Energy Storage

The European Commission first set up the rules for energy sharing communities in 2018 and 2019, with Portugal rolling out its own legislation soon after. Despite these efforts, five years on there are only three energy sharing communities legally operating in the Mediterranean country, with hundreds more stuck in a year-long regulatory backlog, one local engineer tells pv magazine.

European solar lobby groups have mostly welcomed the European Parliament’s recently supported EU Net-Zero Industry Act, which is aimed at strengthening the region’s renewables manufacturing sector. However, two groups are divided over a clause in the Act that limits tendered project’s from using technology partially made outside Europe.

Danish researchers investigated how solar-powered Carnot batteries could be integrated into decommissioned coal power plants to produce clean energy. They found that a 300 MW retrofitted plant coal plant with 1.37 GWh of thermal storage capacity has the potential for annual net power production of up to 1,150 GWh for 12 h storage at a levelized cost of energy of €88.09 ($95.97)/MWh.

More than 1 GW of firmed storage capacity is set to be delivered by six winning projects from a recent tender in the Australian state of New South Wales. Akaysha Energy’s 415 MW/1,660 MWh battery in Wellington and AGL’s 500 MW/1,000 MWh Liddell battery are the round’s two biggest projects.

Swedish battery maker Northvolt has developed its first sodium-ion battery in partnership with Uppsala University spinoff Altris. The cell has been validated for an energy density of more than 160 Wh/kg and is designed primarily for energy storage applications.

One of the project architects behind a solar power system in a southern Lebanese village tells pv magazine that the 200-panel array – which pumped water from an underground well for roughly 400 families – was allegedly destroyed earlier this month by Israeli forces. The community needs help rebuilding it, he says.

According to data collected by Aleasoft Energy Forecasting, roughly 84 GWh of solar energy was recorded on one day in Spain while Germany recorded 910 GWh of wind energy generated on another November date.

Intended for applications in commercial buildings, the new VRV 5 heat pumps have reportedly a 9.1% higher seasonal efficiency compared to the company’s previous models. The new products use difluoromethane (R32) as the refrigerant.

Chinese manufacturer Dyness has unveiled a 1.6 kWh battery designed for balcony PV systems, allowing users to stack up to four units for a total storage capacity of 6.4 kWh, with a reported lifespan of more than 8,000 cycles.

Australian mining and green energy major Fortescue has revealed plans to establish a new clean energy technology manufacturing plant in the United States, as it looks to take advantage of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).