For this third instalment of our look back at 2021, we’ve something of a mixture of views from around the industry.

Whether connected to a main electricity grid or not, commercial and industrial (C&I) microgrids are increasingly able to offer resilient and independent power supply and — perhaps more importantly — electricity cost reductions.

US power and energy infrastructure developer, investor and operator LS Power has bought up GI Energy, a provider of clean energy solutions for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers with projects spanning the east and west coasts.

How do electric grids that were state-of-the-art in the 19th Century remain stable and resilient through 21st Century climate disasters and other problems? They don’t, says Catherine Von Burg, CEO and co-founder of distributed battery energy storage company SimpliPhi Power – but giving people the power to be independent can be a solution fit for the future.

Specific recommendations from a prominent industry group for tax reforms and other changes to support energy storage were not included India’s Union Budget for 2021-2022, but certain aspects of the budget such as the promotion of domestic self-reliance have been welcomed by it.

A large-scale vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) demonstration project in California which has been providing grid services on a commercial basis will now also trial the use of the technology for microgrid applications.

Microgrids in the service territories of California’s main investor-owned utilities (IOU) could get a wider opportunity to help solve the state’s challenging energy situation with wildfire season approaching.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Environment Ministry of the Maldives have launched a plan to roll out solar–battery–diesel hybrids across 48 islands.

Rolls-Royce Power Systems, the Germany-headquartered engines and propulsions company in the Rolls-Royce Holdings group, has taken a majority interest in microgrid and hybrid power solutions company Qinous.