RWE Renewables has ordered integrated battery energy storage systems (BESS) from LG Energy Solution for two large-scale solar-plus-storage projects being built in the US.
Alternative asset management group Apollo Global Management has secured a US$150 million investment into US energy storage technology provider and system integrator FlexGen Power Systems.
Major US renewables investor Capital Dynamics has spun off its US clean energy infrastructure arm and merged it with its former asset management affiliate to create Arevon Energy, a new multi-gigawatt solar and energy storage platform.
Seasoned renewable energy lawyer Adam Walters from Stoel Rives argues that procurement in the battery storage space is currently like a sort of Wild West.
The cost of battery energy storage in the US fell by 72% between 2015 and 2019 and utilities in the country are set to bring 10,000MW of new grid-connected capacity online in the next two years.
The US’ installed battery storage capacity reached 1,650MW by the end of 2020, but the country is on track to have nearly 10 times that amount by 2024, according to the national Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Battery storage could play the same role on the grid as a proposed 60MW natural gas and fuel oil peaker plant in Massachusetts and not only result in lower emissions but also in cost savings.
US utility giant NextEra Energy added 1.84GW of renewables and energy storage projects to its backlog in Q2 2021, but its Energy Resources division reported a fiscal loss of US$315 million.
