Major oil company Shell and European utility ENGIE are among investors to have pumped US$20 million into Husk Power Systems, a developer of microgrids which is expanding its efforts in Asia and Africa.

Dr. Rahul Walawalkar of the Indian Energy Storage Alliance also predicts at least two lithium-ion cell manufacturing plants of 500MWh+ capacity to start construction in India this year.

Well, we seem to say it at the end of every year, but 2017 seemed a lot busier than 2016, 2016 was busier and more exciting than the year before that, and so on! There have been some hints already on what the industry and its observers expect to see in 2018 and we do not doubt energy storage will continue in its rise to become a flexible cornerstone of the world’s electricity infrastructure. In the meantime, let’s reflect on the top news stories of last year, as reported by Energy-Storage.News and based on readership statistics from you:

Plans are in place for a combined 160MW solar and wind project with up to 40MWh of energy storage in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, while a smaller scale demonstration project experimenting with multiple technologies is being developed for Kerala.

An Indian state-owned energy services and energy efficiency company is set to invest in 14MWh of grid-scale storage in Canada through a joint venture (JV) with UK company EnergyPro Limited (EP).

Indian Discom (distribution company) Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (Tata Power-DDL) and German government-owned entity GIZ have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work jointly on promoting rooftop solar, energy storage systems, EVs and smart grid initiatives.

State-run coal mining and power firm NLC India has auctioned a 20MW solar PV project to be combined with 28MWh of energy storage capacity in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

India-based promoter of decentralised power Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN) has issued a request for proposal (RfP) for lithium-ion technology providers to show how their solutions can aid mini grid and distributed renewable energy development in India.

Finland-based power firm Wärtsilä, which is active in the renewable energy and energy storage markets, plans to enter the Indian energy storage market, citing “looming” grid management challenges in the country.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has launched a new programme to electrify every willing household in the country by 31 December 2018, using solar, energy storage batteries and LED lighting.