After claiming that interest in Powerwall and Powerpack was “overwhelming” and “crazy” seven months before the first commercial installations began, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that close to 400,000 people have reserved a Model 3, due out next year. Andy Colthorpe asks how much Tesla’s overall success in its stated mission to accelerate the transition to clean energy is pinned to a successful roll-out from the Gigafactory for the car.
ABB has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chennai-based engineering and research organisation, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) to partner on building microgrids and develop R&D in the battery energy storage area.
Industry headlines and stats, the approval of US president Barack Obama and even the growing popularity of electric rickshaws have been used to drive home the message that energy storage is a technology for today, not some distant future.
Saft is doubling its production capacity with a new Chinese facility, UK energy minister Amber Rudd visited Cumulus Energy Storage and Tesla in California, Fluidic Energy to provide smart grids and storage in madagascar
The EU’s lack of regulatory definition for energy storage is among major factors holding back the potential of the technology in the continent, particularly for integrating renewables, Solar Power Europe has argued in a new report.
Many have predicted 2016 will be the year when energy storage starts to live up to its hype. Andy Colthorpe canvased views from some of the leading figures and companies in the sector on the next developments a market that could help take solar and other renewables to the next level.
Recharge A/S, an investment fund specialising in renewables, will take a 50.1% stake in a €24 million (US$26.7 million) micro grid on a remote Portuguese island that could prove the validity of such projects as an asset class.
German utility E.On recently joined forces with German PV module and storage manufacturer Solarwatt. Energy Storage News catches up with Felix Brauer, training coordinator at SolarWatt, to discuss the partnership in detail and the benefits of a DC-coupled battery system.
Energy storage could have a ‘highly critical’ role to play in emerging economies, Aloke Gupta of Imergy Power Systems says. Gupta, who was previously with California’s Public Utilities’ Commission, the state’s regulator, talks about the uses and applications of micro-grids, from his vantage point of view as a flow battery and storage system maker.
The potential for integrating energy storage, wind and solar energy in India is to be investigated under a new US-backed study, which will help India design its future grid.
