Utility and network needs are rapidly changing and some are adopting both batteries and ultracapacitors to meet these needs. David Lentsch of Maxwell Technologies looks at some of the various approaches.

GE and Southern California Edison (SCE) announced last week that they plan to install the world’s first battery storage and gas turbine hybrid.

Australia-based renewables firm Windlab and Japan’s Eurus energy have received development approval for a hybrid project comprising 20MW solar, 30MW wind and a 2MW lithium-ion battery storage system in Queensland, Australia.

Greensmith, the California-based provider of energy storage software and integration services, has partnered with energy equipment manufacturer Wärtsilä to deliver storage systems globally.

The World Bank’s groundbreaking US$1 billion loan for Indian solar will partly focus on improving transmission for solar parks and innovation in wind and energy storage hybrids, according to a senior government official.

Unsubsidised, commercial solar-plus-storage projects of the type being executed in Puerto Rico could demonstrate how to overcome many of the challenges imminent for the world’s PV markets, according to one company with experience in the field.

A hybrid off-grid project from renewables firm Energy Developments Limited’s (EDL) including 4MW wind, 1MW solar and a 1MW/250kWh battery system in South Australia has reached financial close.

Energy storage solutions combined with hybrid solar PV plants and diesel generators will soon benefit communities in two starkly contrasting locations – in a luxury Maldives resort and in Australia’s Aboriginal community.

Solar cell and battery hybrid technology could become a commercial success as long as it clears the “valley of death” out of academia, a scientist working on the project has claimed.

Scientists at Ohio State University claim to have developed a hybrid device which combines a solar cell with a rechargeable battery, as part of a US Department of Energy funded research programme.