battery

AusNet Services’ independent subsidiary, Mondo Power, has commissioned 17 standalone power systems featuring PV and battery energy storage, as part of its inaugural trial of the offgrid technology.

Sumitomo says that its 2MW/8MWh vanadium redox flow battery achieved a 99% operating rate at San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E) facility in California. The battery is expected to retain a capacity rate of 90% or more for 20 years in the electricity market.

A series of fires that occurred between 2017 and 2019 brought South Korea’s energy storage market to a standstill. New research seeks now to shed light on all the causes of the accidents and analyzes several social factors that may have led to the continuous occurrence of the accidents.

Construction has started on Western Australia’s second grid-scale battery, as the state government looks to scale up energy storage capacity to support its planned transition from coal-fired power to renewables.

The European residential storage battery market has grown significantly during the energy crisis, but it has remained relatively small in France. Nevertheless, battery manufacturers expect higher demand due to rising electricity prices.

The Australian government’s green bank has contributed AUD 100 million ($66 million) to finance the 850 MW/1,680 MWh Waratah Super Battery Project. The project, aimed at supporting Australia’s transition from coal-fired generation to renewables, has secured AUD 500 million of funding in total.

Over the next five to 15 years, batteries will undercut the business case for major transmission and interconnector projects. These assets will nonetheless likely be built, decreasing price spreads and eating into the revenues of batteries, predicts analyst Warwick Johnston.

Jörg Ebel, the president of German solar association BSW, spoke with pv magazine at Intersolar 2023 about the ongoing German solar renaissance, as the market has steadily recovered since its collapse in 2012. He sees growth across all segments, with untapped “opportunities” in the C&I market. However, he noted that Brussels needs to build trust, set a unified EU industry policy to support factory investments, and create the conditions for Germany to revitalize its upstream PV business.

George Hilton, research manager at S&P Global, spoke to pv magazine at the recent Intersolar 2023 trade show about the latest energy storage trends. He said the industry needs easy-to-install products and more efficient supply chains, and noted that battery prices are highly volatile because they fluctuate in response to changes in the dynamic Chinese electric vehicle market.

US-based Savant Systems has developed a new lithium-ferro-phosphate battery and inverter kit.