The complexities of combining batteries and solar microgrids are explained by Sam Duby, who is co-founder and director of research and development at mini-grid technologies company SteamaCo Ltd and consults for TFE Consulting. TFE Consulting is a strategy consulting firm focusing on accelerating the energy transition in emerging markets and is active in Africa, India, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
News in Brief: Tesla’s Powerpack 2 is installed in a utility-scale project for SCE, Texan utility CPS opens EPC bids for a large-scale solar-plus storage project and Eguana and LG Chem expand their storage partnership.
Four makers of lithium-ion batteries have been sanctioned by the European Commission for anti-competitive practises, with three incurring fines totalling €166 million (US$176 million) after colluding to “avoid aggressive competition”.
A US state-backed organisation is partnering with the government of Singapore to build and test up to three energy storage systems using a variety of technologies on the island state.
A company offering solar-plus-storage systems for the residential market has introduced a set of controls that allow consumers to adapt to utility rates and legislative changes with the flick of a switch.
The Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC) has set out a three-year research programme to improve the performance of lead batteries in energy storage and electric vehicles. It has called for investment of up to US$2 million per year from governments and research agencies to fund its studies, which will run through 2018.
