Portuguese consortium plans 1 GW green hydrogen cluster
A consortium will develop the huge project with Danish wind turbine maker Vestas by 2030.
PG&E, Tesla start building world’s biggest battery
The 182.5 MW/730 MWh Moss Landing energy storage system could eventually be expanded to 1.1 GWh – putting it on track to overshadow Tesla’s massive Hornsdale project in Australia.
Northvolt secures $1.6bn backing for twin battery gigafactories
In a little over ten years, Northvolt aims to pour 150 GWh of batteries onto the European market, annually. The company is also working to source end-of-life batteries for half its raw materials.
Microsoft trials hydrogen-powered data centers
The software giant has begun testing hydrogen fuel cells as a back-up power source at one of its U.S. data centers. A 250 kW pilot system successfully powered part of the facility for 48 hours and the company is now eyeing 3 MW systems to replace back-up diesel generators.
Indian utilities contemplate coal – rather than energy storage – to balance renewables
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has specified how grid back-up capacity procurement will work for Indian electricity distribution companies. The rules consider energy storage solely as part of the 51% clean energy requirement, and instead use coal – with a variable price tariff element – as necessary for evening out supply.
Restrictions for solar on agricultural land may slow PV growth in Taiwan
Taiwan-based TrendForce says the nation added only 410 MW of solar capacity to the end of May, towards this year’s 2.2 GW target. The lower-than-expected deployment volume may be further hampered by new restrictions for PV on agricultural land introduced by the Council of Agriculture this month.
New low solar price in Greece but capacity falls short again as parliament passes €100m EV subsidy package
The price tariff agreed by German company ABO Wind for a 10 MW solar project in Igoumenitsa came in a tender which allocated only 142 MW of generation capacity, well short of the hoped-for 482 MW. It is hoped a slimline licensing process, to be applied in the next procurement round, will address the problem.
New solar+storage converter for greater grid stability
Scientists from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers have presented research suggesting a new topology for residential solar+storage inverters.
Europe’s largest solar-storage-hydrogen project
Spanish energy company Iberdrola plans to build a 100 MW solar park, a storage facility, and a hydrogen production station in Puertollano, central Spain. The €150 million project is scheduled to be operational next year.
Pay-as-you-go offer for offgrid solar, pay TV in Africa
Bboxx rents out offgrid PV systems and TVs to rural villagers across Africa. Customers can buy electricity under a mobile-based pay-as-you-go model.
