A city in Bolivia which is currently powered entirely by diesel generators will be the home of a 5MW solar-diesel hybrid power plant fitted with battery storage, which inverter supplier SMA claims is the largest of its kind in the world.
SunPower CEO Tom Werner says that the idea of solar power users combining their systems with battery storage to become fully independent of the grid is “naïve”, echoing the views of one of SolarCity’s founders.
US space exploration agency NASA is considering proposals for four different energy storage systems, submitted by academic institutions and private companies that could power its future robotic and human missions to space.
PV Tech Storage interviews Paul Bundschuh of Ideal Power, whose company will supply Sharp’s new Smartstorage system with power converters and has also developed a three-port hybrid battery converter to better enable grid-resilience and micro grids.
India looks to be the latest country to examine installing energy storage at the top level, with the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) actively seeking demonstration projects and the country’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) inviting comments from stakeholders ahead of similar plans.
The emerging availability of storage and smart-grid technologies allows communities to meet their energy demands locally. As Andrew Jones of S&C Electric writes, community-owned micro-grids will become an increasingly important element of the future energy system.
An antenna tower in Australia serving a broadcaster will be the site of a solar-plus-storage project funded by the German government and designed to deliver power 24 hours a day.
After a strong showing in the energy storage segment at its European counterpart in June, Intersolar North America is following suit with a number of companies and organisations launching new products at the show.
Fuel cells for distributed generation will be developed through 13 new projects that have been announced by Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the US government agency responsible for promoting funding and RnD into advanced energy technologies.
Battery maker Trojan claims its new proprietary ‘Smart Carbon’ technology can improve the cycle life of lead acid batteries by as much as 15%, through effective management of the cell in a partial state of charge.
