Energy Storage

Wirsol Energy Ltd and Hive Energy Ltd are developing an over 50 MW solar + storage project which, when completed, will represent the United Kingdom’s first Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).

In the world of data centers, two developments have finally joined hands: The rapid increase in required computing power, and the energy transition. This is not only sustainable, but strong business cases are evolving, as was witnessed at this year’s The smarter E Europe in Munich.

The local transport provider wants generation facilities – almost certainly solar – across its 6,000 acres of land and roofs in the capital city, and hopes to break ground on the first sites within a year.

Yolk yesterday won the Aid Innovation challenge at the 2018 AidEX in Brussels. Using solar PV in a fun, novel manner, the Korean social enterprise has addressed major social problems in under-developed countries.

The battery will be made by assembling 78 second life battery packs from Nissan’s electric Leaf vehicles. The project is expected to help resolve imbalances in the electrical system of the autonomous city and improve quality of supply.

The French Environment & Energy Management Agency (Ademe) has published a report in which analyzes the dynamics of lithium supply and demand in different scenarios of global electrification by 2050. The agency experts are convinced that only with a 75% penetration of electric vehicles there is the real risk of a marked decrease in the safety margin of lithium supply.

The Federal Ministry of Economics has published further details of possible battery cell production on a gigawatt scale. At the Networking Conference Electromobility 2018 in Berlin this week, Minister Peter Altmaier stressed the urgency of the project, for Germany and Europe to be independent of Asia and the US in storage technology.

The Italian power provider has implemented its first pilot storage projects linked to solar. The system can provide grid services such as primary and secondary frequency regulation and tertiary and voltage regulation.

Once a leading European PV market, the Czech Republic may resume development of large-scale renewables from 2021. Only wind, hydro and biomass projects, however, will be eligible, under a proposal from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Only rooftop solar, of up to 1 MW, would be backed by a ‘feed-in premium’ scheme.

The impressive growth is unlikely to replace coal-fired power generation as it will only be sufficient to cover the predicted increase in demand for electricity. The electrification of heating, manufacturing and transportation offer room for further development.