Islands are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of natural disasters such as hurricanes. John Merritt of Ideal Power looks at some of the emerging solutions to building more resilient energy systems through the deployment of microgrids that combine multiple energy generation and storage technologies.

Toshiba and NRG Energy have completed a new battery energy storage system that will benefit the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ (ERCOT) grid.

A test and demonstration facility operated by South Africa’s main utility Eskom will trial Primus Power’s flow batteries, after a local developer was awarded a grant for the project by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).

Using just 351.9kW of PV and 1MWh of energy storage in a microgrid, a tiny island off the Massachusetts coast successfully met more than 50% of its electricity demand over summer.

Filipino renewable energy firm Solar Philippines is developing an off-grid solar, battery and diesel micro-grid in the Philippines that could be the largest of its kind in Asia, according to the company head.

The latest phase of a AUS$55 million (US$43.8 million) programme giving remote communities in Australia’s Northern Territory reliable and clean power will see a 2MWh battery installed and paired with more than 3,000 solar PV panels.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has put out a tender request for a 25MW hybrid solar-diesel-storage project in Sierra Leone.

The Cook Islands in the Pacific will host a 5.6MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system for the integration of renewables, in a project funded by the Asian Development Bank, European Union and Global Environmental Fund.

Turnkey energy storage system provider Demand Energy has commissioned a solar-plus-storage microgrid in Costa Rica at a medical manufacturing facility.

German manufacturer Tesvolt will supply 3MWh of energy storage to 25 villages in Mali, Africa, which the company claims will allow the currently diesel-reliant residents to drastically reduce electricity costs.