Grids & Integration

Hydrogen and battery technologies are expected to play an increasingly vital role in the UK’s transition to net zero by 2050, but the varying time scales of their rollouts are driving uncertainty in predicted market share profiles over time, according to a new report.

According to Aurora Energy Research, Europe is on track to install at least 95 GW of grid-scale battery energy storage systems by 2050, up from 5 GW of installed capacity today, and representing more than €70 billion ($76.9 billion) of investment.

UL 2941 provides testable requirements for energy storage and generation technologies on the distribution grid. The new cybersecurity protocol provides a framework for PV inverters, electric-vehicle chargers, wind turbines, fuel cells, and other distributed resources.

Idemitsu Kosan is leading a four-year demonstrator to assess the viability of solar carports for EV recharging at Tanegashima Airport in Japan. The 54.7 kW solar facility will sell power to airport buildings via a power purchase agreement (PPA) and to EV users under a pay-as-you-go billing system.

Israeli company Brenmiller is set to launch a 4 GW to 5 GW production line for its thermal energy storage systems, which use crushed rocks to retain heat that can be released as steam, hot water, or hot air.

San Miguel, which is now behind on its original plan to deliver a 1 GW/1 GWh fleet of battery energy storage systems (BESS) by the end of 2022, continues to roll out big batteries across 32 sites in the Philippines, in order to integrate up to 5 GW of renewables into the island nation’s grid.

Storage specialist Fluence has launched Ultrastack, a battery energy storage system (BESS) for storage-as-transmission assets (SATA). It is designed to help network owners and operators to manage renewables curtailment, increase the use of power lines, and limit congestion.

While it initially had a chilling effect on the Polish residential solar market, the transition from net metering to net billing has also resulted in positive changes, such as better sizing of rooftop PV systems and a higher rate of self-consumption, says Instytut Energetyki Odnawialnej (IEO), a Polish research body.

The minigrid space continues to attract a lot of attention from development partners in Africa. Minigrids can actually generate profits, so there is no doubt that commercial finance players will eventually jump on the bandwagon, according to the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA).

Swiss researchers have looked at whether storage could be cheaper than curtailment in medium-voltage distribution networks with significant amounts of PV capacity. They considered storage costs, operational costs, grid constraints, electricity costs, PV generation models, and loads.