Western Australia will invest AU$56.3 million (US$40.11 million) in solar power as part of a new renewable energy plan designed to kickstart the state’s economy following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dr Imran Syed is head of industrial power for Enerwhere, designing and implementing hybrid systems that use energy storage. Dr Syed spoke to Andy Colthorpe about some recent project case studies.

Bringing a proven, flexible, virtual power plant (VPP) platform into North America is a step towards “unleashing the potential” of distributed energy, the chief commercial officer of UK-headquartered solutions provider Kiwi Power says.

A new project called ‘Zero Carbon Lithium’ is being established in Germany by a start-up lithium exploration company with the aim of establishing carbon neutral lithium production.

Public utility NV Energy has announced plans to build three solar parks with battery storage and a large-scale transmission line project in Nevada, as it looks to transform the state’s clean energy landscape.

Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) and Origis Energy have teamed up on a new solar project that will include 12MW of storage.

Energy generation has never been a single technology market and energy storage is no different, says Ed Porter from Invinity Energy Systems.

Transmission and distribution network operator Hokkaido Electric Power has contracted Sumitomo Electric Industries to supply a grid-scale flow battery energy storage system for a wind farm in northern Japan.

A new project is underway in the US to tear down a significant barrier for “realising the full benefits” of energy storage: the complexity and lack of clarity over interconnection rules across the country.

Barriers have been removed allowing for battery storage projects five times the size as the current limit in Britain, in a move hailed as a “significant, positive and well-timed” step.