This year’s Winter Storm Uri caused havoc in Texas, particularly in the energy sector, where extreme weather and a resultant set of generation problems and transmission grid issues led to loss of power and even loss of life across the US state. Ricardo F. Rodriguez, a senior consultant from analysis and research group Guidehouse looks at another aspect of the situation: the impact on the state’s telecommunications infrastructure and how battery energy storage could provide a greater degree of certainty and resilience to this vital network.

Two standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) totalling 200MW of output will be deployed in Texas’ ERCOT market by the energy division at Wärtsilä Corporation.

The latest edition of PV Tech Power – PV Tech Power 26 – is now available to download, including Storage & Smart Power, the section brought to you by Energy-Storage.news.

The US’ installations of advanced energy storage — almost entirely lithium-ion battery systems — went beyond the 1GW mark in 2020, while in capacity terms the figure was close to 3.5GWh.

The Capacity Market T-1 auction cleared at a record high price in the UK this week, with 17 batteries winning spots.

With the current tariff framework for energy storage in Ireland set to come to an end in April 2023, there is scepticism over the support that will follow.

The success of an auction for fast reserve grid services held by Italy’s transmission system operator (TSO) indicates a strong appetite for battery storage, but market rules and regulations need some revision to capture that opportunity.

Energy market mechanisms must evolve in order to support long-duration energy storage, with the existing frameworks having “significant problems” incentivising those technologies, a panel of experts has concluded.

The sudden and rapid use of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) to launch privately-held companies into publicly-listed entities is a minor phenomenon of our time and some players in clean energy industries including energy storage, have been quick to join the wave. It can work out really well, but it can also all end in tears: so choose wisely, says Charles Lesser, partner at Apricum – The Cleantech Advisory.

The energy storage market is poised for strong growth over the next decade and opportunities are likely to emerge for alternatives to lithium-ion that offer longer durations of storage, but three key challenges remain for those technologies.