California: Utilities urge for DG solar to count towards 50% renewables goal
Two of Californias biggest utilities have requested that distributed generation be included in the states RPS Program, which is looking to increase the annual amount of electricity generated by renewables to at least 50% by the end of 2030.
Obama backs plans to bring 300 MW of solar to poorer US households
White House outlines proposals to install more solar panels on more than 50,000 low-income households with the use of $520 million of federal money.
Scatec Solar partners with Nizam Energy on $300m Pakistan PV project
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif signs agreement with Norway’s Scatec Solar in Olso to jointly develop 150 MW of solar power plants in Pakistan, together with Nizam Energy.
Buffett strikes cheapest electricity price in US with Nevada solar farm
Berkshire Hathaway’s NV Energy strikes PPA price of 3.87 cents per kWh for electricity generated by First Solar’s 100 MW Playa Solar 2 project, according to Bloomberg.
Germany: Energy storage opportunity for struggling PV installers
Germany’s solar PV installers are “struggling” to deal with a changing manufacturer landscape, says EuPD Research. Energy storage, however, may offer them new opportunities. The company also finds that homeowners without solar see it as a costly investment with little return expected. Official figures show a YoY small-scale installation decrease of around a third.
NRG, Ice Energy to roll out 25 MW of energy storage in California
NRG Energy Inc. and Ice Energy will roll out 25 MW of energy storage solutions in California. Up to 1,800 of Ice Energys thermal storage units are expected to be installed early next year.
Younicos to add 150 jobs in Germany, US
Younicos has announced it will double its workforce by 2017, adding new jobs in both Germany and the U.S., in response to the expected “exponential” growth in the energy storage market. Overall, the battery specialist has a 4 GW project pipeline.
Expert analysis: The solar storage story
Led by the charge of Teslas headline-hogging Powerwall announcement, the selection of storage technologies unveiled at this year’s Intersolar Europe was refreshingly innovative, says IHSs Sam Wilkinson.
US: Solar to account for 24% of cumulative microgrid capacity by 2020
A new GTM Research report estimates that the U.S. microgrid market will reach a cumulative capacity of around 2.8 GW in 2020. Of this, renewables are set to account for 26%, led by solar.
France storage project highlights cost journey facing batteries in Europe
Nice Grid pilot storage project by EDF’s power grid unit ERDF reveals that the economic model of storage technology is not yet viable across most of Europe’s main grids.
