A 100MW battery storage facility in Co. Offaly in Ireland has this week been energised, having been developed as part of a partnership between local developer Lumcloon Energy and South Korea’s Hanwha Group.

The latest edition of PV Tech Power – PV Tech Power 25 – is now available to download from the PV Tech Store. Volume 25 of our downstream solar journal tackles a number of the most pressing topics in utility-scale solar development today and includes Storage & Smart Power, the section contributed to every edition by the team here at Energy-Storage.news.

Lithium battery technology is rapidly enabling the electrification of transport, and of the energy sector. However, batteries themselves can often be seen as a short-lived commodity and as yet, recycling and reuse have not become major priorities in the industry. Dr Amrit Chandan, CEO of UK-headquartered Aceleron Energy discusses what it means to build a circular economy around advanced lithium-ion batteries, designed with longer lifetimes and their repurposing for second-life use in mind.

Swell Energy, a provider of distributed energy storage systems headquartered in Southern California, is seeking to develop four virtual power plants (VPPs) by mid-2023, through aggregating 100MW of solar PV with 200MWh of battery storage capacity at customer sites.

A €105 million (US$127.6 million) push to develop low-cost, environmentally-friendly lithium-ion battery technology by Sunlight, a designer and manufacturer of batteries headquartered in Greece, will receive €49.9 million in grant funding.

Vena Energy Australia has achieved financial close for its 100MW / 150MWh Wandoan battery energy storage system project in Queensland and named Doosan GridTech as engineering, procurement and construction partner.

A new strategic plan putting the New York Power Authority (NYPA) on the path to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035 – five years earlier than the target set out in the US state’s policy goals – has been approved by the state public power organisation’s Board of Trustees.

Italy’s transmission system operator Terna has awarded five-year contracts for battery energy storage systems (BESS) to provide Fast Reserve grid services in an oversubscribed pilot auction.

Ensuring high quality levels in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries is critical to preventing underperformance and even safety risks. Benjamin Sternkopf, Ian Greory and David Prince of PI Berlin examine the prerequisites for finding the ‘sweet spot’ between a battery’s cost, performance and lifetime.

A AU$20.3 million (US$15.36 million) project to demonstrate the capabilities of utility-scale vanadium flow battery storage in combination with solar PV has been announced in South Australia, with the Federal government helping to fund the project.