In this episode of the Solar Media Podcast, Liam Stoker and Andy Colthorpe take a deep dive into what Elon & Co. presented at Tesla’s Big Battery Day, assess what the recent spate of solar manufacturing expansion announcements mean for the sector, and discuss the current state of energy politics.

News in brief from around the world in energy storage.

In light of Virginia’s goal to go 100% renewable and clean energy by 2050, utility Dominion Energy has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for 1,000MW of onshore wind and solar and up to 250MW of energy storage as well as laying out longer-term plans.

With Japanese companies keen to learn from their counterparts in deregulated energy markets such as the UK, the Japan Energy Challenge provided the ideal forum for exchanging ideas. Andy Colthorpe reports.

‘Batwind’, a much-talked about battery storage project due to being the first grid storage system connected to an offshore floating wind farm 25km off the Scottish coast, is now online.

The CEO of Orsted, the world’s largest offshore wind developer, has said that his company is working to establish “a scalable commercial model” for solar PV and energy storage, viewing both as potential drivers of long-term growth.

The real-world performance of batteries paired with “Hywind” – the world’s first floating wind farm – will be analysed by the wind project’s owners, Masdar and Statoil.

Swiss engineering and automation company ABB will be supplying Dong Energy’s 90MW Burbo Bank wind farm in the UK with battery energy storage.

Developer Deepwater Wind has applied to build a 144MW offshore wind farm, coupled with 40MWh of battery-based energy storage from Tesla, off the coast of Massachusetts.