Smart Grid Observer - Energy Storage

Energy Storage

Chevron Technology Ventures and Piva Capital Back Malta to Meet the Growing Demand for Long-Duration Energy Storage
August 26, 2021

Malta Inc., a pioneer in long-duration energy storage, this week announced that Chevron Technology Ventures and Piva Capital have joined Proman, Alfa Laval, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and Dustin Moskovitz in its oversubscribed Series B financing, increasing the round to over $60 million. The new capital will be used to advance the company's commercialization strategy. more

Energy Vault Announces $100 Million Series C Funding
August 25, 2021

The capital raised will be used to support execution of the company's growth plans as it ramps up multi-continent deployments of its innovative EVx platform, including fulfilling a strong pipeline of customer agreements across markets in the U.S., Middle East, Europe, and Australia. Deployments will begin in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2021, with a broader global ramp up expected throughout 2022. more

U.S. Large-Scale Battery Storage Power Capacity Increased 35% in 2020
August 17, 2021 | U.S. Energy Information Administration

The United States continued a trend of significant growth in large-scale battery capacity, with U.S. battery power capacity reaching 1,650 megawatts by the end of 2020. Capacity grew by 35% in 2020 and has tripled in the last five years, and the EIA expects the trend to continue: utilities have reported plans to install over 10,000 MW of additional large-scale battery power capacity from 2021 through 2023. more

FPL Installs First Battery Components at World's Largest Solar-Powered Battery Storage Facility
August 16, 2021

Located in Parrish, Fla., the FPL Manatee Energy Storage Center is expected to begin serving customers later this year and will be the largest solar-powered battery storage facility in the world. With 409 MW of output and 900 MWh of capacity, the energy storage system will be able to power the equivalent of 329,000 homes for more than 2 hours. more

MPSC Seeks Energy Storage Resource Pilot Programs From Michigan's Regulated Utilities
August 12, 2021

The Commission encouraged Michigan's investor-owned utilities to propose pilot programs in upcoming rate cases in which, among other measures, utilities may participate in wholesale markets on behalf of customer-owned ESRs, develop applicable rates and tariffs, appropriately compensate the ESR, and engage third-party aggregators of smaller ESRs that do not on their own meet the 100-kilowatt minimum required by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). more

Recurrent Energy Signs 600 MWH Long-term Energy Storage Agreement With Pacific Gas & Electric
August 11, 2021

The 350 MW / 1,400 MWh Crimson project will be one of the largest battery energy storage projects in the world when it comes online beginning in summer 2022. Earlier this year, Southern California Edison awarded Recurrent Energy a long-term energy storage contract for 200 MW / 800 MWh for phase 1 of the Crimson project located in Riverside County, California. more

Con Edison and O&R Utilities Seeking Battery Projects to Aid Clean Energy Push
August 9, 2021

Utility-scale energy storage will grow in importance with the planned addition of large amounts of renewable energy in New York State, including 6,000 megawatts of solar and 9,000 megawatts from offshore wind. The request for proposals says Con Edison wants projects totaling at least 200 megawatts in New York City and Westchester County, while O&R is looking for projects totaling 10 megawatts. more

RES Secures O&M Contract at Europe's Largest Battery Storage Project
August 6, 2021

RES has won a tender to provide storage O&M services for China Huaneng Group's Minety battery storage project. Located 12 miles north west of Swindon, the project is Europe's largest battery storage development to date. more

Calpine and GE Renewable Energy Complete Santa Ana Storage Project in Southern California
July 22, 2021

The project contains a 20MW/80MWh (4hr) standalone battery energy storage system using GE's Reservoir energy storage technology. The system, now in commercial operation, will be able to provide energy to up to 12,000 households during peak events, and/or 24,000 households during normal load conditions. more

Hawaiian Electric Encourages Customers to Add Energy Storage to Rooftop Solar Systems
July 20, 2021

Hawaiian Electric is accepting applications for Battery Bonus, a new program that will pay a cash incentive for residential and commercial customers on Oahu to add energy storage (a battery) to an existing or new rooftop solar system. This one-time incentive will help move Hawaii toward the company's goal of 100% clean energy by 2045 and add more renewable resources to the grid in the short-term when the AES coal-fired plant is retired in September 2022. more

Mercom: Funding into Battery Storage and Smart Grid Up in the First Half of 2021
July 20, 2021 | Mercom Research

Total corporate funding (including venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing) for battery storage, smart grid, and efficiency companies in 1H 2021 was up exponentially year-over-year (YoY) with $10.4 billion compared to $1.5 billion raised in 1H 2020 when the market was affected by COVID-19. download report

Secretary Granholm Announces New Goal to Cut Costs of Long Duration Energy Storage by 90 Percent
July 15, 2021

"We're going to bring hundreds of gigawatts of clean energy onto the grid over the next few years, and we need to be able to use that energy wherever and whenever it's needed," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. "That's why DOE is working aggressively toward cheaper, longer duration energy storage to reach President Biden's goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035." more

Leyline Renewable Capital and Starwood Energy Group Partner with American Power Ventures to Bring Reliability to the Power Grid
July 1, 2021

The joint venture is providing APV with capital to develop battery storage projects in the Virginia PJM territory and Texas ERCOT territory with a total capacity of 400 MWac/1400 MWh. These battery storage developments will reinforce the intermittency of renewable energy assets and subsequently improve the reliability of the power grids in Virginia and Texas. more

A New York Energy Innovation First: Battery Storage & Vehicle Chargers On One Site
June 28, 2021

This project will be the first in New York City that combines energy storage and electric vehicle charging. Centrica will design, build, own and operate a 5-megawatt/15-megawatt hour battery system and 18 direct-current fast chargers at the site. The storage system, which will be in trailers, will hold 5 million watts, enough to power about 5,000 apartments for four hours during a summer peak. more

U.S. Department of Energy Announces New Vehicle Technologies Funding and Future Partnerships with Battery Industry
June 15, 2021

The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced $200 million in funding over the next five years for electric vehicles, batteries, and connected vehicles projects at DOE national labs and new DOE partnerships to support electric vehicles innovation. "We're focusing on the entire battery supply chain from soup to nuts - from sustainable mining and processing to manufacturing and recycling - which will translate to thousands of new jobs across the country and put more clean-running electric vehicles on the road," said Acting Assistant Secretary Kelly Speakes-Backman. more

New York Power Authority and Electric Power Research Institute Awarded Grant to Research Long-Duration Storage
June 9, 2021

The project, led by EPRI and funded by a $200,000 U.S. Department of Energy grant, will investigate the feasibility of a thermal energy storage (TES) technology developed by Brenmiller Energy. Another $50,000 will be funded by the project participants. If determined to be feasible, the investigation team will pilot the technology and evaluate its ability to provide effective and economical energy storage at NYPA's Eugene W. Zeltmann Power Project in Astoria. more

Northvolt Raises $2-75 Billion in Equity to Deploy Further Battery Cell Capacity -- Expands Swedish Gigafactory to 60 Gwh
June 9, 2021

Including the private placement, Northvolt has now raised more than $6.5 billion in equity and debt to enable an expansion plan leading up to and beyond 150 GWh of deployed annual production capacity in Europe by 2030. In addition, Northvolt has to date secured in excess of $27 billion worth of contracts from key customers, including BMW, Fluence, Scania and Volkswagen, to support its plan, which also includes establishing recycling capabilities to enable 50 percent of all its raw material requirements to be sourced from recycled batteries by 2030. more

Kohler Power Launches New Clean Energy Reserve Storage System
May 31, 2021

Homeowners can access and manage their stored solar power in the KOHLER Power Reserve system through an app that provides insights into real-time power flow for the home, timeline of power information for the day, historical statistics for the system, and allows users to choose the operation mode for their system (back-up, self-supply, time-of-use or custom) to personalize their battery's storage and output. more

EPRI Launches New Tool to Increase Grid Flexibility for the Clean Energy Transition
May 26, 2021

The tool provides a free, publicly accessible, open-source platform for calculating, understanding, and optimizing the value of DER based on their technical merits and constraints. DER-VET was developed in collaboration with the California Energy Commission (CEC). An extension of EPRI's StorageVET tool, DER-VET supports site-specific assessments for energy storage and additional DER technologies. more

Urgent Need for New Stationary Storage, According to IDTechEx
May 25, 2021 | IDTechEx

Starved of lithium-ion batteries and pumped storage sites, the stationary energy storage business is urgently looking for alternatives, according to a new report from IDTechEx. The research firm forecasts that battery-less stationary storage will surge to a $6.5 billion business in 2031, with much more beyond. more

Malta Teams Up with Duke Energy to Study Possibility of Converting Coal Units into Clean Energy Storage Facilities
May 24, 2021

Malta Inc. is teaming up with Duke Energy to study the socioeconomic, environmental and operational benefits of converting retiring coal units into long-duration, zero-emissions energy storage systems by integrating Malta's 100-megawatt, 10-hour pumped heat energy storage system into existing infrastructure at a Duke Energy coal plant in North Carolina. more

HEROES: Project Aims to Develop an Energy Storage System for Fast Electric Vehicle Charging
May 12, 2021

The objective of HEROES is the development and demonstration of a disruptive hybrid high power/high energy stationary storage system for fast charging of electric vehicles to be used in medium-size charging stations connected to the low voltage grids, without the need to invest in improving the grid power. Ten partners from five different European countries will work together in the HEROS consortium for 36 months. more

ESS Inc. to Become a Publicly Listed Company through Merger with ACON S2 Acquisition Corp.
May 10, 2021

ESS Tech, Inc., a manufacturer of long-duration iron flow batteries for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications, and ACON S2 Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination that will result in ESS becoming a publicly listed company. more

California ISO Prepares for Surge in Grid-Scale Energy Storage
May 3, 2021

The ISO is projecting a four-fold increase in the amount of battery storage on its system from late last year to this summer. At the end of 2020, the ISO had about 250 megawatts of storage resources -- primarily 4-hour batteries -- connected to the grid. It currently has about 500 MW on its system, and expects to have a total of 2,000 MW by August 1. This rapid pace of growth is expected to continue in the years ahead. more

Fluence and Northvolt Collaborate to Co-Develop Smart, Sustainable Battery Technology for Grid-Scale Energy Storage
April 22, 2021

Fluence and Northvolt will work together to develop Northvolt battery hardware and battery management systems optimized for Fluence energy storage solutions. Digital intelligence, tightly integrated through the full product lifecycle from battery manufacturing to end-of-life, will lower total cost of ownership and create unique opportunities to generate value for Fluence customers. more

Vistra, Malta, and Southwest Research Institute Collaborate on Department of Energy Funded Study to Advance Clean Power Generation
April 15, 2021

The U.S. Department of Energy-funded study will focus on integration of the Malta system with a Vistra-owned natural gas-fired plant to optimize its environmental and economic performance. The Malta energy storage system will use electricity generated by the natural gas plant, convert and store that energy as heat, and then convert it back to electricity that can be redistributed on the electric grid as demand necessitates. more

NYPA Signs Host Site Agreement for First Long Duration Use of Zinc-Air Storage System at University of Buffalo
April 13, 2021

The New York Power Authority has announced the signing of an agreement with Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc. and the University at Buffalo for the planned deployment of the company's patented Zinc-air Energy Storage System, marking a first demonstration of a long-duration use in New York State and a development that could support further integration of renewable power sources into the electric grid. more

New York State on Course to Meet Aggressive Energy Storage Goals
April 12, 2021

The Department of Public Service this week issued the second State of Storage' annual report announcing progress in reaching New York State's statewide energy storage goal of 3,000 megawatts by 2030, with an interim objective of deploying 1,500 MW by 2025. Total deployed or awarded/contracted projects at the end of 2020 equals 1,186 MW in capacity, or about 79 percent of the 2025 target of 1,500 MW and 40 percent of the 2030 target of 3,000 MW. more

Atlas of 100% Renewable Energy
April 1, 2021 | Wärtsilä Energy

Wärtsilä has modelled 145 countries and regions to find the optimal way to produce electricity from 100% renewable energy sources. The interactive map illustrates how the power system of each of these regions would look like if they were to be optimally built from scratch, not considering the burden of existing power plants. view map

Hunt Energy Network Announces New Energy Storage Venture
March 24, 2021

Hunt Energy Network this week announced it has formed a new venture, in collaboration with Manulife Investment Management, that will actively participate in the energy storage space within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The new company will be called HEN Infrastructure, LLC, and will develop and manage a portfolio of 500 megawatts of distribution level energy storage assets in ERCOT, dispatched by Hunt Energy Network's proprietary TraDER platform. more

Canada Invests in Smart Grid Technology in Alberta
March 24, 2021

The first investment of $495,000 is for FortisAlberta Inc. to support the Waterton Energy Storage Project by showcasing how using a battery energy storage system and advanced distribution control systems can provide reliable access to the grid with economic and social benefits for the community. The second investment of $413,250 is for Lethbridge Electric Utility to enhance its distribution network by using Conservation Voltage Reduction software technology in its metering system. more

DOE Announces $24.5 Million for Manufacturing Innovation to Build a Clean, Resilient Electric Grid
March 18, 2021

The two funding opportunities will back research and development for the materials and technologies needed to expand the grid with new, clean-energy sources, deliver affordable electricity to disadvantaged communities, and help reach the Biden Administration's goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. more

Wärtsilä to Supply and Maintain Two Major Interconnected Energy Storage Systems for Texas Grid Services
March 16, 2021

The technology group Wärtsilä will supply its advanced energy storage technology for two major projects in southern Texas, USA. The interconnected stand-alone systems will have a combined rated capacity of 200 MW. Wärtsilä has also signed ten-year guaranteed asset performance agreements for the installations. The order was placed by Able Grid Energy Solutions, a utility-scale energy storage project development arm of MAP RE/ES, one of North America's leading investors in modern energy projects. more

KiloVault Unveils XLC Advanced Lead Carbon Deep Cycle Battery
March 15, 2021

The XLC is designed to provide flexible and reliable storage for smart grids, hybrid power supply systems, street lamp power systems, and microgrids. The XLC offers the same function as KiloVault's PLC 2100 battery, but is designed to handle greater energy demands with 1,000 Amp-hours of energy storage. more

DOE Launches Design & Construction of $75 Million Grid Energy Storage Research Facility
March 11, 2021

The U.S. Department of Energy this week announced the beginning of design and construction of the Grid Storage Launchpad (GSL), a $75 million facility located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington that will boost clean energy adaptation and accelerate the development and deployment of long-duration, low-cost grid energy storage. more

AutoGrid Deploys AutoGrid Flex for Total's Largest Battery-Based Energy Storage Project in France
March 8, 2021

AutoGrid has deployed the company's AutoGrid Flex Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform to provide frequency regulation capabilities to Total SE for its largest battery-based energy storage project in France, a 25MW/25MWh lithium-ion system at the Flandres Center in Dunkirk's port district. more

NREL Heats Up Thermal Energy Storage with New Solution Meant To Ease Grid Stress, Ultimately Improving Energy Efficiency
March 2, 2021

Thermal energy storage allows buildings to function like a huge battery by storing thermal energy in novel materials until it can be used later. Scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a simple way to better evaluate the potential of novel materials to store or release heat on demand in homes, offices, or other buildings in a way that more efficiently manages the building's energy use. more

EDP Creates Units to Exploit Green Hydrogen and Energy Storage
February 22, 2021

The EDP Group has strengthened its commitment to decarbonization by launching two units that will exploit the potential of green hydrogen and energy storage systems. The H2 Business Unit (H2BU) will be the Group's new arm for the development of green hydrogen projects, while the dedicated storage unit, built in EDPR NA, will aim to achieve a storage capacity of 1 GW within five years. more

WEC Energy Group Announces Plan for Wisconsin's First Large-Scale Solar and Battery Storage Project
February 17, 2021

WEC Energy Group this week proposed plans for a new 310-megawatt (solar and battery storage project. If approved, the Paris Solar-Battery Park in Kenosha County would be the largest facility of its kind in Wisconsin. The facility features 200 MW of solar generation which is equal to powering 60,000 homes, and 110 MW of battery storage. more

Appalachian Power Seeks Renewable Energy Projects With Option For Battery Storage
February 17, 2021

Appalachian Power this week issued a Request for Proposals (RFPs) for up to 300 megawatts of solar and/or wind generation resources. The request for bids is the first in a series of RFPs Appalachian Power will issue this year to comply with provisions of the Virginia Clean Economy Act. Under the VCEA, Appalachian Power must meet annual targets as it works toward 100 percent carbon-free energy in its Virginia service territory by 2050. more

NERC Report Highlights Major Contribution to Reliability Offered by Battery Storage
February 11, 2021 | North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)

"North America currently has less than 2 GW of battery storage, but that capacity is projected to increase 100 percent to 4 GW by 2023," said Thomas Coleman, NERC's chief technical advisor of Engineering and Standards. "The rapid transformation of the transmission grid to meet carbon goals while maintaining reliability, security and resilience is a primary focus for industry and regulators. It is abundantly clear that battery energy storage systems have a key role in accomplishing that goal." more

sPower Closes Landmark Debt Financing for a 400 MWh Standalone Battery Storage Project in California
February 9, 2021

The $154.2 million non-recourse debt raise, arranged by KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Export Development Canada, is one of the largest financing deals for a utility-scale standalone battery storage project. An Energy Storage Agreement (ESA) with Clean Power Alliance (CPA) for Luna Storage was signed in April 2020, making this the largest ESA for a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) in California. more

Southern Power to add Battery Energy Storage Resources to two California Solar Projects
February 5, 2021

"These projects will be two of the first co-located solar and storage projects operating in the California market," said Southern Power President Bill Grantham. For the Garland Solar Facility in Kern County, California, 88 MW and 352 MWh of energy storage will be added, while 72 MW and 288 MWh of energy storage will be added to the Tranquillity Solar Facility in Fresno County, California. more

SEPA, ESA Explore Utility Business Models for Energy Storage
February 1, 2021

"Energy storage, more so than other asset types, requires utilities to think creatively in order to realize potential value streams," said Robert Tucker, Director, Industry Strategy at SEPA. "This report highlights the business models we see utilities using to extract these value streams to the benefit of the grid and customers." more

North America to Dominate Global Thermal Energy Storage Market
February 1, 2021 | Facts & Factors Research

According to the recent report, the global thermal energy storage market in 2019 was approximately USD 4,281.6 million. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.4% and is anticipated to reach around USD 8558.34 million by in 2026. North America dominated the global thermal energy storage market owing to the presence of a huge number of vendors coupled with numerous thermal projects that are under construction. more

AES Commissions Alamitos Energy Storage Facility in Long Beach, California
January 28, 2021

The AES Corporation has commenced operations of the Alamitos battery energy storage system (BESS), one of the world's largest battery storage systems in operation today. The BESS, a stand-alone energy storage facility for local capacity, will provide up to 400 megawatt-hours of energy to ensure greener, smarter and more reliable power to Southern California Edison customers. more

Enel X to Launch Three Innovative Battery Projects Approved Under the European IPCEI Program
January 27, 2021

Enel X, the Enel Group business line dedicated to innovative energy services, has obtained the green light from the European Commission to develop three projects presented within the framework of the second IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) created to support the European battery industry, which sees the participation of 42 European companies. more

Battery Storage, Smart Grid, and Energy Efficiency Companies Bring in $8.1 Billion in Corporate Funding in 2020
January 19, 2021 | Mercom Capital Group

Total corporate funding (including venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing) for the battery storage, smart grid, and energy efficiency sectors in 2020 was up by 112%, with $8.1 billion compared to $3.8 billion in 2019, according to the new report. view report

Canadian Solar Subsidiary Recurrent Energy Breaks Ground on One of the Largest PV + Battery Storage Projects in the U.S.
January 14, 2021

The Slate project is a 300 MWac solar plus 140.25 MW / 561 MWh storage project located in Kings County, California, and has commenced construction. Canadian Solar's majority-owned energy storage subsidiary, System Solutions and Energy Storage (SSES), will provide the battery storage integration solution for the project. more

California Energy Commission Awards More Than $5 Million in Grant Funding to Indian Energy for Camp Pendleton Energy Storage Demonstration Project
January 12, 2021

Indian Energy is a 100% Native American-owned utility-scale and microgrid development and systems integration firm. Utilizing the grant funds, Indian Energy, along with construction management partner Webcor, will develop, integrate and commission several innovative Hybrid Modular Storage Systems (HMSS) as a long-duration energy storage technology demonstration and deployment research project. more

KIUC and AES to Join Forces on Solar Pumped Storage Hydro Project
January 11, 2021

When operational, the solar array will contribute up to 35 megawatts directly to the grid and will store up to 240 megawatt hours for dispatch during evening peak. The hydro resources are expected to produce 24 megawatts on average daily, which includes 12 hours of storage to be used overnight. The project is expected to meet roughly 25% of Kaua'i's electricity needs, and will also support the grid with long-duration storage capability. more

Vistra Brings World's Largest Utility-Scale Battery Energy Storage System Online
January 7, 2021

At 300 megawatts/1,200 megawatt-hours, the lithium-ion battery storage system, located on-site at Vistra's Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County, California, will be the largest of its kind in the world. Furthermore, construction is already underway on Phase II, which will add an additional 100 MW/400 MWh to the facility by August 2021, bringing its total capacity to 400 MW/1,600 MWh. more

BIRD Energy to invest $7.15 Million in Cooperative Israel-U.S. Clean Energy Projects
December 23, 2020

The U.S. Department of Energy and Israel's Ministry of Energy along with the Israel Innovation Authority have selected eight clean energy projects to receive $7.15 million under the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Energy program. The total value of the projects is $17.4 million, which includes $10.25 million in cost share from the companies selected for funding. more

Department of Energy Releases Energy Storage Grand Challenge Roadmap
December 22, 2020

The U.S. Department of Energy this week released the Energy Storage Grand Challenge Roadmap, the Department’s first comprehensive energy storage strategy. Announced in January 2020 by U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, the Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC) seeks to create and sustain American leadership in energy storage. more

Vena Energy Selects Doosan GridTech To Deliver Queensland's Largest Grid-Scale Energy Storage System
December 15, 2020

Doosan's Intelligent Controller (DG-IC) will be the operating software platform of the Wandoan South BESS. It is one of the first storage control systems built on open standard interfaces and is custom-designed to meet the Australian transmission system's rigorous requirements. more

World's Largest Solar-Powered Vanadium Flow Battery Coming to South Australia
December 11, 2020

Yadlamalka, South Australia will take center stage in the race to decarbonize the global electricity system when the world's largest solar-powered vanadium flow battery (VFB) comes online there next year. In this pioneering project, a VFB supplied by Invinity Energy Systems will charge from a solar PV array and provide power to the local grid on demand. more

Siemens Energy Teams Up With Duke Energy, Clemson University to Study Hydrogen Use
December 11, 2020

Siemens Energy will study the use of its Silyzer electrolyzer to produce hydrogen fuel to help power the existing SGT-400 natural gas turbine at the Clemson plant. The Silyzer can use renewables and clean energy sources to create hydrogen without producing emissions. Clemson University will lead the integration of hydrogen into the campus grid and ensure energy needs are met, and Duke Energy will provide operational, engineering and grid modeling expertise. Duke Energy also expects the results of the study to be applicable to its larger combustion turbine fleet. more

White Paper: California's Clean Energy Future - With More Solar, Batteries and EVs - Requires Reimagining the Power Grid
December 10, 2020 | Southern California Edison

"As electricity fuels a larger part of the economy, we must reimagine what the grid should look like in the future and how it will need to function in new ways to meet expanded needs," said Kevin Payne, president and CEO of SCE. Key changes for SCE include recognizing the increasing diversity of different regions' needs and moving from uniform grid architectures to more region-specific, modular grid designs. more

Hydro-Québec Launches EVLO, a Subsidiary Specializing in Energy Storage Systems
December 10, 2020

EVLO's lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are much safer than conventional lithium-ion batteries, since their molecular structure provides intrinsic protection against thermal runaway. They also have a smaller environmental footprint, not just because they are made from naturally abundant, nontoxic materials, but also because they can be recycled using a process that allows 99% of the active materials to be recovered and reused. Moreover, EVLO systems do not contain any cobalt or rare earth elements. more

SCE Adds an Additional 590 Megawatts of New Energy Storage Capacity to Its Clean Energy Portfolio
December 8, 2020

The recently conducted solicitation and resulting contracts are in addition to the company's May acquisition of 770 MWs of energy storage procurement, one of the country's largest. These contracts increase SCE's total amount of installed and procured battery storage capacity to approximately 2,050 MWs. more

Stem, Inc. to Combine with Star Peak, Creating First Public Pure Play Smart Energy Storage Company
December 7, 2020

Stem, Inc., a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven clean energy storage systems, and Star Peak Energy Transition Corp., a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company, recently announced a definitive agreement for a business combination that will result in Stem becoming a public company. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named Stem and remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol "STEM." The combined company will be led by John Carrington, Chief Executive Officer of Stem. more

Li-Cycle Announces Commercial Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Plant Now Operational in Rochester, New York
December 3, 2020

Li-Cycle has reinvented the recycling process by developing and validating patented technologies that enable recoveries of at least 95% of all materials found in lithium-ion batteries through an innovative, zero-waste process. This compares to the industry norm of less than 50% recovery. The company processes all types of lithium-ion batteries regardless of their previous application, chemistry, or state of charge. more

Expanding Local Solar And Storage Could Save Ratepayers Nearly A Half A Trillion Dollars
December 2, 2020

Developing 247 GW of local rooftop and community solar and 160 GW of local energy storage is the most cost-effective way for the United States to transition to a clean energy system by 2050, while saving consumers up to $473 billion on electricity. This is enough local solar to power over 25% of all U.S. homes. These are among the core findings of a new report -- Why Local Solar for All Costs Less: A New Roadmap for the Lowest Cost Grid -- issued by Vote Solar, the Coalition for Community Solar Access, and Sunrun. more

Sunrun Signs Virtual Power Plant Agreement With Southern California Edison
November 24, 2020

By bundling the energy from solar-powered home batteries together to create a "virtual power plant", Sunrun will release stored solar energy to the grid when it's needed most, lowering the overall cost of power and reducing critical strain on the energy system. more

Fortum Introduces New Recycling Technology For Lithium Recovery
November 23, 2020

Finnish-based Fortum has patented a breakthrough technology for a new recovery method to reduce the environmental impact of recycling lithium and make it possible for EV car producers and battery manufacturers to make a smoother and more sustainable transition to electrically powered vehicles. more

Mississippi Power, Southern Company Announce Smart Neighborhood Collaboration in Lauderdale County
November 18, 2020

Mississippi Power and Southern Company announced this week a partnership to build the first smart neighborhood in the world exclusively featuring the Tesla Solar Roof in Lauderdale County. Enzor Place homes will also feature Powerwall batteries, energy efficient equipment and appliances, and smart home automation. more

Domaine Carneros Winery Selects EDF Renewables North America for Solar and Storage Resilient Microgrid
November 16, 2020

The 250-kilowatt solar PV system will be a combination of carport and ground-mount installations integrated with a 280 kW / 540-kilowatt hour onsite behind-the-meter battery storage solution. The system will allow the solar and storage to power the facility and maintain 100% of its operations during a power outage, reducing diesel fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions as well as extend fuel reserves up to an entire week. more

Abengoa Awarded the First Large Scale Hybrid Microgrid With Flow Batteries in Africa
November 12, 2020

Abengoa this week annouced that it has been selected to construct a hybrid microgrid power plant by the leading vanadium energy storage solutions provider in the African market Bushveld Energy. The plant will be the first commercial-scale hybrid project with vanadium flow batteries in the continent and the first MW scale' hybrid power plant for a mine in South Africa. more

Highview Power Breaks Ground on 250MWh CRYOBattery Long Duration Energy Storage Facility
November 9, 2020

Highview Power, in partnership with Carlton Power, announced recently that it is beginning the execution process on a 50 MW liquid air energy storage facility (with a minimum of 250MWh) in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. The CRYOBattery will be one of Europe's largest energy storage systems. more

Appalachian Power Among Key Partners in a New Effort to Advance Energy Storage Technology
November 5, 2020

Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy, Virginia’s largest electric utilities, have entered into a public-private partnership with InvestSWVA to advance energy storage technology and attract industry prospects to the region. The partnership also includes the Appalachian School of Law, Mountain Empire Community College and the Southwest Virginia Energy Research and Development Authority. more

sonnen Collaborates with Stanford on Intelligent Energy Storage Hardware and Load Management Software
November 2, 2020

sonnen recently announced a research collaboration with Stanford University's Sustainable Systems Lab (S3L) within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering to deploy sonnen's intelligent energy storage hardware and load management software in 15 Fremont-area solar-powered homes and in a commercial agricultural facility in El Nido, California. more

Lazard Releases Annual Levelized Cost of Energy and Levelized Cost of Storage Analyses
October 20, 2020

"As the costs of utility-scale wind and solar continue to decline and compete with the marginal cost of conventional energy generation, the focus remains on tackling the challenge of intermittency," said George Bilicic, Vice Chairman and Global Head of Lazard's Power, Energy & Infrastructure Group. "For the first time, we have integrated green and blue hydrogen into our analyses, which recognizes the energy sector's increasing appreciation of hydrogen's potentially disruptive and strategic role in managing the intermittency of renewable power generation." more

Battery Storage, Smart Grid, and Efficiency Companies Raise $3.2 Billion in Corporate Funding in Q3 2020
October 20, 2020

Global corporate funding (including venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing) for the battery storage, smart grid, and energy efficiency sectors in Q3 2020 came to $3.2 billion compared to $1.2 billion in Q2, a 165% increase quarter-over-quarter. Funding was also higher by 777% year-over-year compared to the $365 million raised in 20 deals the same quarter last year. read article

California Community Choice Aggregators Issue Request for Long-Duration Storage
October 19, 2020

Eight Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) recently launched a joint Request for Offers to procure up to 500 megawatts of long-duration storage. The RFO is seeking a minimum 10-year contract for grid-charged technologies. The CCAs are seeking one or more projects to come online by or before 2026 with a minimum discharge period of eight hours. more

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to Optimize Solar Energy With Battery Storage
October 19, 2020

With completion expected in mid-2022, the projects will allow Metropolitan to store excess power to use during peak periods. The projects are estimated to cost $11-12 million. However, through energy savings and incentives from the California Public Utilities Commission, Metropolitan is expected to recoup its costs within three years. more

Wärtsilä to Supply U.S. City with GridSolv Quantum Energy Storage System
October 15, 2020

The technology group Wärtsilä will supply its next generation energy storage system to AEP OnSite Partners to serve the City of Martinsville, Virginia, USA. Together with a 10-year Wärtsilä Guaranteed asset performance agreement, the system is estimated to provide substantial savings to the city. more

Fluence Acquires Digital Intelligence Platform of AMS
October 15, 2020

The acquisition, which follows a year-long partnership between the two companies, complements and expands upon Fluence's digital intelligence capabilities, such as market dispatch algorithms, battery degradation modeling and anomaly detection. By joining the Fluence team, AMS will leverage Fluence's global sales reach to make its software available to more customers around the world. more

Nano One Announces Breakthrough in Battery Longevity
October 13, 2020

Dr. Stephen Campbell, CTO of Nano One Materials announced recently that Nano One has developed a breakthrough in longevity for a cobalt free high voltage battery that has been successfully demonstrated at automotive rates of charge and discharge for over 900 cycles. This demonstration battery uses a low cost, cobalt-free Lithium Nickel Manganese (LNM) cathode active material made with Nano One's proprietary one-pot process. more

Energy Toolbase Integrates its Controls Software with BYD's Energy Storage Solution
October 8, 2020

As part of the integration, Energy Toolbase will add BYD to its sales and modeling platform, enabling renewable energy developers to seamlessly analyze and propose the economics of BYD energy storage projects, either standalone or paired with solar photovoltaic systems. more

First TVA-owned Battery Storage to Shape Energy Future
October 7, 2020

The Tennessee Valley Authority recently announced that it is installing TVA's first owned and operated, grid-scale, battery energy storage system near an industrial complex in Vonore, Tennessee, about 35 miles southwest of Knoxville. The project will use lithium-ion batteries to store 40 megawatt-hours of energy -- enough to power over 10,600 homes for three hours. more

PG&E Offers Portable Batteries for Use During Power Safety Shutoffs
September 24, 2020

The program is available before, during, and after Public Safety Power Shutoff (\events when PG&E needs to turn off power during severe weather for public safety to prevent wildfires. Working in coordination with Community Based Organizations (CBOs), PG&E has identified approximately 10,500 customers who could qualify for this program. more

CleanSpark Commissions Software on New Microgrid Featuring Tesla Batteries
September 22, 2020

CleanSpark, Inc. recently announced the commissioning of its software on a new solar plus storage microgrid project in Central America. CleanSpark is partnered with an energy developer to deploy this unique solution for Micro Technologies SA, a major international assembly and manufacturing company. This microgrid is for their new factory located in the San Jose, Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. more

PNM Partners with Sandia National Laboratories to Further Clean Energy Goals and Grid Resilience
September 22, 2020

PNM and the National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC (NTESS) will capitalize on their combined expertise to assess current and future energy storage technologies in addition to other future technologies that may provide greater flexibility in the electric system and enhance the efficient use of carbon-free generation technologies. Advances may include networked microgrids, virtual power plants, highly efficient distributed and centralized storage systems, and reconfigurable grid architectures that provide added resilience. more

Hawaiian Electric Submits Grid-Scale Renewable Energy and Storage Projects to PUC
September 17, 2020

The O'ahu projects are expected to provide generation and storage needed to retire the state's only coal plant, the 180-megawatt plant at Campbell Industrial Park owned by AES, by September 2022. On Maui, the successful completion of renewable energy projects will help enable the retirement of the 38 MW oil-fired Kahului plant in 2024. more

NYISO Implements Industry-Leading Rules for Energy Storage Resources
September 9, 2020

The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) recently announced the final step in a years-long process to open the NYISO's wholesale energy markets to Energy Storage Resources (ESRs). This development makes the NYISO the first ISO/RTO to allow full participation of these resources and helps position the state to meet the aggressive mandates in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). more

Wärtsilä's GEMS to Centrally Manage Multi-State Energy Storage Projects For Duke Energy
September 1, 2020

Technology group Wärtsilä has contracted with Duke Energy for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of three battery storage facilities during the past six months. These facilities will be located in North Carolina and Indiana in the United States. Additionally, Wärtsilä's GEMS advanced energy management platform will be deployed across the utility's existing and planned battery storage sites and solar assets across six energy distribution areas. more

NextEra Energy Resources Readies Significant Portfolio of California Energy Storage Projects
September 1, 2020

NextEra Energy Resources this week highlighted a suite of clean energy storage developments in the state that could nearly double the total installed capacity of battery storage available in the U.S. today. It plans to build nearly 700 MWs of fully-contracted battery storage projects in California before the end of 2022. The battery storage projects will be co-located at six existing NextEra Energy Resources solar projects. more

LS Power Energizes Largest Battery Storage Project in the World, The 250 MW Gateway Project in California
August 20, 2020

The Gateway Energy Storage project, currently at 230 MW and on track to reach 250 MW by the end of the month, follows another LS Power battery project, Vista Energy Storage in Vista, California, which has been operating since 2018 and was previously the largest battery storage project in the United States at 40 MW. more

Clean Energy Group Proposes 20 Federal Strategies to Advance Battery Storage Markets
August 20, 2020

Clean Energy Group, a national nonprofit organization that has worked on multiple battery storage issues over the last several years, has proposed a comprehensive series of new policy actions the federal government could take to accelerate the battery storage market. These policy recommendations are contained in comments CEG filed in response to the Energy Storage Grand Challenge Draft Roadmap and an accompanying Request for Information the U.S. Department of Energy released in late July 2020. more

Smarter Grid Solutions Powers First Battery for Consolidated Edison and GI Energy's Energy Storage Project in New York City
August 18, 2020

Software created by Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) is being used to control a 1 MW/1 MWh lithium-ion energy storage system in New York City as part of a demonstration project for Con Edison and on-site energy infrastructure developer GI Energy (GIE). A further three 1 MW/1 MWh lithium-ion batteries are due to be installed in the city, with the devices contracted to Con Edison for five years. more

Final 5MW Goes Live at UK's Largest Council-Owned Battery Storage Site
August 12, 2020

The additional £2.5m investment brings the site's total capacity to 30MW, the UK's largest council-owned battery storage site. Kiwi Power's proprietary hardware, Fruit, was installed on all 22 battery units so that the site can provide grid balancing services to National Grid. more

Q CELLS to Acquire Geli, Expanding Its Offerings in Integrated Energy Storage Solutions
August 10, 2020

Q CELLS' acquisition of Geli is its first of an energy storage solutions company and marks its entrance into the U.S. C&I distributed energy market. Leveraging Geli's proprietary artificial intelligence technology for designing, automating, and managing energy storage systems, Q CELLS will be able to provide integrated energy solutions through packaged hardware and software capabilities (solar+storage). more

MHPS Will Supply Battery Energy Storage Systems to Help Balance the California Grid
August 3, 2020

Hecate Grid will own and operate the grid-connected Johanna Energy Storage System (ESS) project, which will be supported by long-term contracts with an electric utility and a community choice aggregator. MHPS will supply full design and turnkey Engineering, Procurement, and Construction of battery energy storage systems (BESS) totaling 20 megawatts (MW) / 80 megawatt hours (MWh) at Johanna 1 and Johanna 2 in Santa Ana, and will service the project under a 10-year long-term service agreement. The project will be online by the end of 2020. more

Schneider Electric Solar Unveils Insight, a Smart Digital Platform for Solar & Storage Energy Management
July 30, 2020

Schneider Electric Solar has announced the launch of Insight, its new energy management platform for residential and commercial users. Homeowners and property managers can leverage Insight as a single platform for energy management. It is designed to provide more accurate and complete data on solar system performance, including the money-saving and environmental impacts that have been made. In addition to system performance data, Insight will offer scalable load management features in the future. more

PG&E, Tesla Break Ground on Landmark Battery Energy Storage System
July 29, 2020

On July 21, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Tesla Inc. began construction of a 182.5-megawatt lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) at PG&E's electric substation in Moss Landing in Monterey County. Once operational, the Moss Landing substation system will be one of the largest utility-owned, lithium-ion battery energy storage systems in the world. more

Enel Green Power Starts Construction of Its First Renewables + Storage Project in North America
July 22, 2020

The project's 421,400 PV bifacial panels are expected to generate over 367 GWh each year, which will be delivered to the grid and will charge the co-located battery, equivalent to avoiding the annual emission of over 242,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. The battery storage system is capable of storing up to 75 MWh at a time to be dispatched when solar power generation is low, while also providing the grid access to a clean supply of electricity during periods of high demand. more

Largest Battery Storage System in US Connects to California ISO Grid
July 15, 2020

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) connected the largest battery storage resource in the nation to its power grid last month, signaling an era of rapid battery growth for the ISO in the next several years. The initial phase of LS Power Group's Gateway Energy Storage Project in San Diego County came online June 9, adding 62.5 megawatts of storage interconnection to the ISO grid. more

Siemens Energy Establishes Network For Efficient Energy Storage Solutions
June 29, 2020

Siemens Energy has launched the "Future of Storage" initiative. The aim of the initiative is to bundle knowledge and build an ecosystem of technology partners in order to offer energy storage solutions tailored to customers' needs. The global team of experts being formed will cover all available energy storage technologies, from batteries to thermal and thermo-mechanical energy storage systems. more

Stem Launches Front of Meter Solar+Storage Project in Massachusetts
June 24, 2020

The Blandford, Mass., site, northwest of Springfield, is the first 8MWh of 28MWh portfolio of large-scale solar plus storage projects that Stem is operating for Syncarpha throughout Massachusetts. Over the next year, Stem and Syncarpha will deploy four additional Massachusetts projects in Halifax, Leicester, Millbury and Westminster. more

PowerCell Signs MoU with ABB Power Grids Regarding Stationary Fuel Cell Power Solutions
June 11, 2020

PowerCell Sweden AB has signed a memorandum of understanding with ABB Power Grids regarding a collaboration around fuel cell based zero emissions stationary power solutions. The aim of the cooperation is to leverage the companies' existing technologies to jointly develop a complete solution for the market. A final agreement is expected to be reached within approximately 12 months. more

Stem Awarded Exclusive Deal to Deliver Intelligent Energy Storage Management to SK E&S and SUSI Partners Portfolio
June 11, 2020

Stem, a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven energy storage services, announced this week that it was awarded an exclusive contract to provide its advanced, intelligent software for managing a portfolio of storage assets owned in partnership by SK E&S and SUSI Partners. The portfolio consists of 345 MWh and adds 25 new commercial and municipal Southern California Edison (SCE) customers in the Los Angeles area. more

Agilitas Energy Secured Site for Non-Wires Energy Storage Project in Long Island City
June 3, 2020

Agilitas Energy, a leading Northeast energy developer, has recently secured a project site to install a 4.95 MWac / 20.6 MWh battery energy storage system in Long Island City after winning one of the largest competitive energy storage projects in New York City - Con Edison's Newtown Non-Wires Solutions Energy Storage System Request for Proposals published in August 2019. more

SimpliPhi Power and Heila Technologies Launch Customer-Cited Energy Storage Solution for Southwestern Electric Power Company
June 1, 2020

The demonstration project with Heila Technologies will aggregate distributed energy resources and empower SWEPCO to manage these assets as an optimized fleet. Under a single platform, SWEPCO will be able to leverage the storage+solar systems to correct power factor, perform peak shaving, and manage overall energy supply, all while improving customer resiliency. more

Plus Power's 185 MW Kapolei Energy Storage Project Selected by Hawaiian Electric in State's Largest Renewable Energy Procurement
May 27, 2020

Plus Power, an independent developer of utility-scale battery storage projects, announced this week that its 185 MW/565 MWh Kapolei Energy Storage project (KES) was selected by the Hawaiian Electric Companies as part of the utility's transition to renewables. The KES project is located in Kapolei on the island of Oahu, and is the largest battery storage project selected by Hawaiian Electric. more

PG&E Poised to Expand Battery Energy Storage Capacity by More Than 420 Megawatts
May 20, 2020

PG&E was authorized to procure at least 716.9 MW of system reliability resources to come online between August 1, 2021 and August 1, 2023. The five new battery energy storage projects announced this week represent PG&E's first phase of procuring system reliability resources that need to come online within that timeframe. more

HSEO Launches Web Page to Share Information on New Round of Renewable Projects
May 18, 2020

The Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO) launched a web page today to provide information, as it becomes publicly available, on the 13 solar-plus-storage and three standalone storage projects announced by the Hawaiian Electric Companies as part of the largest renewable energy procurement ever undertaken in Hawaii. more

Hawaiian Electric Selects 16 Projects in Largest Quest for Renewable Energy, Energy Storage for Three Islands
May 12, 2020

The projects, selected after a competitive evaluation that was part of the largest renewable energy procurement ever undertaken in Hawaii, could produce 460 megawatts of solar energy and nearly 3 gigawatt-hours of energy storage on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island. That would increase the total solar megawatts on the Hawaiian Electric system by more than 50 percent. more

SCE Enhances System Reliability With 770 Megawatts of New Energy Storage Capacity
May 4, 2020

Most of the projects selected are co-located projects since the battery project will use an adjacent solar power plant to charge the battery over the term of the contract. These projects will be located at the same point of interconnection and will be the first of their kind on California's grid. more

Wärtsilä Delivering a 70MW Energy Storage System In California To Optimize Renewable Energy System Performance
April 30, 2020

This project is the first grid-scale energy storage project for the customer and will be Wärtsilä's largest energy storage deployment tied to a renewable resource in the western United States. This adds to Wärtsilä's portfolio of 20+ operating energy storage projects in North America, including two grid-scale 9.9 MW energy storage systems in Roscoe, Texas. more

8minute Solar Energy Expands Development Pipeline to 18 Gigawatts with New Solar-Plus-Storage Power Plants
April 24, 2020

8minute was the first to beat the cost of fossil fuels with solar photovoltaics (PV) and late last year received approval for the Eland Solar & Storage Center, the lowest-cost solar and energy storage project in the country. 8minute plans to replicate this model across its pipeline to provide a reliable alternative for baseload power plants. more

Advancing High Temperature Electrolysis: Splitting Water to Store Energy as Hydrogen
April 22, 2020

Recently, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory developed a new electrode material for an electrochemical cell that can efficiently convert excess electricity and water into hydrogen. When demand for electricity increases, the electrochemical cell is reversible, converting hydrogen back into electricity for the grid. The hydrogen could also be used as fuel for heat, vehicles or other applications. more

Q1 2020 Funding and M&A Report on Battery Storage, Smart Grid, and Efficiency
April 21, 2020 | Mercom Capital Group

Mercom found that in Q1 2020, a combined $252 million was raised by battery storage, smart grid, and energy efficiency companies, a 20% increase from the $210 million raised in Q1 2019. Venture capital funding (including private equity and corporate venture capital) raised by battery storage companies in Q1 2020 came to $164 million in six deals compared to $78 million in seven deals in Q1 2019. download report (registration required)

A Unique Heat Storage Technology from Argonne National Lab Gathers Steam
April 15, 2020

"Any time you have a combustion process, you are wasting about 60 percent of the energy as heat," said Dileep Singh, a senior materials scientist at Argonne who has led the thermal energy storage system (TESS) development. "In a sense, this is a thermal version of a battery, where you charge and discharge heat rather than electricity." more

Clean Power Alliance Signs Large-Scale Battery Energy Storage Agreement
April 14, 2020

The Luna Storage project, a 100-megawatt/400-megawatt hour standalone lithium ion battery storage project will be owned and operated by sPower, an independent power producer (IPP). Valued at more than $100 million, the project is located in the City of Lancaster, within Los Angeles County, and is expected to be operational by August 2021. more

Chasing Lithium Ions on the Move in a Fast-Charging Battery
March 26, 2020

A team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has captured in real time how lithium ions move in lithium titanate (LTO), a fast-charging battery electrode material made of lithium, titanium, and oxygen. Their discovery could provide insights into designing improved battery materials for the rapid charging of electric vehicles and portable consumer electronics. more

NEC Energy Solutions to Deliver the Largest Energy Storage System to Be Financed by Crowdfunding
March 18, 2020

NEC Energy Solutions announced recently it has been awarded a 12MW energy storage project by GIGA Storage in The Netherlands. Once completed, the project will be the most powerful energy storage project in the country providing grid resiliency for approximately 5,000 homes. more

McKinleyville Selects Ameresco to Develop Community Microgrid and Battery Energy Storage System
March 16, 2020

The microgrid will incorporate existing diesel generation along with new solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage assets to optimize electrical grid resiliency while delivering both financial and environmental benefits to the the community's 16,900 residents. more

DOE, Israel's Ministry of Energy, and Israel Innovation Authority Announce U.S.-Israel Energy Center Winners
March 13, 2020

Three consortia, comprised of U.S. and Israeli organizations, will undertake five years of research, development, and commercialization of innovative energy technologies in the fossil energy, energy storage, and energy-water nexus sectors. The total value of these three projects with cost-shared arrangements could reach $55.2 million. more

DNV GL: Seasonal Storage Technology Has the Potential to Become Cost-Effective Long-Term Electricity Storage System
March 12, 2020

"Our research shows that seasonal storage provides a possible solution to address the problem of long periods without renewable generation, for example in the Northern European winter," said Lucy Craig, Director of Technology and Innovation at DNV GL Energy. "While the business case for seasonal storage is challenged by the rapid growth of grid-connected battery storage, our research shows that there is an opportunity for new technologies such as green hydrogen and synthetic fuels." view research paper

Alpiq Provides Storage Solutions Based on Electric Vehicle Batteries
March 4, 2020

In the form of an interconnected storage system, such batteries can make a significant contribution towards increasing energy efficiency and reducing the peak loads of industrial companies as well as enhancing grid stability and the integration of renewable energies. more

Dominion Energy's First Battery Storage Projects Approved
February 26, 2020

The four utility-scale battery storage pilot projects totaling 16 megawatts are the largest projects of their kind in Virginia. The company will utilize lithium-ion batteries to better understand how this emerging technology can be integrated into various applications to benefit customers. more

CIT Leads $140 Million Financing for Utility-Scale Energy Storage Portfolio
February 25, 2020

The portfolio consists of more than 136 megawatts of energy storage units supporting eight energy projects in California. esVolta has long-term revenue contracts for all of the projects and is partnering with Southern Power Company on four of them. more

Greentown Labs and Schneider Electric Launch Bold Ideas 2020 to Accelerate Energy Storage Innovations
February 18, 2020

Bold Ideas 2020 is a six-month accelerator program housed at Greentown Labs in Somerville, Mass., and focused on fast-tracking entrepreneurs with the mentors, team members, and business and technical resources they need to launch or scale successful ventures with direct support from Schneider Electric. more

Capital Dynamics and 8minute Solar Energy Partner on Breakthrough 400MWac Eland Solar & Storage Center
January 24, 2020

The project features a 300MW/1200 MWh energy storage facility, making it one of the largest in the world and the record low-cost for this type of facility. Initial construction, which has commenced, will proceed in two phases with the goal of starting operations in 2022 and will reach full operational capabilities in 2023. more

A Virtual Power Plant For Every Home: Centrica and Sonnen Install a Network of 100 Domestic Batteries to Form the UK's Most Advanced Virtual Power Plant
January 20, 2020

The network of decentralized home energy storage systems has been approved by National Grid allowing the batteries to be aggregated in a cloud platform in order to provide Dynamic Firm Frequency Response (FFR) - selling storage space when the grid is overloaded or providing stored energy during periods of peak demand. more

NYPA Announces New Energy Storage Demonstration Project
January 20, 2020

Zinc8 Energy Solutions developed a patented zinc-air energy storage system that efficiently stores energy in the form of zinc particles and contains none of the traditional high cost battery commodities such as lithium, vanadium or cobalt. The technology allows for low-cost mass storage of energy and can be deployed into a wide range of scalable energy storage applications. more

U.S. Department of Energy Launches Energy Storage Grand Challenge
January 9, 2020

The Energy Storage Grand Challenge is a comprehensive program to accelerate the development, commercialization, and utilization of next-generation energy storage technologies and sustain American global leadership in energy storage. The Grand Challenge builds on the $158 million Advanced Energy Storage Initiative announced in the U.S. Fiscal Year 2020 budget request. more

Declining Renewable Costs Drive Focus on Energy Storage
January 6, 2020

Compared with the same period a year earlier, the United States saw a 93% increase in the amount of storage deployed in the third quarter of 2019. By 2024, that number is expected to top 5.4 gigawatts, according to a forecast by market research firm Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. more

Free of Heavy Metals, New Battery Design Could Alleviate Environmental Concerns
December 20, 2019

Using three new and different proprietary materials, which have never before been recorded as being combined in a battery, a team at IBM Research has discovered a chemistry for a new battery which does not use heavy metals or other substances with sourcing concerns. Young-hye Na, Manager, Materials Innovations for Next-Gen Batteries at IBM Research, reports on the recent development. view blog

NYSERDA Announces Battery Storage Project for Town of Ulster, Replacing Previously Planned Fossil Fuel Plant
December 19, 2019

Today's announcement is the State's latest milestone in its efforts to expand the energy storage sector since Governor Cuomo announced the release of the New York Energy Storage Roadmap in June 2018. In September, NYSERDA announced the completion of the state's largest battery installation, just north of Albany. The 20-megawatt system by Key Capture Energy will help balance electric load and generation by storing and discharging power based upon the changing needs of the grid. more

EDPR Installs a New Energy Storage System Connected to a Solar PV Plant
December 11, 2019

The energy storage system at the Bailesti plant is particularly relevant due to its DC coupling installation, reducing energy loss in the charging process and adding new functions that enhance performance, including the recovery from power cuts and the capture of energy at low voltages or on cloudy days. more

Enel X and Related Companies Install New York City's Largest Battery Storage System
December 10, 2019

Enel X, the Enel Group's advanced energy services business line, and Related Companies, a global real estate firm, recently announced the launch of the largest battery storage system in New York City. The 4.8 MW/16.4 MWh in-front-of-the-meter battery system is located at Related's Gateway Center in East New York, Brooklyn community and will support Con Edison during periods of high peak demand, helping to keep service reliable. more

Nevada PUCN Approves PPA for $1 Billion Gemini Solar and Battery Storage Project
December 9, 2019

Gemini is believed to be one of the largest projects of its kind globally, with plans to host 690MW of solar PV arrays located on up to 7,100 acres, coupled with battery storage infrastructure. The Gemini project, expected to exceed $1 billion in capital expenditure, will capture and store solar energy during the day and dispatch it during the early evening peak period when power demand surges in Nevada. more

California ISO Outlines Vision For Energy Storage in Evolving Grid
December 4, 2019

The ISO collaborated with European counterparts to publish a comprehensive paper, released in November, on the barriers of deploying energy storage worldwide, and paths to create "adequate reward mechanisms" for commercial storage investments. more

Battery Pack Prices Fall as Market Ramps Up With Market Average at $156/kWh in 2019
December 3, 2019

Battery prices, which were above $1,100 per kilowatt-hour in 2010, have fallen 87% in real terms to $156/kWh in 2019. By 2023, average prices will be close to $100/kWh, according to the latest forecast from research company BloombergNEF (BNEF). more

Global New Power Capacity Additions of Utility-Scale Energy Storage Are Expected to Experience a 35% Compound Annual Growth Rate
November 27, 2019 | Navigant Research

"A key trend seen around the world is that the early stages of a market's development typically include projects that are smaller and focused on single applications, often grid stability services such as frequency regulation," says Alex Eller, senior research analyst at Navigant Research. "As markets mature, such as the US, Germany, and Australia, new projects tend to shift to target more substantial multi-revenue stream opportunities for capacity and reserve services, including combined renewables plus storage plants." more

SRP to Cut Emissions Through Major Solar + Battery Energy Purchase
November 20, 2019

As part of its commitment to reduce carbon emissions and invest in 1,000 megawatts of new utility-scale solar energy by 2025, Salt River Project recently announced investments in two new solar energy + battery storage plants. The Sonoran Energy Center will be the largest solar-charged battery project in the state and with the addition of these two plants will make SRP one of the largest investors in energy storage in the nation. more

Los Angeles Mayor Celebrates Final Approval of Largest Solar and Energy Storage Project in the U.S.
November 19, 2019

Located on 2,650 acres in Kern County, California, the project will include two large-scale solar facilities that will capture 400 megawatts of solar energy and store up to 1,200 megawatt-hours of energy - all of which can be distributed to meet peak demand. The site will hold enough energy to power 283,330 homes across Los Angeles. more

GCL System Integration and Powin Energy Announce Joint Venture to Deliver Energy Storage Solution
November 18, 2019

GCL System Integration and Powin Energy recently announced a joint venture, branded as G-Powin Energy Solution, to expand their energy storage business in the Asia-Pacific region. The solution contains DC battery racks, BMS, Containerization, DC collection/protection, PCS integration and EMS. more

Ørsted to Build Landmark Solar & Storage Project
November 14, 2019

The Permian Energy Center will comprise 420MWac of solar PV and 40MWac of battery storage located on a 3,600-acre site alongside existing oil and gas installations and will supply growing West Texas demand for electricity. In a region synonymous with traditional energy production, the project underscores the increasing cost competitiveness of renewable energy. more

Moixa Passes 10k Milestone With World's Largest Single Fleet of Smart Batteries
November 13, 2019

Moixa, the UK-based pioneer of smart battery and EV charging software, recently announced that its GridShare smart software is optimizing 100MWh of batteries across 10,000 homes in Japan. This is believed to be the largest single fleet of batteries under management in the world. more

Energy Storage Industry Puts Digitalization at the Core of Their Business Strategy
October 31, 2019 | DNV GL

Almost half of all stakeholders from the energy storage industry confirm their organization defines digitalization as a core part of their business strategy, with 75% of respondents saying their organization proactively invests in digitalization to meet its goals. This is one of the key findings of the 'Digitalization and the Future of Energy Storage' published this week by DNV GL. The report assesses the current progress of digitalization and identifies the top priorities for and barriers to further growth and is part of DNV GL's series of reports on the impact of digitalization on the energy industry. more

Massive Investment in Battery Technology Accelerating the Energy Transition, Driving Exponential Market Growth
October 30, 2019

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) recently announced the release of its Breakthrough Battery Technologies report, which shows that exploding investment in battery technologies is revolutionizing the sector much faster than expected and setting in motion a seismic shift in how we will power our lives and organize energy systems as early as 2030. more

KORE Power Intends to Build 10 GWh Battery Manufacturing Plant in the U.S.
October 28, 2019

The new one million square foot facility will be used to manufacture and produce the company's Mark 1 Energy Storage System using fully automated battery assembly lines and processes. Once completed, the plant will have 10 GWh of highly scalable manufacturing capacity that will meet the rapidly growing market demand for customized industrial battery solutions. more

Consumers Energy Collaborates With Sunverge for a Distributed Battery Storage Pilot
October 24, 2019

"In this pilot, we are testing to understand the different values that batteries could provide to the overall grid, such as potential investment deferral, resiliency and reliability, while also providing backup of critical loads for pilot participants," said Ryan Kiley, executive director of product development for Consumers Energy. more

Battery Storage, Smart Grid, and Efficiency Companies Raise Over $2 Billion in VC Funding in 9M 2019
October 23, 2019

Global VC funding (venture capital, private equity, and corporate venture capital) for battery storage, smart grid, and efficiency companies in 9M 2019 was 54% higher with over $2 billion compared to $1.3 billion raised in 9M 2018., according to the report. more

Highview Power to Develop Multiple Cryogenic Energy Storage Facilities in the UK and to Build Europe's Largest Storage System
October 22, 2019

Highview Power notes that its CRYOBattery is the only freely locatable energy storage solution on the market today that delivers clean, reliable, and cost-efficient long-duration energy storage with grid synchronous inertia. According to the company, it can store energy for weeks, instead of hours or days, and at approximately £110/MWh for a for a 10-hour, 200 MW / 2 GWh system, the CRYOBattery offers the lowest levelized cost of storage for large-scale applications. more

FERC Approves First Compliance Filings on Landmark Storage Rule
October 21, 2019

"Electricity storage must be able to participate on an even playing field in the wholesale power markets that we regulate," FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee said. "Breaking down these market barriers encourages the innovation and technological advancements that are essential to the future of our grid." more

Siemens Launching a New Battery Storage for Private Homes
February 25, 2019

The Junelight Smart Battery coordinates the predictive charging and discharging procedures depending on the weather-related yield forecast of the photovoltaic system and the individual consumption profile of the household. more

APS Announces One of the Largest Battery Storage Initiatives in the United States
February 22, 2019

The recently announced initiatives will add 850 megawatts of battery storage and at least 100 megawatts of new solar generation by 2025, for a total of 950 megawatts of new clean-energy technology. The battery storage will come from two projects: a 100-megawatt battery provided by AES, and a 50-megawatt battery by Invenergy. more

Shell Agrees To Acquire sonnen
February 20, 2019

The agreement will accelerate the ability of the two companies to offer innovative integrated energy services and electric vehicle charging solutions, and the provision of grid services that are based on sonnen's virtual battery pool. more

Tata Power Collaborates with AES and Mitsubishi Corporation to Power Up South Asia's Largest Grid-Scale Energy Storage System in India
February 15, 2019

Tata Power, AES Corporation, and Mitsubishi Corporation recently (2/13) inaugurated India's first grid-scale battery-based energy storage system in Rohini, Delhi. The 10 Megawatt MW grid-connected system, owned by AES and Mitsubishi Corporation will pave the path for wider adoption of grid-scale energy storage technology across India. more

Sterlite Power Forays Into Grid Connected Battery Storage
February 15, 2019

Sterlite Power has submitted bids for two storage projects in the recently concluded auction of Salt River Project utility. The bids submitted are for a cumulative capacity of 400 MW. This marks the first foray of Sterlite Power into grid connected battery energy storage systems (BESS). more

Nation's First Major Energy Facility Co-Locating Wind, Solar and Battery Storage
February 14, 2019

Portland General Electric Company and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC have announced plans to construct a new energy facility in Eastern Oregon combining 300 megawatts of wind generation with 50 megawatts of solar generation and 30 megawatts of battery storage. more

Ice Energy Completes First Phase of Largest Distributed Thermal Storage System Installation in U.S.
February 13, 2019

Ice Energy, a leading provider of distributed thermal energy storage solutions, recently announced that it has completed the first phase of what will be the largest installation of its Ice Bear systems in the U.S., under a 21.6-megawatt energy storage contract with Southern California Edison (SCE). more

Annual Global Market for Advanced Batteries for Critical Infrastructure Solutions Expected to Near 10 GW in 2027
February 8, 2019

"With society's high reliance on electricity and power, it is not a question of if a failure will happen but when," says Ian McClenny, research analyst at Navigant Research. "While still a new market, distributed energy storage systems with critical power-providing capabilities can help mitigate the effect of electrical service outages for mission critical facility operations by providing grid ancillary services and electrical demand charge reduction." more

California ISO Board Takes Action to Improve Interconnection Process Enhancements Designed to Help Generation and Storage Projects Come Online
February 8, 2019

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) Board of Governors recently (2/7) approved policy changes aimed at clearing the path for generation and storage projects as they move through the electric grid interconnection process. more

Puerto Rico Energy Plan Calls for More Solar Battery Storage than Rest of U.S. Combined
February 7, 2019

Puerto Rico's publicly-owned utility PREPA released a draft version of the 2019 integrated resource plan (IRP), a document that lays out the future development and continued recovery of Puerto Rico's electric grid over the next 20 years. While the complete version will not be released until February 12th, the plan outlined in the draft has dramatic highs and lows for clean energy and environmental advocates, containing both plans for by far the largest buildout of solar and battery storage in the U.S., as well as plans to build three new liquid natural gas (LNG) import terminals. more

NEC Completes Energy Storage System for Consumers Energy
February 4, 2019

The NEC energy storage solution, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, includes two independent 280kW/340kWh DSS energy storage systems and NEC's proprietary AEROS controls software. The energy storage system will enable Consumers Energy to investigate how energy storage can be used to avoid further system upgrades, smooth renewable energy production and support load/energy management. more

Consumers Energy Dedicates First Ever Solar, Battery Storage Systems on Grand Rapids' West Side
January 25, 2019
Nearly 1,800 solar panels atop the Bridge Street Market and adjoining buildings between Bridge and First Streets within the Circuit West district are accompanied nearby by a 500-kilowatt battery. It's the first such energy distribution setup in Michigan and one of the first in the country intended to make renewable energy increasingly reliable and cost effective. more

NYSEG and RG&E Test Energy Storage Technologies
January 16, 2019
New York State Electric & Gas along with Rochester Gas and Electric, subsidiaries of AVANGRID, Inc., have completed construction and deployed four energy storage pilot projects. These initiatives will test electric distribution system benefits, new technologies, and the capability to store energy, which could create opportunities for cost savings and provide environmental benefits. more

New Solar-Plus-Storage Projects Set Low-Price Benchmark for Renewable Energy in Hawaii
January 7, 2019
Hawaiian Electric Companies have submitted contracts for seven grid-scale, solar-plus-storage projects on three islands to the Public Utilities Commission for review. The projects are part of the largest and lowest cost portfolio of new renewable energy resources to be assembled in Hawaii. more