Earlier this week the UK government and energy regulator Ofgem published a strategy for a modernised, smart and flexible power system, the result of an eagerly anticipated response to last year’s Smart Power Call for Evidence. Liam Stoker takes a deep dive to examine the implications for solar and energy storage of this major undertaking.

The British government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and energy regulator Ofgem have today released plans for a major upgrade of the UK’s energy system, while a separate huge funding opportunity for battery innovation has been broadly welcomed by industry.

On the back of rapidly decreasing costs for energy storage and solar photovoltaics (PV), consumers wishing to achieve a low-cost and reliable supply of power are considering grid defection—or at least, partial grid-defection—as an increasingly attractive alternative. Julian Jansen, analyst at IHS looks at the economics of grid defection in Europe today and in the future – and how its proliferation could impact the energy industry as a whole.

The provincial government of New South Wales has published a guide for consumers on residential solar-plus-storage.

Despite a bill to create a rebate programme for energy storage systems purchased in California being dropped from a recent round of legislative decision-making, the state’s industry still has a “bright future”, commentators have said.

A code of practice for installing and selling electrical energy storage systems for the UK consumer market could help fill a “vacuum” of clear guidance for installers and their customers, Sonnen’s UK chief has said.

India’s first major large-scale solar-plus-storage tenders, tied with solar parks, have been cancelled by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

The Energy Storage Association (ESA) unveiled a new document this month that offers a number of state policy suggestions designed to spur cost-effective energy storage across the US.

In Europe the number of e-buses in circulation is far smaller than in China, which accounts for 98% of the world’s fleets. However, the market is entering a period of rapid growth. This comes with significant challenges for batteries, Anil Srivastava of Leclanché writes.

National Grid has reduced its forecasts for electricity storage capacity in the UK down to just 10.7GW by 2050 in the most ambitious scenario set out within its future projections for the energy sector.