Utility Scale Storage

The company’s energy generation and storage division set a record of $410 million in revenue during Q1, but solar power fell to 2013 deployment levels.

The German car maker entered the solar PV home storage business in mid-2016. In the future, its parent company, Daimler will align the stationary storage segment with its grid business.

Analyst data records 53% annual growth in storage in 2017, rising to 1.9 GW as South Korea climbed to top of the tree in terms of cumulative capacity. Global project pipeline has soared to 10.4 GW.

In anticipation of a more detailed presentation of the scheme, Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg used the opportunity of the speech to the National Press Club to present the National Energy Guarantee as the best possible option to ensure reliability of supply, describing it as “technology neutral”. Amid mounting criticism leveled by retailers, analysts and leading developers of battery storage, few signs of a national consensus on the proposed NEG are emerging.

Inaugural global energy storage report by GTM Research finds that Australia’s behind-the-meter storage market tripled in 2017, while the U.S. remains the world’s leading market with an installed energy capacity of 431 MWh. China poised to rise to second place globally in 2019.

After the 50 MW Stage 1 solar farm was switched on late last year, the Kidston renewable energy hub has now received a development approval for 270 MW of solar, which is to be co-located with a 250 MW pumped storage hydro project.

Fluence says that Australian governments, regulators and grid operators are ‘learning-by-doing’ in their application of large-scale battery storage. The technology provider on the new 30 MW/30 MWh utility-scale battery at Ballarat indicates that the approach could deliver significant savings when compared with grid upgrades that could be considered “not optimal” as battery technology rapidly improves.

After the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) provided an extra $25 million to match the Victorian government’s funding offer, the state of Victoria is now in line for two large-scale, grid-connected batteries, one of which will be coupled with an existing solar farm.

Annual solar installations grew almost 20% year over year in 2017, and the solar industry is also edging within 100 gigawatts, a milestone the industry will reach this year, according to IHS Markit, a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions.

Panel discussion at Energy Storage Europe tackled the issue of whether the best way for keeping the lights on as economies around the world grow is to extend the grid network or add energy storage, and found that the best solution lies somewhere in between.