Distributed Storage

In 2017, battery storage, smart grid and energy efficiency companies saw a YoY increase in venture capital funding, garnering a combined US$1.5 billion, up from the $1.3 billion raised in 2016, finds the latest Mercom Capital report.

Backed by the U.K. government, the Faraday Institution’s latest program sees four consortia receive funding to conduct application-inspired research into addressing challenges in electric vehicle batteries.

Japan’s first solar PV auction has reaped disappointing results, with just 41 MW set to be developed. Under the revised FIT, meanwhile, 27.7 GW were cancelled. Despite this, JPEA is aiming for 200 GW of solar PV installs by 2050. Overall, cumulative installed capacity has reached over 40 GW. There are still many plans afoot for large-scale projects, although it is the rooftop sector, which holds the most promise.

Collaboration between the U.S. energy firm and the German power electronics giant officially licensed on January 1, as details of a massive 100 MW/400 MWh lithium-ion battery storage project in California were announced.

Approved incentive applications reached a volume of approximately €123 million. At the turn of the year, however, the rebate granted by the German Government dropped from 13% to 10%.

Trade cases, insolvencies, record-breaking low auction prices, China’s eye watering installation rates – all this and more characterized the 2017 solar PV industry. pv magazine reflects on the biggest stories, trends and developments of the past year; and summarizes what the industry can expect in 2018.

Inverter overview: As 2017 drew to a close following a record-breaking year for solar, pv magazine sat down to discuss the global inverter landscape with Cormac Gilligan, senior solar analyst at IHS Markit. With China dominant, India’s soaring solar market still very much up for grabs and technical innovation a perennial route to market leadership, these are the six trends that we believe will shape the solar inverter landscape this year.

Researchers at ETH Zürich have published a paper illustrating the potential for distributed energy systems with solar at their heart, as a replacement for the current centralized energy system.

France’s PV sector demonstrates regained confidence in the future of solar PV in both domestic and foreign markets. This was the key takeaway from renewable energy event, EnerGaïa, which took place this week in Montpellier. Expectations are that the event is fast becoming France’s energy transition fair. pv magazine presents the four themes dominating 2017’s event.

In the increasingly competitive commercial-and-industrial storage market, IHS Markit expects the segment to grow 10-fold over the next five years – and ranks the companies that will lead the charge.