Building control manufacturer Johnson Controls, a recent entrant to the energy storage market, has announced a US$20 billion takeover of security and fire protection firm Tyco as it looks to consolidate its offering in the smart building sector.

Although Britain’s government has cut support for renewable energy severely in the past few months, controversially claiming a need to balance the transition away from fossil fuels against the cost to consumers, energy storage may face less of a challenge at the top level, according speakers at a conference in London.

News in brief: SolarEdge’s Powerwall-compatible StorEdge self-consumption solution is now available internationally; AES completes another 10MW project in Holland which will provide grid services; and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation’s Willey Battery Utility is the latest energy storage system to join PJM’s frequency regulation market.

California’s CalCharge is a partnership between public and private sector, aiming to accelerate the adoption of energy storage in the state. Andy Colthorpe of Energy Storage News spoke with CalCharge president Danny Kennedy, the Australia-born former chief of US residential PV installer Sungevity who has a colourful background in eco-activism and the programme’s recently appointed manager, Alex Luce.

DNV GL’s new recommended practice guidelines for grid-connected energy storage systems is aimed at “reducing risks” for investors and the wider community, the document’s lead author has said.

Globally, energy storage is developing rapidly. Businesses that are shaping the market are being asked to nominate themselves to join the Energy Storage 100, a new industry initiative from Energy Storage News’ publisher, Solar Media.

A UK electricity distribution network operator has signed a contract with Renewable Energy Systems (RES) to deliver an energy storage system co-located with large-scale solar, which will be used to develop ways to commercialise services to the grid.

A document setting out new policy directions on solar support says the UK government has recognised the potential of energy storage but has decided the feed-in tariff would not be an appropriate mechanism to incentivise uptake.

Energy storage installations in the US this year are expected to be treble what they were in 2014, making it the “biggest year ever” for storage, according to the latest forecasting by GTM Research.

A trade association representing some of Germany’s energy storage industry has welcomed the renewal of a support scheme for batteries, but says that establishing “fair market conditions” for storage would be more important.