Queensland’s workplace regulator, the Electrical Safety Office (ESO), has revoked its recommendation that all home energy storage battery units should be installed separately from households in an external enclosure.

The Australian body in charge of promoting investment in renewables has criticised “heavy-handed” regulation of home energy storage systems in certain states.

A ‘call for evidence’ from the UK government on how to reform the energy sector, calling for information and commentary by industry and other stakeholders, has been welcomed by the country’s Electricity Storage Network trade association.

The European Parliament’s committee for industry, research and energy (ITRE) has approved a new report that proposes amendments around electricity storage in the proposed ‘Winter Package’ legislation, due to be finalised in December.

The UK remains on track for a big push on energy storage with the latest budget backing changes proposed in a key report and an imminent consultation looking to shake-up the role of network operators.

Later this year, the 21st annual session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) will take place in Paris. Leaders from around the world are coming together with an overarching goal of creating a deal to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to limit the global temperature increase to 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Key to the reduction of global carbon emissions is the transformation of our energy networks, by adopting cleaner, more efficient and smarter technologies, writes Andrew Jones.

The UK’s minister for energy has said that her government is not planning any framework of incentives for energy storage, but said nonetheless that public funds can help “bridge the gap” between ideas and commercialisation.

SolarCity, one of the largest solar installers and leasing companies in the US, has moved into providing energy storage via pilot programmes for residential and commercial customers in key regional markets including California. Will Craven, director of public affairs and spokesman for SolarCity, discusses the regulatory situation facing the company and others in the rapidly growing area of energy storage-plus-solar.

Energy storage technologies are not the “silver bullet” they have sometimes been hyped as, but nonetheless have a crucial role to play in a decarbonised electricity system, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).