Energy Storage

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has awarded AU$9.6 million in grants for five projects and seven studies into the role of distributed generation assets on the grid – and how to expand their penetration.

The opportunities for power-to-gas have long interested the solar community, but large-scale projects have been exceptionally rare. The outgoing CEO of SolarPower Europe, James Watson, has presided over a transformative period at the organization, and departed in January to head up Eurogas – right at the point the region’s solar sector is set for revival. Advancing a power-to-gas agenda, Watson tells pv magazine editor in chief Jonathan Gifford, will be a big part of his new challenge.

A few weeks after launching the sale of its “Solstrale” modules in Germany, the Swedish furniture giant also began offering online its PV panels and systems throughout Italy.

Clean energy is driving the country to its Paris commitments well ahead of schedule. The Australian National University published findings today that conclude Australia is on track to hit 50% renewable electricity in 2024 and 100% in 2032 – at a net cost “of approximately zero”. Despite the good news, the Clean Energy Council warned federal policy may see the opportunity squandered.

Chinese li-ion battery manufacturer CATL has delivered a 100 MWh battery storage system to the country’s largest mixed renewables plant, which features 400 MW of wind energy, 200 MW of PV and 50 MW of concentrating solar.

State-owned utility Hydro-Quebec will deploy its first 10 MW of ground-mounted solar to test the technology at the province’s latitude. The hydropower company is also using storage to better manage winter peak demand. Bifacial modules will be included in both projects.

Indra Overland, head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, explains how the world’s future energy landscape may include pan-regional super-grids. However, prosumer states seeking energy independence could also be in the mix. According to Overland, the two developments will go hand in hand and the balance between them will be determined by the competitiveness of storage technologies.

The target company, which specializes in supercapacitors, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elon Musk’s business.

The Robertstown region could host two big renewable energy projects – a 500 MW solar farm co-located with a 250 MW/1 GWh battery storage capacity, and a construction-ready 200 MW PV project with 120 MWh of storage that forms part of the Solar River Project, the size of which could eventually double.

A research team has conducted a demonstration of the economic feasibility of battery-assisted, low-cost hydrogen production from solar. The scientists claim their system will mean hydrogen could be produced for $0.15-0.25 per cubic meter in 2030.