California

Queensland-headquartered battery manufacturer Redflow has secured almost $20 million in government funding in the United States for a 6.6 MWh zinc-bromine flow battery energy storage system to be deployed in California.

When you graph electricity demand in power grids with lots of solar panels, it looks a bit like a duck, with high points in the morning and evening (when people are relying on the grid) and a big dip in the middle of the day (when many people use their own solar instead and need less from the grid).

The South Australian and California state governments have signed an historic agreement that will see them work together on advancing the clean energy transition and the integration of renewable energies, including green hydrogen, into their respective grids.

Portable solar generators are making their way from the fringes of solar and energy storage to become a mainstream consumer item. The rise has been charged by a range of factors that have created massive brands. Where did the sector emerge from, who was buying before, who is buying now, and what’s next? Tristan Rayner reports.

To help balance variable renewable generation, California has set flexible demand standards for pool controls. The standards will help the state achieve its target of 7 GW of load flexibility by 2030 while saving consumers money.

The project team is led by the State of California through the California Energy Commission, and joined by Faraday Microgrids, and Redflow with zinc bromine flow batteries.

A Tesla Megapack battery caught fire at PG&E’s Elkhorn large-scale battery storage facility in Monterey County, California, in the early hours of Sept. 21. The fire was brought fully under control by the late afternoon, and its cause is under investigation.

The electrification of transportation is set to boost the need for solar energy buildout.

Solar might be more efficient than nuclear energy to supply power for a six-person extended mission to Mars that will involve a 480-day stay on the planet’s surface before returning to Earth, according to new US research.

The investment is planned to support development and construction of Hydrostor’s 1.1GW, 8.7GWh of Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage projects that are well underway in California and Australia, and help expand Hydrostor’s project development pipeline globally.