The proposed deal for Tesla to acquire US rooftop solar company SolarCity makes sense but could distract both parties from immediate core objectives, according to Lux Research.

BMW has announced plans to launch a stationary energy storage product for both residential and small commercial applications using the high-voltage batteries used in i3 electric vehicles, including those repurposed from existing EVs.

Tesla has made an offer to acquire SolarCity in stock swap deal that would give SolarCity shareholders a premium of 21-30%.

Sunamp, a maker of heat batteries from Scotland, UK, was recently selected to go on a special mission to showcase its wares in China as one of a number of startups. Maurizio Zaglio from the company talks about his experiences in Shenzhen.

Morgan Stanley has predicted a boom in solar-plus-storage in Australia, calling PV a direct substitute for grid power and warning investors that the incumbent energy industry has been slow to react to trends.

The White House announcement of new developments and investment in energy storage has been characterised as “the first executive office push for energy storage” that will “undoubtedly galvanize” the industry, in a new GTM Research brief by the firm’s energy storage director Ravi Manghani.

Storage system manufacturers Sonnen and Leclanché are in early talks to help deliver an “unprecedented” scheme in England which will see their batteries rolled out as part of a potentially huge project.

President Obama has announced a raft of activity focussing on the development, investment and regulatory framework for energy storage.

SolarEdge and SMA’s launches of inverters compatible with Tesla’s Powerwall and LG Chem’s new range mark a “growing trend” towards higher voltage batteries for residential PV systems, an IHS analyst has said.

The Clean Energy and Solar Power Portal Awards sponsored by Trina Solar, an annual celebration of the PV industry from Energy-Storage.News’ UK-based publisher, Solar Media, will include residential energy storage as a category for the first time this October.