peaking power is often a priority in terms of providing resiliency and balance to the network. This is usually provided by natural gas turbines, which come at a high environmental and economic cost. Andy Colthorpe charts the rise of the solar-plus-storage peaker plant.
Insurer Munich Re has launched what it claims is the world’s first long-term insurance plan for battery performance, signing up ‘all-iron’ flow battery maker ESS Inc as its first customer.
Perhaps the biggest indicator of the recognition of behind-the-meter storage so far this year has been the acquisition of Sonnen by oil major Shell. CEO Christoph Ostermann spoke to Andy Colthorpe about why home storage uptake could be on a worldwide series of inflection points.
Statkraft has partnered with energy & meteo systems to launch a 1GW wind, solar and battery storage virtual power plant in the UK, which it says will further renewables’ penetration into the country’s energy market.
NEC Energy Solutions, the distributed energy division of Japanese information tech company NEC, has commissioned a 2MW / 2MWh battery energy storage system in Chile.
RP Global, an independent renewable energy developer and majority shareholder of JUMEME Rural Power Supply, has commenced construction on the first phase of a solar-hybrid mini-grid project in Tanzania.
Alberta, Canada-headquartered energy storage system maker Eguana Tech appears to have found a route to market in Europe, signing an exclusive distribution deal with Hanwha Q CELLS.
Artificial intelligence company eVolution Networks has joined a “new generation energy and infrastructure” joint venture (JV) formed by one of Japan’s biggest trading conglomerates, Mitsui, and major Chinese PV company GCL-Poly.
ScottishPower has unveiled a £2 billion (US$2.65 billion) investment programme for 2019 to target large-scale battery storage and public EV charging points.
Engineering company Siemens has launched the device – configurable in 3.3kWh ‘blocks’ up to 19.8kWh – in Germany, with an Austria launch to follow in April.
