Iberdrola moves forward with Portugal’s largest pumped-hydro storage project
The Spanish energy company is building a huge hydropower complex across three water reservoirs in northern Portugal. The project will rely on 880 MW of pumped-hydro storage and is expected to become fully operational in 2024.
Australia’s battery capacity to double in 2022
After the deluge of announcements last year, 2022 will see the trickle of big batteries actually operating in Australia turn to a flood. According to Rystad Energy, the country’s battery capacity is set to double before the year is out.
Italian region devotes €22 million to ‘energy communities’
Italy’s Lombardy region will use €22 million to build up to 6,000 “energy communities,” for a total installed capacity of up to 1.3GW.
Itochu starts leasing new residential battery in Japan
Itochu’s new 13.4kWh storage system is equipped with AI-based software for optimal battery control. It can be used for grid-connected and offgrid projects and has a charging feature for electric vehicles.
Australia’s largest microgrid goes online
The Western Australian coastal town of Kalbarri can now be powered by an entirely renewable energy solution utilizing rooftop solar and wind generation coupled with battery storage with state government-owned utility Western Power confirming the state’s largest renewable energy microgrid has been commissioned.
PV-powered rechargeable aqueous zinc battery
Conceived by scientists in China, the device combines an integrated carbon-based perovskite solar cell module with a rechargeable aqueous zinc metal cell. The proposed system achieved an overall efficiency of 6.4%, and a steady operation for more than 200 cycles with little performance degradation.
Canada’s largest solar-powered vanadium flow battery
Canadian companies Invinity and Elemental Energy are planning to couple a 21 MW solar plant under development in Alberta with 8.4 MWh of vanadium redox flow battery storage capacity.
A battery is only as good as its control system
A possible failed bearing and a software programming error in a heat-suppression system caused a cascading incident that damaged 7% of Vistra Corp.’s Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility.
High performance seawater batteries based on novel anode material
Scientists in Korea have developed an efficient synthesis route to produce a novel co-doped anode material for rechargeable seawater batteries. They developed a one-step plasma-in-liquid process to synthesize nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon-based anode material, which displayed great potential for seawater batteries.
Vistra to expand what was already the world’s largest energy storage facility
Vistra plans a third expansion of the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California.
