Energy Storage

We wanted to know what the grid would look like, and cost, if we stopped ignoring the benefits of distributed energy resources and optimized their integration through a better modeling process. We found that when you use better planning models and scale both local solar and storage, as well as utility-scale solar and wind, you maximize cost savings and unlock the path to the lowest cost grid.

Scientists in the UK looked into the effects of exposure to ambient atmosphere could have on nickel-manganese-cobalt cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. While many cathode designs are moisture sensitive, the group found that the nickel-rich cathodes currently gaining market share are especially vulnerable, and can suffer irreversible power loss upon exposure to moisture in the air.

According to a research team from Oxford University, solar and wind may be applied in power-to-methanol projects only if the methanol industry will switch from conventional chemical processes, that require a constant energy supply, to more flexible processes that need demand-side management.

EU environmental laws are driving the implementation of zero-emission solutions in the Netherlands.

Installations hit a record 476 MW/764 MWh in the third quarter, with California’s deployment figures alone shattering all previous quarterly records.

Deepak Thakur, CEO of the hybrid and energy storage business at Indian solar developer Sterling and Wilson, has spoken to pv magazine about the global market, and said: “Efficient and economically viable energy storage, and optimal hybridization, are crucial for ensuring the expansion of renewable power generation both at the grid and micro-grid scale.”

The new solution integrates the inverters of Solax’s X-1 Hybrid G4 series and its Triple Power 3.0 Battery systems. According to the manufacturer, the hybrid battery inverter can be deployed in only 30 minutes and by a single person.

The holy grail of energy storage has always been low-cost and long-duration. Form Energy plans to deploy a 1 MW/150 MWh system with a Minnesota utility before 2023 – an unprecedented energy storage duration, if successful.

The peak DC capacity of the project has been reduced, along with the size of the battery storage element of the facility.

U.K.-based energy company InterGen has received planning permission to deploy 320 MW/640 MWh of capacity at a logistics park near London. The storage complex is planned to provide fast-reacting power and system balancing with an initial, two-hour duration.