North America

Storage specialist Fluence has launched Ultrastack, a battery energy storage system (BESS) for storage-as-transmission assets. It is designed to help network owners and operators to manage renewables curtailment, increase the use of power lines, and limit congestion.

Sandbox Solar, a solar developer and US federal grant recipient, has released a beta version of its software modelling tool for agrivoltaic power plants. It supports the design and optimisation of solar panels, as well as the crops underneath.

US solar was disrupted in 2022, with module seizures delaying projects due to strict laws designed to stamp out alleged forced labor practices in sections of the Chinese PV industry. However, it remains to be seen whether seizures affected such alleged practices.

Australian battery manufacturer Redflow has inked a deal that will see it supply its “non-lithium” energy storage technology to clean energy outfit Ameresco which is looking to develop integrated solar and zinc-bromine flow battery solutions for its customer base throughout North America and Europe.

A $18.7 billion (USD 12.5 billion) takeover deal for Origin Energy has been struck with a consortium led by Canadian giant Brookfield. Brookfield’s vision for Origin involves spending “at least” $20 billion to build new renewables and storage, using Origin and its customer base as a vehicle for transition.

Amprius has obtained third-party performance verification for a battery cell that offers high power density in a lightweight package.

Rather than using solar or wind to power electrolysis, researchers are testing the competitiveness of photoelectrochemical cells to produce emissions-free hydrogen fuels.

An international group of researchers has calculated the potential for floating solar across the world. The results show a generation potential of 9,434 TWh per year across 114,555 global reservoirs, with 30% of their area covered. The United States leads with 1,911 TWh per year of potential, with Australia coming in 8th, with 210 TWh per year.

Canadian investment giant Brookfield will acquire the remaining 50% stake in Spain-based renewables developer X-Elio from its joint venture partner, investment firm KKR. X-Elio has more than 500 MW of projects in development in Australia and the move from Brookfield, which is also currently looking to takeover Origin Energy, a major Australian “gentailer,” extends the ambitious company’s hold in Australia.

Dan French, executive producer of the Solar Farm Summit, told pv magazine USA that more than 500 farmers, manufacturers, and community solar developers likely attended the first US agrivoltaics conference in Chicago last week.