Standalone storage, demand from commercial and industrial (C&I) customers and new types of grid services will increasingly help drive growth in energy storage in the coming years, but the future mix between battery-based and alternative storage types is still unclear.
The EStor-Lux battery site in south Belgium fully launched commercial activity in December and has successfully participated in grid frequency auctions.
Optimisation deals have been announced for battery storage systems in the UK for Habitat Energy and Centrica with developers Eelpower and Arlington Energy respectively.
A residential virtual power plant (VPP) pilot programme in Maryland will bid to participate in ancillary services in the PJM Interconnection wholesale market.
A US$25 million virtual power plant (VPP) programme has been launched in Perth, Western Australia, while in the US, technology providers Enphase, Sunverge and LG have announced their involvement in VPPs in Arizona and California.
Red tape, costs and logistical hurdles for large-scale battery storage and hybrid systems to participate in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) will be cut under new Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) rules.
Enel X, one of the winners of contracts tendered by Italy’s transmission operator to provide fast response frequency reserve to the grid, has contracted Fluence to supply two battery energy storage system (BESS) solutions.
