The cost of lithium-ion batteries for energy storage declined 65% in five years between 2010 and 2015, while battery storage’s use for electricity could hit 250GW by 2030, from just 1GW today, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Ameresco will build a renewable-powered microgrid at a Marine Corp facility in Parris Island, South Carolina.

We report a number of recent executive appointments in the energy storage world including at Trojan and Solarwatt.

US solar installer Sunworks has selected Sharp’s SmartStorage system as it expands its offering.

Microgrids—distributed systems of localised generation, distribution network and load—are being increasingly deployed particularly in rural areas of emerging and under-developed countries to achieve energy access. However, a “fragmented and unorganised” sector still faces significant challenges, writes Harsh Thacker.

Every year sees energy storage build on the success of the preceding one, it seems, and this year we were able to carry insights and opinions from some of the best placed participants and observers. Here’s our picks for the content most representative of the year it’s been, as well as the 10 most read news stories on the site.

The cost of energy storage technologies is set to reduce significantly over the next five years driven by economies of scale and improvements in both technology and standardisation, according to a new report from financial advisory and asset management firm Lazard.

Software for energy storage systems will be a mixture of in-house solutions by integrator/ developers and third-party providers, in an industry segment set for a steep rise in value, according to one expert.

China’s deployment of energy storage looks set to continue an upward trajectory, with almost 600MW in the pipeline as of the third quarter this year.

News in brief: Sunverge launches AC-coupled systems, whether South Australia’s blackouts could have been a different story with batteries, German government approves model region project for renewables, storage and grids.