Buildings can offer gigawatts of new peak capacity as ‘batteries’
Modeling shows that shifting just one-third of the electricity consumption of commercial and institutional buildings in Australia to the middle of the day, coinciding with peak solar supply, would create almost 12 GW of new peak capacity in the National Electricity Market.
Integrating pumped hydro with compressed air energy storage
A group of Chinese researchers has made a first attempt to integrate pumped hydro with compressed air storage and has found the latter may help the former to better deal with large head variations.
German initiative to develop scalable sodium-ion batteries
A collaborative project led by German battery supplier Varta aims to develop industrial-scale sodium-ion battery technology. The final product of the three-year, €7.5 million ($8.08 million) project will be a small series of round cells for electric vehicles and stationary storage systems.
VPP preventing blackouts in Puerto Rico
Sunrun, a US-based residential solar installer, says nearly 1,800 customers have already signed up to its PowerOn Puerto Rico virtual power plant (VPP). The program deploys stored solar energy from customers’ batteries to the grid, preventing power supply shortfalls on the island.
Low platinum fuel cells for hydrogen vehicles
New research from Sweden suggests that low platinum fuel cells for hydrogen vehicles, when scaled up for the same number of cells, may achieve similar or higher efficiencies compared to commercial fuel cells. Their modeling is expected to act as a bridge between material science research and vehicle implementation.
Zambia set for 60 MW/20 MWh of solar, storage
Turkish developer YEO and Zambian sustainable energy company are constructing a 60 MW solar plant with a 20 MWh battery energy storage system in southern Zambia.
The case for utility-scale storage in the Middle East
In a recent chat with pv magazine, Yasser Zaidan, senior sales manager for the Middle East at JinkoSolar, described the trajectory of the large-scale storage business in the main markets of the Middle East.
ICRA says falling battery costs to support Indian storage market
Battery prices reached an all-time low in India in 2023, led by a moderation in raw material prices amid rising production across the value chain, according to credit rating agency ICRA.
PV-driven hybrid hydrogen fuel cell system for building applications
Scientist in Canada have proposed to combine rooftop PV power generation with an alkaline electrolyzer and a fuel cell to generate hydrogen in buildings. The new system is intended at enabling seasonal energy storage and reduce a home’s levelized cost of energy.
UK network operator offers earlier grid connections for 836 MW
UK Power Networks’ (UKPN) distribution system operator (DSO) is expediting grid connections for 25 UK projects, totaling 836 MW.
