Update 24 September 2020: A few hours after the publication of this story, Entergy made public a new pledge to reach carbon neutrality by the year 2050. The company said that while it commits to this goal it will remain committed to “grid reliability and affordability for customers”.

Between CA$1.5 billion (US$1.12 billion) and $4 billion in electricity system cost savings could be achieved by Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) by installing 1,000MW of energy storage by 2030, according to a new study commissioned by Energy Storage Canada.

What will the impact of COVID-19 be on the energy storage market? And how best to learn to adapt to whatever the ‘next normal’ will be? Florian Mayr at cleantech advisory and consultancy group Apricum examines the bigger picture of “energy storage vs the virus”.

FlexGen, an energy storage system integrator that counts GE and Caterpillar among its backers, said this week that a lithium-ion battery storage system it was supplied was used by an Indiana utility to black start a 77MW natural gas plant.

Xcel Energy has filed a plan which would retire two coal plants, add significant capacities of renewables and gas – and deploy 275MW specifically in combination with PV.

A set of ambitious policy measures have been put in place in New Jersey, after Governor Phil Murphy signed off documents that aim towards 100% clean energy for the state by 2050.

Developers who were successful in winning contracts within last week’s Capacity Market auction have lauded the “crucial role” battery storage is set to play in the future for the national grid.

As a climate scientist, reducing carbon emissions is at the heart of Dr Jill Cainey’s working life, but is it at the heart of UK Government policy?

Since 2010, the cost of lithium-ion battery packs for electric vehicles has dropped 60%, from $1000 to $400 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) according to analysis by BNEF. At the same time, concerns regarding urban air pollution and our need to deploy zero emission vehicles in these cities are increasing. Melissa C. Lott takes a closer look at how EVs could help – and what the limitations might be.