Energy Storage

The Solar Energy Industries Association’s “ambitious goal” of solar supplying 20% of U.S. electricity in 2030 looks more like a forecast, and vision for rapid decarbonization is coming from the climate movement and the American Left, not SEIA.

The Swiss power group and Italian utility Evolvere have started a blockchain pilot project designed to facilitate transparent, secure peer-to-peer energy trading.

The Finnish utility has switched on a 5 MW/6.2 MWh lithium-ion battery storage system at a hydropower plant in Sweden.

The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority is seeking public input on the massive Asian Renewable Energy Hub proposed for the country’s Pilbara region.

Electric vehicles could account for more than half of all passenger cars and buses sold throughout the world within the next two decades, according to a new report by BloombergNEF. Sliding lithium-ion battery costs will make EVs cheaper than vehicles based on internal combustion engines by the mid- to late-2020s, the research firm says.

Pumped hydro storage is highly cost competitive for large-scale energy storage, according to a report published by the San Diego County Water Authority. The report models a pumped hydro project as securing better financing terms than battery storage.

Canadian company CellCube Energy Storage Systems and Pangea Energy have signalled their intention to install a 50 MW/200 MWh energy storage system in Port Augusta, South Australia.

Solar-plus-storage could be competitive against gas peaking power plants in Australia within the next five years, as the average solar-plus-storage LCOE across the Asia-Pacific region is set to fall from $133/MWh this year to $101/MWh by 2023, according to a newly released research report.

Moixa has wrapped up an £8.6 million funding round led by Honda. The U.K. smart battery specialist will use the funds to finance the global expansion of its business managing residential battery systems, electric vehicles and smart charging facilities, as well as the aggregation of battery capacity for grid services.

A new $200 million partnership with Bank Australia has boosted the capability of the Sustainable Melbourne Fund to help commercial and agricultural enterprises nationwide. For many businesses, reducing electricity costs and emissions through solar installation is the first project on their wishlist.