Energy Storage

BloombergNEF and Sustainable Energy for All have jointly published a report by the Mini-Grid Partnership proposing solar minigrids as a critical technology to bring electricity to the 789 million people who still lack access.

In an update to a report it published earlier this year, Norway-headquartered consultancy DNV GL outlined the role it sees for both seasonal heat storage and pumped hydro to help manage the 1.4 TW of variable renewable energy capacity it forecasts to be connected to European electricity grids by 2050. DNV GL maintains the original report’s conclusion that where seasonal storage is concerned, hydrogen will be the first option.

A study into the clean energy tech innovation rate required to keep global heating under control may suggest concepts such as lithium-air could yet keep us to the mid-century ambition, but it is also starting to contemplate the temperature rise to be expected if we only achieve net-zero by 2070.

Utilities that are transitioning away from coal are starting to view the creation of a natural gas “bridge” to renewable energy as an unnecessary step.

Plus, there is hope of a bright new dawn with proposed legislative changes in Europe and the U.S. even as the solar equipment industry hits new lows and cyber attacks reportedly increase in frequency.

The heads of state of the 27 EU member states agreed to resist calls from a reported eight countries to expand the nature of projects eligible for energy transition support beyond renewables.

Corporate power purchase agreements and the combination of PV plants with hydrogen production open up new medium-term financing opportunities for solar projects, as was demonstrated at the fourth session of the pv magazine Roundtable Europe event. The evolution of corporate deals may have been slowed by current price developments but hydrogen may come sooner than many had predicted.

Enso Energy and the former U.K. national Green Investment Bank now owned by Australian investor Macquarie, have revealed plans to develop an extensive solar project portfolio across England and Wales that will reportedly include tracker and bifacial technology and will be financed by power purchase agreements.

An assessment of the human rights performance of the world’s leading solar and wind power companies has painted a grim state of affairs, with the only dedicated solar manufacturer analyzed scoring 7%.

A German research group is trying to determine whether the combination of solar and storage with direct coupling and without the aid of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) electronics is feasible. According to its findings, this particular configuration might be efficient, but it will likely require special panels and batteries.