Two grid-scale battery energy storage projects, one just completed in Texas and one just announced in California, give an indication of the growing market opportunities in the US’ regional grid operators’ service areas.
Accelerator selected the maker of an organic flow battery among a group of “startups with the potential to dramatically alter the future global energy landscape”.
Fluence has been able to keep working on “all but two or three” of 73 utility-scale battery projects, with battery energy storage increasingly considered an essential part of grid infrastructure in many parts of the world.
Vanadium redox flow batteries are almost as reliable as diesel generators in providing resiliency, but won’t be competitive against lithium-ion unless cost reductions can be achieved with the scaling up of manufacturing and deployment.
The levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) that can be achieved today for battery energy storage means that “new-build batteries can be competitive on cost with gas peaker plants,” according to BloombergNEF.
Arkansas, currently ranked 31st among US states for solar deployment, will get a solar-plus-storage plant with 100MW of photovoltaic generation and 10MW / 30MWh of battery storage after regulator Arkansas Public Service Commission approved the project.
Two commercial battery energy storage systems owned by a family-owned wholesale food business in the UK have been used by aggregator Flexitricity to trade in the Balancing Mechanism (BM)
Solar-plus-storage projects on France’s overseas territories are on course to add around 200MWh to global battery storage deployment figures, with the latest power plant just completed by independent renewable energy producer Albioma.
