Energy Storage

The UK Energy Research Center says that the total installed cost of air-source heat pumps could fall by 20% by 2030. Non-equipment costs may decline by 30%, while equipment costs alone could drop by 17%.

India’s Vivasvan Solar has designed a foldable solar structure mounted on a trolley. The system has mechanisms to prevent damage to the panels during transit and is especially useful for agricultural farms.

The Flemish authorities have allocated a budget of €3 million ($3.3 million) for the first round of its solar rebate scheme. The call is open to homeowners, businesses, public organizations, and energy communities.

The Croatian government has allocated €60 million ($65.6 million) in subsidies for businesses to install 80 MW of renewables and 20 MWh of batteries.

The Electricity Authority of Israel has decided to regulate the connection of energy storage systems to low-voltage PV plants with capacities of up to 630 kW. It is introducing a supplementary tariff for PV and storage facilities that share single metered connection points to the grid, in order to reduce bottlenecks on the grid.

Ignitis Group says it will increase the capacity of the 900 MW Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant by another 110 MW. It notes that the expansion project will be finalized by the end of 2026.

CNPC and Sinopec are working on transporting hydrogen via pipelines, while Matrix Renewables has expanded its green hydrogen partnership with Rolwind Renovables.

Rheem has unveiled an air-source heat pump that provides uninterrupted heating under -30.5 C ambient conditions. It has successfully passed the US Department of Energy’s Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge.

Turkey has approved the first batch of renewables-plus-storage projects since it enacted new rules for storage in November.

Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) is demonstrating how a solar-powered refrigeration unit and dryer could be self-sustaining and improve food security in Kenya.