The first battery storage components have been installed at Manatee Energy Storage Center in Florida, US, which is to date the largest solar PV-plus-storage project under construction anywhere in the world.
Construction work has begun in the US on what is claimed to be the world’s biggest solar-charged battery storage project, by utility company Florida Power & Light (FPL).
Sungrow has supplied a 1500Vdc, DC-coupled PV-plus-storage system to support SolarSmart, a programme run for customers unable to put solar on their own homes by Florida municipal utility Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA).
Once again, lithium-ion battery-based solutions have been selected for projects that will “improve overall reliability” of electricity supplies, to enhance the grid and make it more efficient, while also providing backup in case of outages.
Major US utility Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) is planning to build the world’s largest battery energy storage system adjacent to an existing solar power plant, with plans to roll out multiple other storage systems across the state.
Utility Florida Power & Light claims that a just-completed battery addition will increase output from a large-scale solar farm in its home state, thought to be the first time a DC-coupled solution has been used at this scale in the US.
Legislation proposed in Florida could see solar and energy storage become part of the go-to solution for providing energy resiliency against natural disasters and helping restore power in their aftermath.
Sunverge Energy has signed off on deals with three electric utilities in Arizona, Florida and Vermont that will expand the company’s customer base for its storage system and Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform.
