Blockchain could significantly shape management of renewables, but challenges remain – report
The evolving outlook for project finance, as well as the gradual maturation of technologies, such as blockchain, present new challenges and opportunities for renewables, EY says in its latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) report. Uncertainty in the sector continues to drive a “relentless focus on cost” to soften the impact of protectionism, subsidy cuts and rising interest rates throughout the world, it adds.
Battery storage funding booms in Q1 (w/ chart)
The latest report by Mercom Capital finds VC investment in battery storage companies rising five-fold year-over-year to $299 million in 12 deals.
US: ESA lays path for 35 GW of energy storage by 2025
National trade association, the ESA has published a roadmap for the adoption of 35 GW of energy storage in the U.S., as well as outlining the benefits of such a move. pv magazine USA spoke with CEO, Kelly Speakes-Backman about storage and the challenges of state-level advocacy at ESA’s annual conference in Boston.
Storage pipeline grows to 10.4 GW, installations reached 1.9 GW in 2017, finds IHS Markit
Analyst data records 53% annual growth in storage in 2017, rising to 1.9 GW as South Korea climbed to top of the tree in terms of cumulative capacity. Global project pipeline has soared to 10.4 GW.
Sterling and Wilson creates new hybrid and storage business, targets 1 GW installations
The Indian multinational EPC has this week unveiled a new global division that will focus on the development of power+storage hybrid solutions. The new unit will focus initially on lighting up remote islands and has an installation target of 1 GW.
Lithium-ion battery prices could rise as cost of cobalt shoots up, warn analysts
Price of cobalt, a raw material used in lithium-ion batteries, rose 26% in the first quarter of the year, following 114% annual increase in 2017, finds EnergyTrend. Suppliers may look at ways to lower cobalt content in new iterations, experts say.
Solar and wind plus storage to increasingly replace gas plants
A session at BNEF’s Future of Energy Summit explored how renewables paired with energy storage are successfully competing with new gas plants.
1.4 GW of storage added in 2017 as Australia resi and U.S. large-scale leads way, finds GTM Research report
Inaugural global energy storage report by GTM Research finds that Australia’s behind-the-meter storage market tripled in 2017, while the U.S. remains the world’s leading market with an installed energy capacity of 431 MWh. China poised to rise to second place globally in 2019.
Fossil fuel global grip being loosened by holy trinity of affordable PV, wind and storage, finds BNEF
‘Unprecedented challenge’ for fossil fuels as low LCOE for solar and wind power, allied to tumbling storage costs, sees renewables claim larger share of bulk and dispatchable generation while adding vital flexibility to global energy mix.
Video interview: Will lithium-ion’s battery dominance soon end?
At the recent Energy Storage Europe exhibition in Düsseldorf, Florian Mayr, partner at renewable energy advisory firm Apricum, explained how lithium-ion technologies got a jump on other battery forms in the stationary storage world, but its dominance should not be taken for granted.
