Utility Scale Storage

Australian renewables developer Genex Power has signed agreements with Japanese utility J-Power for a multimillion-dollar funding package that will support the delivery of its 2 GWh pumped hydro project in Queensland Australia, and the development of the 2 GW Bulli Creek solar and battery project.

Australian renewables startup Green Gravity has teamed with underground mining contractor RUC to accelerate the commercialization of its gravitational energy storage tech.

In May 2022, PV experts from around the world convened in Germany for the third Terawatt Workshop. Almost one year later, takeaways from discussions at the workshop – combined with a wide-ranging review of research on decarbonization pathways, energy demand projections, and the state of the art in PV technology – led to the conclusion that 75 TW of installed solar capacity by 2050 was a realistic global target. More than 50 leading PV industry figures recently outlined the opportunity and the challenges that solar will face in reaching this goal.

Christian Pho Duc, CTO of Smartenergy, spoke with pv magazine at Intersolar 2023 about the recent EU decision to remove uncertainties over the production and use of green hydrogen, as the European Union has finally defined criteria for solar-powered electrolyzers. He stressed the importance of the new targets, under which the industry will have to buy 42% of its hydrogen from clean sources by 2030.

The Dutch cabinet said it will support solar factories that will produce panels with a circular economy approach. It also allocated €296 million to support battery manufacturing.

Oxford nanoSystems (OnS) has started working with electrolyzer manufacturers to test and scale up hydrogen production.

James Li, director of PV and energy storage systems (ESS) for Sungrow Power Europe, recently spoke with pv magazine about the company’s latest offerings. He noted that the PowerTitan 2.0 ESS, which was unveiled at Intersolar, uses all-liquid cooling technology.

The Australian government’s green bank has contributed AUD 100 million ($66 million) to finance the 850 MW/1,680 MWh Waratah Super Battery Project. The project, aimed at supporting Australia’s transition from coal-fired generation to renewables, has secured AUD 500 million of funding in total.

Over the next five to 15 years, batteries will undercut the business case for major transmission and interconnector projects. These assets will nonetheless likely be built, decreasing price spreads and eating into the revenues of batteries, predicts analyst Warwick Johnston.

Lhyfe has started producing offshore hydrogen via a pilot project in France, and Toyota and its partners have agreed to invest in hydrogen in Thailand. The Australian authorities, meanwhile, have approved a hydrogen project in Victoria.