Energy Storage

The oldest solar organization in the world, the International Solar Energy Society, dates back to 1954. President David Renné tells pv magazine about India’s solar dreams, the next best thing in solar technology and what renewables hold for the world’s future.

This year is already showing signs of a seismic shift in corporate attitudes to climate change and renewable energy, with Glencore this week announcing it will prioritize production of commodities essential to the energy transition.

The Junelight Smart Battery lithium-ion product has been designed for homeowners and has a storage capacity of up to 19.8 kWh.

That was the one of the main conclusions reached among 400 attendees at the Solar plants in Spain: development, financing and energy future conference, organized by Soltec and PV association UNEF in Madrid this week.

IHS Markit’s analysts have mapped out what they are keeping an eye out for in the year ahead. Aside from higher installation figures, the number-crunchers predict a continued battle for multi-function in the hard-fought inverter segment and a potential watershed year for utility-scale storage.

Unimpressed by last year’s China policy-related shenanigans, the inverter maker continued to grow at a rapid pace as it acquired storage, uninterruptable power supply (UPS) and e-mobility related businesses. Its full-year results place SolarEdge in a good position going into a more promising year, with solar installations expected to hit double-digit growth figures in many markets and reach 120 GW globally.

The International Renewable Energy Agency has examined how common ground between sectors; digitalization; and technological innovation can transform the energy system and lower the cost of renewables. Storage technologies such as behind-the-meter applications, utility-scale storage and power-to-x are working in the right direction and much can be learned about digitalization from other sectors.

The Energy Storage Europe conference is nearing and pv magazine is featuring the top ten developments in the field as our Energy Storage Highlights, selected by an independent jury of experts. We continue our ranking with a renewed approach to a storage technology which appeared in the 1970s.

With its investment, the energy company has broadened its portfolio of ways to help customers save on energy bills. There are multiple energy companies pursuing similar goals at the moment as distributed generation and storage solutions require utilities to find new business models; not the least to avoid grid expansion costs.

The solar event in Lyon illustrated how expectations of French solar remain big despite lower-than-expected development and issues related to regulations and carbon footprint requirements. The large participation of international and Chinese players seeking business among installers and distributors is a signal things may improve in the short term, and larger volumes may be deployed in the coming years.