French utility EDF is launching a major solar-plus-battery storage hybrid initiative in England and Wales as part of plans to double its installed renewable base.

GRIDSERVE has completed a “game changing” hybrid solar-plus-storage farm in York, UK, claiming it to be the first in the country to boast single-axis trackers and bifacial panels.

The growth in renewable energy and clean tech is a terrific story which inspires optimism, but it can overlook how much more opportunity exists. NEXTracker CTO Alex Au looks at why tackling the now-infamous Duck Curve once and for all is a long overdue mission that needs completing – and how we can do that. The first blog entry in #SmartSolarStorage2020.

Unlike the solar PV sector where there’s often an attitude of “let’s sell the project first and worry about O&M later,” storage projects must have services built in to the thinking and financial process from the beginning. With storage, a strong O&M plan and team become part and parcel of making and closing a strong productive deal, NEXTracker’s Marty Rogers argues.

Adding energy storage gives solar developers and the industry in general the ability to “keep going”, while offering both lithium and flow battery systems covers a “wide-range of use cases”, NEXTracker CEO Dan Shugar has said.