One firm exploring the possibilities of contributing to grid stability by installing energy storage at solar farms is German PV plant technology provider Belectric. The company will install two large-scale energy storage projects in the UK and connected an energy storage system at a large-scale solar power plant in Germany late last year. The system at Alt Daber is the first such installation in Europe to operate on the primary operating reserve market. Andy Colthorpe interviewed Belectric’s UK managing director Duncan Bott and Tim Mueller, chief executive of Belectric’s solar research and innovation subsidiary, Adensis, about the Alt Daber project earlier this year.

Energy storage start-up Stem says it sees “strong opportunity” for expansion of its business in Australia, Japan and the EU, in the week when the company closed a US$12 million funding round led by Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co.

An advanced microgrid comprised of four smaller, interlinking grids has been unveiled in Texas by power electronics firm S&C and energy management company Schneider.

Remaining on the grid while using solar paired with batteries is likely to become a more economically attractive option for commercial and residential customers in key US markets, a new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) claims.

PV Tech Storage interviews John Jung of Greensmith, an energy storage system and software provider which claims to have been involved with one third of all storage deployed in the US last year. Jung discusses ‘killer apps’, opening up new business models in new markets, software and battery agnosticism.

Research into energy storage and related technologies has been given a boost in the US in the past few days, with a major utility company committing funding in Indiana for renewables integration and New York’s governor announcing the creation of a research facility.

Parallels are frequently drawn between the nascent energy storage business and solar 10 years ago – that it needs strong policy direction to take off. Andy Colthorpe profiles some of the areas emerging as world pioneers in supporting the deployment of storage.

Infrastructure and engineering firm Black & Veatch and power conversion system maker Dynapower have signed an agreement to collaborate on energy storage, with a focus on grid-scale technologies.

Developer Belectric has connected an energy storage system at a large-scale solar power plant in Germany, which will be the first in Europe to operate on the primary operating reserve market.

A new academic study claims that batteries used in plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) could be used to stabilise electrical grid networks, as well as for providing houses and businesses with backup power.