SolarEdge and SMA’s launches of inverters compatible with Tesla’s Powerwall and LG Chem’s new range mark a “growing trend” towards higher voltage batteries for residential PV systems, an IHS analyst has said.
Work has been completed on Australia’s “largest solar and battery storage project to date”, a 10.6MW PV installation at a copper mine linked to 6MW of storage, according to developer Juwi, which along with its project partners shared some images of the site.
GE’s investment in Sonnen shows a shared belief in online trading of energy and other digitally-enabled services as the fastest potential drivers of a profitable energy storage industry, according to a Sonnen director.
Simpliphi Power’s cobalt-free lithium-ion storage systems, which claim to eliminate the threat of thermal runaway, have been integrated into the Global Sustainable Energy Solutions (GSES) inaugural solar mobile training courses in Australia.
Enphase has confirmed that its AC battery, now available for installers to order in Australia and New Zealand, is priced in the region of AU$1,150/kWh (US$838/kWh), as originally announced last October.
German lithium-ion based energy storage system maker Sonnen says it achieved an undisclosed “seven-figure sales number” in the US in the first quarter of this year.
An impending €950 million (US$1.07 billion) acquisition of battery manufacturer Saft will enable French oil major Total to “span the value chain” and exploit synergies with EV and solar markets, an energy market expert has said.
Silicon Valley’s Green Charge Networks, which mainly delivers energy storage systems for commercial customers and is involved in a deal to re-purpose ‘second life’ EV batteries, has been acquired by Engie.
Germany, until recently the leading European nation for installed PV capacity, extended a scheme to support purchases of lithium-ion energy storage systems for solar at the beginning of this year.
It would be unfair to put the burden of paying for the rollout of smart meters onto German households with PV-plus-storage when the devices would primarily benefit grid operators, trade association BSW Solar has said.
