Utility Scale Storage

Hive Energy, Ethical Power Group and Solar South West have set up a joint venture they hope will lead to 350 MW of utility scale installations in a country which does not suffer from grid congestion and which appears to have an energy transition-friendly administration.

India’s solar module makers have built a strong track record, and now the country is set to see vast battery facilities developed. Uma Gupta provides a look into ambitious manufacturing projects and the wider enabled ecosystem.

The suitability of vanadium redox flow battery technology for Australian residential and commercial applications is set to be tested with Perth-based energy storage company VSUN Energy planning to deploy three 5 kW/30 kWh flow batteries.

The storage project is linked to a 1 GW wind and solar project portfolio, 500 MW of solar distributed generation, and the construction of a gigafactory for vanadium redox flow batteries in China.

NREL researchers developed a system that uses heated silica particles for thermal energy storage. The baseline technology is designed for a storage capacity of up to 26,000 MWh and is claimed to have a cost of of between $2 and $4 per kWh.

Scientists have demonstrated a zinc-ion battery that overcomes many of the challenges for this technology. By working with a highly-concentrated salt solution as the electrolyte, the group was able to achieve stability over more than 2,000 cycles combined with a strong electric performance. The group says that its work opens up “a viable route to developing aqueous batteries for emerging electrochemical energy storage applications.”

Canadian clean energy company Amp Energy has secured a lease agreement with Indigenous landowners to develop a solar farm and storage system in Whyalla, South Australia. The project is one of three sites which make up the company’s proposed Renewable Energy Hub of South Australia, announced in May.

Australia’s solar uptake is now forecast to reach 8.9 GW by 2025, on top of the 14 GW already installed, according to the Australian Electricity Market Operator.

Genex Power’s latest annual report makes inspiring reading, with its plans for repurposing of the Kidston Gold Mine into a renewable energy hub progressing through stages. Its Jemalong solar farm is also delivering to plan — what then of the write down?

Lithium-ion batteries remain the front-runner to power EVs, but without clearer recycling plans from the European Union and the United States, the balance isn’t yet tipped away from heavy mining of new materials to focus on supplying industry needs, writes Ian Morse.