Energy Storage News
July 24, 2019
Utility companies seeking to reduce CO2 emissions are increasingly relying on battery energy storage systems to meet peak-power demand as they retire their gas-fired plants. “Providing peaking capacity could be a significant U.S. market for energy storage,” according to a June report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Rapidly falling battery costs make the transition attractive.
Energy Storage News
July 23, 2019
NPR’s Ari Shapiro talks with Yet-Ming Chiang, professor of materials science and engineering at MIT, about why new battery technology is key to cutting carbon emissions and slowing climate change.
Energy Storage News
July 23, 2019
Nine pumped-storage hydropower concepts today were named winners of the latest stage in the FAST Commissioning for Pumped-Storage Hydropower prize competition. The FAST Prize—which stands for “Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time”—is part of the American-Made Challenges series, designed to accelerate the commissioning times of pumped-storage hydro projects from 10 years to five, while reducing both cost and risk.
Energy Storage News
July 23, 2019
Operating reserves are vitally needed by electric utilities if they are to ensure that energy is available when needed in response to a number of system events that might drive additional need. Recent developments in new technologies such as storage, load management, advanced predictive capability, and the demonstration of new inverter capabilities have the potential to contribute to spinning and other reserve requirements. The changing energy landscape is driving the need to reconsider the industry’s traditional approach to reserves including the increased use of variable energy resources.
Energy Storage News
July 23, 2019
In announcing a resource plan Monday, Portland General Electric, the state’s largest electric utility, said investments in energy efficiency, demand management, customer-generated energy, new renewables and energy storage could fill a capacity gap expected to open up in the coming decade — and keep it on a path to hit a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target unveiled last year.
Energy Storage News
July 23, 2019
Australian authorities have rallied behind what is arguably the largest solar-plus-storage project to be conceived in the world’s history: a scheme mixing 10GW of solar with 20-30GWh of energy storage. The developer intends to set up a 3,800 km high-voltage direct current submarine cable to transfer most of the installation’s output to Singapore, where it could cover 20% of power needs, while various reports also link it to the potential ASEAN grid. The plan, however, is to also link the mega-installation to Australia’s own electricity grid so that it can supply Northern Territory capital Darwin and others.
Energy Storage News
July 23, 2019
While heat-related grid disruptions hit New York City, Consolidated Edison Company (ConEd) and its subdiriary, Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R), have issued a Request for Proposals for Bulk Energy Storage Scheduling and Dispatch Rights for 310 MW of of front of the meter energy storage. 300 MW / 4 Hours+ of the volume will be deployed in ConEd territory, while 10 MW will be deployed on O&R. The project must be operation by December 31, 2022 and are eligible for a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Incentive.
Energy Storage News
July 23, 2019
Northeastern states have enacted a dizzying array of policies to promote energy storage development alongside the growth of renewables over the past few years. This region is united in its muscular state policy stances on combating climate change with a pivot to cleaner electricity. Aggressive clean energy policy alone benefits from greater capacity to store intermittent production, but the Northeast also has a geographic interest in resilience in the face of hurricanes, Nor’easters, ice storms and blizzards.
Energy Storage News
July 23, 2019
The U.S. energy storage industry has been getting into arguments with grid operators over their plans to implement FERC Order 841, the mandate to integrate energy storage assets into the country’s wholesale energy markets. The biggest argument to date has been over PJM’s insistence on a 10-hour duration requirement for its capacity market. Last week, ESA and NRDC unveiled an analysis by Astrapé Consulting, using PJM data and industry-standard modeling, that indicates gigawatts’ worth of energy storage in 2-hour, 4-hour and 6-hour durations could provide the same capacity value as power plants that run 24 hours a day.
Energy Storage News
July 18, 2019
Canadian company Hydrostor has just received approval to build the first grid-scale compressed air energy storage system in Australia. Hydrostor will deploy a 5MW / 10MWh system at a former zinc mine near Strathalbyn, South Australia. The advanced compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) project, expected to cost AU$30 million (US$21.09 million) in total, received development approval and has been welcomed in statements by local politicians