The residents of Parlier, a small city in Fresno County, California, are being offered a 20% reduction on their energy bills and reduce the amount of power they buy from utility Pacific Gas & Electric by 90%, by getting solar-plus-storage and energy efficiency equipment installed.

Based on the value it provides to grids as shares of renewable energy grow, energy storage is a “very exciting market,” the VP of Goldman Sachs Renewable Power has said.

This year’s Winter Storm Uri caused havoc in Texas, particularly in the energy sector, where extreme weather and a resultant set of generation problems and transmission grid issues led to loss of power and even loss of life across the US state. Ricardo F. Rodriguez, a senior consultant from analysis and research group Guidehouse looks at another aspect of the situation: the impact on the state’s telecommunications infrastructure and how battery energy storage could provide a greater degree of certainty and resilience to this vital network.

The new episode of the Solar Media Podcast, sponsored by Honeywell, is now available stream, as we take a look at US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s in-tray and explain why solar module prices could be set for a short-term price increase.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), one of California’s three main investor-owned utilities, has said that 1,400MW of battery storage is to be deployed in its service area by the end of 2023 will keep the company on-track to meet statewide renewable energy goals “while ensuring grid reliability”.

Australian zinc-bromine flow battery manufacturer Redflow will install 2MWh of its battery storage systems at a waste-to-energy facility in California.

The US’ installations of advanced energy storage — almost entirely lithium-ion battery systems — went beyond the 1GW mark in 2020, while in capacity terms the figure was close to 3.5GWh.

There has been growing uptake in battery energy storage in Midwestern US states that have traditionally depended on burning coal for electricity, with some “very big projects planned,” an analyst has said.

Fluence has struck a deal that could showcase new digital capabilities since it took over energy storage artificial intelligence and software provider Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) last year.

Retail power company Vistra Energy has followed up its recent completion in California of the world’s biggest battery storage facility by proposing a new facility in the state with twice the rated output.