Storage

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.

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.

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.

Hithium and Solarpro say they will start construction on a 55 MWh energy storage facility in southwestern Bulgaria next year.

Mozambique government troops have grappled with an insurgency since 2017. Although this national security matter could deter foreign development and investment, the presence of independent power producers currently working in the region prove some companies do not deem it a risk, according to the head of the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA).

China’s Guangzhou Sanjing Electric (SAJ) has developed two new single-phase and three-phase all-in-one battery inverters with efficiencies of 97.8% and 98.0%, respectively. They use artificial intelligence to support energy management.

A scientist in Switzerland is trying to develop a hybrid flow battery and lithium-ion battery by incorporating solid storage materials into the flow battery tank. He is currently identifying stable materials for the storage tanks over a 20-year operating period.

Researchers in Denmark have studied the technical and economic feasibility of biomethanation through large-scale PV power generation. They said that the intermittent PV-driven biomethanation process matches the efficiency of continuous processes after several days.

Green Gravity, an Australian energy storage startup, says it will explore opportunities to deploy its gravitational energy storage technology in Europe, after signing an agreement with Romanian state-owned energy producer Complexul Energetic Valea Jiului SA.