The US state of Iowa got its first grid-scale solar-plus-storage system at the beginning of this year, and this has already been followed by the completion of another, larger battery project in the US state this week.
While a tranche of seven solar-plus-storage projects under proposal in Hawaii would see renewable energy make its biggest competitive play against fossil fuels in the US island state so far, a project just completed will deliver energy well into the evening at just US$0.11 per kWh.
Iowa’s Maharishi University of Management has completed and powered up a new solar power plant featuring both single-axis tracking and vanadium redox flow battery energy storage.
Following a report on Friday that Hawaiian Electric has contracted PPAs with 75MW of solar projects including battery storage with developer Clearway, the utility has put before regulators proposals for five other grid-scale projects.
While market opportunities for energy storage in Texas are considered to be limited, the largest battery project in the state so far, a 42MWh system, has just come online.
Electricity from 100MW of energy storage facilities will be purchased by US public utility company El Paso Electric, following a competitive solicitation process.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that it will provide assistance to “techno-economic” studies for two pumped storage hydropower plants, with a combined generation capacity close to 2GW.
BIRD Energy, a foundation jointly created by the US Department of Energy (DoE) and Israel’s Ministry of Energy (MoE) will invest around half the amount required to fund US$12 million of solar, storage, energy efficiency and microgrid projects in Israel.
The US government has been urged to recognise the “critical role” energy storage can play in making the grid cleaner and able to accept more renewable energy, by increasing the eligibility of batteries and other technologies to receive the Investment Tax Credit (ITC).
