A Japanese utility which last year temporarily suspended new grid applications for large-scale solar, sparking a wave of similar suspensions by other utilities, will install a huge battery project aimed at integrating a higher capacity of renewable energy generation.

An academic based in north east England has called on the UK government to give energy storage “its own asset class with accompanying rules for appropriate regulatory treatment” as well as investing in the technology in order to enable future energy bill savings.

Australian prime minister Tony Abbott is like King Canute, standing on the shore commanding the tide of renewable energy and energy storage not to come in. But no matter how much he rails against the future, this prime minister is way too late to stop the tide of progress. A range of factors are coming together at the same time that will see distributed solar PV combined with energy storage move into the early mainstream in the coming years – and sooner than later, says John Grimes of the Australian Storage Council and Australian Solar Council.

Remaining on the grid while using solar paired with batteries is likely to become a more economically attractive option for commercial and residential customers in key US markets, a new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) claims.

While solar and energy storage are not inextricably linked, at least not yet, storage helps households make the most of their solar power and one day could help grid networks make their final leap of faith. In the second of two blogs from the Energy Storage Europe conference and exhibition in Düsseldorf last week, PV Tech Storage talks to experts and industry figures as they tackled some of the biggest issues facing storage and renewable energy.

SunEdison has made a significant first step into the grid-scale energy storage market, with the acquisition of US startup Solar Grid Storage.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is to run a workshop in Germany next month to canvas final opinion ahead of publishing its first roadmap for electricity storage technologies.

The emerging availability of storage and smart-grid technologies allows communities to meet their energy demands locally. As Andrew Jones of S&C Electric writes, community-owned micro-grids will become an increasingly important element of the future energy system.

The US department of Energy has included energy storage projects in a US$4 billion loan guarantee programme announced yesterday.

California governor, Jerry Brown, is expected imminently to sign off new legislation extending a funding programme said to be a vital lifeline for the state’s nascent energy storage sector.