Energy Storage

Germany’s Federal Network Agency will use a new, structured framework developed by Fraunhofer IOSB-AST to classify cybersecurity incidents in the energy sector. The methodology enables comprehensive risk assessments, from initial reports to systemic and economic impacts, supporting consistent evaluation across the entire energy value chain.

The Chinese manufacturer has unveiled a hybrid photovoltaic–geothermal heat pump system that uses solar electricity to directly power the unit, boosting efficiency and self-consumption. The 8–112 kW ground- and water-source system delivers heating, cooling, and domestic hot water with coefficients of performance often exceeding 4–5, while smart controls and the ground loop act as a thermal battery to optimize year-round performance.

Spain’s grid operator Red Eléctrica and regulator CNMC have launched real-time voltage control services, allowing renewable energy installations to provide dynamic grid support under a new regulatory framework.

Researchers found that widely deployed smart meters pose a “massive” cybersecurity risk, potentially enabling data manipulation, energy theft, and service disruption. They propose a new detection method using state estimation and statistical boundaries to more accurately identify cyberattacks, outperforming traditional techniques despite higher computational demands.

Researchers in China demonstrated that integrating energy tower heat pumps with evaporator-side boilers, air-source heat pumps, or solar-assisted systems can significantly improve winter heating efficiency and economic performance in commercial buildings. Among the four configurations tested, the evaporator-side boiler and solar-assisted systems delivered the highest performance and energy savings, offering a sustainable, low-carbon alternative to conventional heating.

Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition says the country will advertise competitive bidding processes to deploy 200 MW of battery storage across the country. Ghana’s current installed battery capacity stands at 10 MWh.

Invertix has launched 22 specialized AI “workers” to automate O&M tasks for renewable energy assets, targeting inefficiencies in data handling, alarm management, and reporting. The startup says its system enables PV plant operators to scale portfolios more efficiently by reducing manual workloads, while keeping humans in the loop for critical decisions.

In an interview with pv magazine, cybersecurity expert Mohammad Al Faruque explains how seemingly simple sensors in PV systems and other energy systems are surprisingly vulnerable to magnetic, electrical, and acoustic perturbations, which can remotely influence control systems without physical access. Protecting these sensors requires both strict physical security and the development of hardened, interference-resistant technology to safeguard critical infrastructure.

The BESS insurance risk profile is shifting. In an exclusive interview, Tokio Marine GX underwriter Michael Carrington explains why insurers are looking past battery fires and sweating over supply chain bottlenecks, high-voltage transformers, and costly EPC integration errors.

Europe’s hybrid solar-plus-storage projects are growing rapidly, but increasing complexity means treating technical due diligence as a formality is now a serious risk. Rigorous, lifecycle-based technical due diligence (TDD) – covering financial, supply chain, digital, and ESG factors – is essential to ensure project reliability, investor confidence, and a resilient clean-energy transition.