Another €4.4 million for solar-plus-storage incentives in northern Italy
After earmarking €3 million last year and €4 million in 2017, the Italian region of Lombardy has decided to further support residential and commercial storage projects linked to renewables.
Wärtsilä doubles renewable energy penetration by adding storage in holiday paradise
The Finnish company has commissioned a large scale storage project to reduce curtailment of wind and solar assets on Bonaire. The system will use machine-learning based energy management software to provide grid services and manage all of the island’s power generators.
Solid (state) plans announced by imec
Belgian research institute imec this week said it has set a performance record of 400 watt-hours per liter – at a charge rate of 0.5 – for a solid state lithium metal battery. The institute says it is working with the University of Hasselt to scale up production of solid state cells on a pilot line in Belgium.
Comtec sells slice of EV unit to online gaming company The9
The Nasdaq-listed game developer will offer shares in return for a 9.9% stake in the Chinese mono solar manufacturer’s Kexin electric vehicle and storage business.
Statera announced as partner on 1 GW virtual power plant in the UK
Norwegian hydropower company Statkraft has revealed more details of its solar-storage-wind-gas network. Previously announced plans to potentially double capacity this summer were not mentioned in the update.
Energy storage could see refugee camp powered entirely by solar
Swedish company Azelio is studying whether storage could ensure complete self-sufficiency for the 36,000-strong Azraq camp, which already draws 70% of its electricity from solar generation.
Solar, storage and wind can keep us on track as far as 2030
This year’s New Energy Outlook report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts renewables can keep us on track for less than two degrees of global heating for the next decade. But after that, other technologies will have to do their bit.
Northvolt secures $1bn for battery gigafactory in Sweden
Initially, the company will construct a 16 GWh factory plus a joint venture fab with Volkswagen in Germany, which will also have a throughput of 16 GWh. Both factories could be extended to tap further into the large market for battery cells in Europe.
PV industry calls for clarity on UK government’s 2050 emissions target
Representatives of the UK solar industry have praised prime minister Theresa May’s plan to amend the 2008 Climate Change Act with a 2050 net zero emissions target while urging the government to articulate how it will achieve its goal. In particular, the industry has pointed to the need to eliminate barriers that continue to hinder deployment of solar and battery storage systems.
India’s lithium gigafactory ambition raised to 50 GW, tender likely soon
The government is considering financial incentives such as import and export duty waivers to woo battery manufacturers to set up a globally competitive manufacturing base in India.
