Utility Scale Storage

A proposed 400 MW pumped-hydro storage project is on track to become the first of its kind in more than three decades in Queensland, Australia. GE Renewable Energy is backing the plan.

A European research team has investigated the implications of renewable energy intermittency on capital utilization across a future electricity-hydrogen system, including transmission and storage infrastructure. According to its findings, idle capacity substantially increases the system costs and limits wind and solar development.

Redflow CEO, Tim Harris, is confident the company’s Gen3 flow battery will go into production in the first half of this year, once the results from its customer trial are evaluated.

In an interview with pv magazine, Indra Overland, head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, explains how international hydrogen strategies may play out in the upcoming decades. Plans and roadmaps will not be enough to turn a hydrogen economy into reality and its success will depend on becoming cost-competitive vis-à-vis other solutions in several areas, he says.

Australian researchers have identified more than 600,000 sites suitable for closed-loop pumped-hydro energy storage projects across the globe. “Off-river” pumped-hydro is not only able to overcome the typical topographical issues of conventional pumped-hydro but is also cheaper.

Scientists in the United States claim that further research is needed to gain a deeper understanding of kinetic stabilization strategies to increase cell voltage in redox flow batteries and bring them closer to commercial viability.

The Israeli government assigned 608.9 MW of PV capacity through the tender and selected seven developers for 33 projects. A storage capacity of around 2,400 MWh will be linked to the selected solar power projects.

AES and Siemens will remain major shareholders and will continue to support Fluence’s long-term growth. The company currently has 2.4 GW of projects deployed or awarded across 24 countries and territories worldwide.

Australia’s Syrah Resources has signed a deal with Solarcentury to install 11.2 MW of solar and an 8.5 MW battery storage system at a mine in Mozambique.

Plans to build a large-scale solar farm at Harlin in Queensland’s Somerset Council region continue to gather momentum after Singaporean infrastructure investor Keppel Corporation agreed to pour more than $3 million into the project.