PLEASE NOTE: ESA is now part of the American Clean Power Association (ACP). This website material is not regularly updated and is for archival and reference purposes only. Please visit cleanpower.org for more information.
California has passed its first-ever subsidy aimed specifically at bringing more distributed solar and energy storage to people at highest risk of having their power shut off by utilities trying to prevent wildfires. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved changes late last week to the Self-Generation Incentive Program, the state’s premier behind-the-meter battery incentive program. Among them is a $100 million carve-out for vulnerable households and critical services in “high fire threat districts,” offering incentives that could pay for nearly all of a typical residential battery installation, according to the CPUC analysis.
Wind, solar, and storage projects, combined with demand-side management, have reached a ‘tipping point,’ meaning they’re now able to compete alongside natural gas on price while providing the same reliability services. But unlike the fluctuating price of fuels, these technologies’ prices are expected to continue dropping, according to a pair of reports released by the Rocky Mountain Institute.
Alabama Power is about to join the big leagues for solar + storage. Earlier this month the Southern Company subsidiary asked state regulators for permission to procure power from 400 MW of solar and energy storage, along with plans to add new gas turbines to existing plants, acquire a new plant and enter into a new contract for more gas.
The government of South Sudan and the South Sudan Electricity Corporation utility have launched a call for consultants to help define the nation’s renewable energy development program. The utility said consultants must have relevant professional experience, especially in development of private sector, grid-connected solar projects and associated battery storage. The winning bidder will be tasked with defining the tender mechanism for the procurement of clean energy generation capacity. The eight-year-old nation is facing an energy crisis with record low levels of access to electricity and high power prices.
Military bases around the country are developing plans and projects to ensure critical missions are powered in the face of nearly any disruption. Those plans increasingly include grid-scale battery storage, a resource well suited to mission assurance and the critical operations across the DoD footprint. Battery storage can provide immediate, flexible power to military installations while reducing the carbon footprint, fuel demands and recurring costs of existing backup generators. Storage technology has advanced to the point that large-scale installations can provide resilient power without straining defense budgets.
Eos Energy Storage is gearing up for multi-gigawatt manufacturing. The Edison, New Jersey-based battery company inked a deal with Holtec International, mostly known in energy circles as a front-runner in the race to commercialize small modular reactors, to create a manufacturing joint venture to produce Eos’ Znyth aqueous zinc batteries. The new company plans to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Pittsburgh.
Grid expert Andrea Mansoldo tells pv magazine how energy markets based on solar and storage are feasible as an alternative to costly grid infrastructure work. He says around 6 GWh of battery capacity may be a good alternative to building 1000km of power line or an AC 750 kV high-voltage line.
This work provides insights for the two main sources of bill savings for residential and commercial customers – demand charge reductions and arbitrage of energy charges – considering a range of customer profiles and retail rate designs. Storage can reduce monthly demand charges, which are dependent on the customer’s billing demand in kW rather than the amount of energy they consume in kWh, by charging during times of low energy consumption and discharging during peak consumption hours, thereby reducing peak power consumption from the grid. Storage can also reduce electricity bills by charging the storage during low-priced hours and discharging during high-priced hours, taking advantage of price-differentials of time-varying rates. This study considers a variety of demand charge designs and rates that allow for energy arbitrage.
As battery prices fall, energy storage is becoming economical in a growing number of markets. While customer-owned systems remain nascent, new research from the Department of Energy’s Berkeley Lab indicates they may pencil out for a growing number of residential and commercial customers — depending on how retail electricity rates are designed.
The growth of the global energy storage market is creating one headline after another, as analysis after analysis predicts new heights of investments and deployments. Coupled with falling technology costs, particularly for lithium-ion batteries, energy storage is expected to play a key part in the global transition toward a more sustainable and reliable power grid. Navigant has identified close to 2,100 energy storage projects globally. And international storage markets are anticipated to grow exponentially over the next decade, a second report from Rethink Technology Research found.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
