Utility Scale Storage

Atome says it has secured a $420 million debt package for a $650 million low-carbon fertilizer project in Paraguay producing 260,000 metric tons (MT) per year, while Asahi Kasei says it has begun installing a 1 MW-class electrolyzer at Finland’s first commercial hydrogen refueling station.

A new global dataset of 119 energy-sector cyber incidents from 2022–2024 shows EU and BRICS countries, followed by the US, are most affected. Attacks targeted power, oil, gas, and nuclear infrastructure, driven by both financial and political motives, with diverse threat actors involved.

Toshiba has unveiled a PV management platform within its Spinex for Energy portfolio that enables real-time monitoring and O&M of multiple solar plants.
The system uses AI to track plant performance, detect faults, calculate capacity and PR metrics, automate reporting, and support troubleshooting.

Researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer FKIE institute developed PowerRange, a virtual simulation platform that helps power grid operators safely test cybersecurity measures and respond to realistic cyberattacks. The platform supports both traditional and renewable grids, offering immersive training across IT, OT, and control systems while highlighting the importance of coordination, communication, and practical defense strategies.

China has deployed its first 1.25 MW urban vanadium flow battery (VFB), supporting peak AC loads and offering a safer alternative amid tighter lithium-ion storage regulations in dense urban environments.

The “Battery Atlas 2026” report shows consolidation in Europe’s battery market. More than 2,000 GWh of cell production capacity was announced in 2023, but the realistic forecast for early 2026 is around 1,190 GWh, including approximately 673 GWh led by Asian companies.

Key – The Energy Transition Expo was held last week in Italy, featuring 1,065 exhibitors and 530 buyers. The event focused on energy-as-a-service and agrivoltaic projects, with operators saying agriPV standardization should be reached by 2030-32. Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin told pv magazine that coal and gas are strategic assets, noted that the “PV sector is maturing,” and urged the European Union to coordinate on gas storage and supply chains for modules and storage solutions.

Malaysia’s rising power demand, driven by industrial growth and data centers, is exposing grid and capacity constraints, prompting policies like Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS) to enable corporate renewable procurement while maintaining system cost recovery. A key factor is the System Access Charge (SAC), whose uncertain future trajectory affects long-term solar PPAs and investment decisions, making scenario-based modelling crucial for assessing project bankability.

The country’s first solar-plus-storage project will be located on a 400 hectare surface near Kébili, a town in the south of Tunisia and one of the main cities in the Nefzaoua region.

Longi says it has ranked first in a recent 800 MW PV module tender in China’s Gansu province, while Canadian Solar says the first 2 GW phase of its US heterojunction (HJT) cell factory is set to begin pilot production in March or April.