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.

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.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), one of Japan’s major electric utility and transmission providers, will conduct a microgrid demonstration project on a remote Japanese island, incorporating solar, storage, wind and diesel.

An ‘electricity trading’ scheme to be launched by Reposit Power in Australia for residential energy storage system owners has been described by an analyst as “one of the most interesting examples” of software as a differentiator in the energy storage marketplace.

The failure of a grid-connected storage system at a solar farm in Hawaii is part of the learning process the US island state is undergoing to integrate more PV using storage, according to analyst Dean Frankel at Lux Research.

Just 3–4% of electricity generated by utilities globally is stored today, according to the International Energy Agency. This is despite the fact that storage can help overcome the energy ‘trilemma’ of curbing rising energy prices, the need to ensure the security of supply and creating a low carbon economy. So, what’s the hold-up? Taking the UK as his starting point but with lessons transferrable to other regions, Roger Lin of NEC Energy Solutions explains and counters some of the myths that stand in its way.

A 1MWh battery developed by US manufacturer Aquion Energy and installed at a private estate in Hawaii will allow the area’s residents to meet almost all of their electricity demand with power generated from a connected solar array.

Electronic systems provider AEG Power Solutions has officially launched the prototype of a new lead-acid battery based energy storage system in Spain, which will integrate renewable energy output and manage loads effectively.

The Australian government’s renewable energy division will trial the capabilities of on-grid energy storage to maximise the value of rooftop solar, announcing yesterday that it will provide funding for a trial by energy storage specialist Reposit Power.

Infrastructure and engineering firm Black & Veatch and power conversion system maker Dynapower have signed an agreement to collaborate on energy storage, with a focus on grid-scale technologies.