About 250 of the world’s leading energy storage experts are gathering at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland this week to discuss research that could make electric transportation and use of renewable energy more practical.

They will consider next-generation storage technologies that could be less costly, safer and more environmentally friendly that today’s state-of-the-art energy storage device, the lithium-ion battery.

Energy Storage News – With the change-over from centralised fossil fuel power to distributed renewable energy, there is intense interest in battery storage to cope with intermittency of solar PV and wind power. There is no doubt that batteries will have a major part in the transition. Apart from flow batteries, however, the opportunities for multiple-hour storage and discharge at scale over a period of hours is still unresolved. It is implemented for cars and household storage and indeed the first steps to access power stored in the batteries of Electric Vehicles have already been taken.

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Energy Storage News – US based SimpliPhi Power continues to gain traction in the Australian market with its award-winning cobalt-free lithium-ion storage solutions now incorporated as part of GSES’ (Global Sustainable Energy Solutions Pty Ltd) training courses. GSES is a renewable energy engineering, training and consultancy. It has recently launched the grid-connect PV with battery storage course at their training centre in Botany (NSW), as well as a purpose built mobile training unit.  GSES’ practical training for this course includes the SimpliPhi lithium ferro phosphate batteries.

As new energy storage technology continues to emerge and costs continue to decline, more  customers and installers are interested in understanding how to integrate these storage solutions into their on/off grid solar systems for both new installations and retrofits. Energy storage provides a second level of power security and cost savings for customers and savvy solar installers who understand the added value storage brings to their residential and commercial systems. Identifying the goals and objectives of the customer for on/off grid installations requires asking the right questions and knowing what type of system integration can meet those objectives, using storage as the leverage point to optimize the assets.

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Energy Storage News – A trio of non-profits has come out with a report that makes a strong case for deploying energy storage plus on-site solar for low-income rental housing in California. The analysis projects that under today’s market conditions, the combo has a quick payback and would whittle electricity bills down to practically nothing.

To be clear, the analysis covers the electricity bills of the housing owner, not the tenants. Providing low income renters with the benefits of solar energy storage is a whole other can of worms, but the non-profits do have some suggestions on that score.

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The economic benefits of adding energy storage to solar in California at affordable multi-family dwellings could far outweigh the costs, even doubling savings on energy bills, a new report claims.

The report, ‘Closing the California clean energy divide’, has been produced by the Center for Sustainable Energy, the California Housing Partnership Corporation and the Clean Energy Group. Allowing families in affordable rented housing to take some stake in controlling their energy production and demand could have “significant electric bill savings”, the authors said.

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Nissan and Eaton have partnered to introduce a residential energy storage unit that’s designed to enable customers to take advantage of time-of-use pricing, and to provide back-up power.

The xStorage system is powered by twelve second-life Nissan EV battery modules, and will feature smartphone connectivity. Nissan Design Europe will contribute design expertise to ensure that the unit is aesthetically pleasing (taking a page from Tesla’s book?).

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The Energy Market Authority (EMA) has established a $25 million Energy Storage Programme to develop technologies that will enhance the overall stability and resilience of Singapore’s power system.

Energy Storage System Test- Bed

The Energy Storage System (ESS) Test-bed is one of the initiatives under the Energy Storage Programme. Singapore’s current energy storage landscape is in its nascent stage. As this is one of the first ESS Test-bed, EMA and Singapore Powers will jointly run the Test-bed to better understand the feasibility of deploying grid-level energy storage technologies locally.

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Energy Storage News – Startup will build a better grid by pushing heavy railcars up a hill.

One of the biggest challenges of the shift to renewable energy like solar and wind is energy storage. The wind or sun don’t always generate power exactly when it’s needed, so infrastructure needs to bridge the gap. Batteries are the most frequently discussed solution, but there are other options out there, many of them surprisingly low-tech.

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Energy storage is hitting its stride.

Data from the latest GTM Energy Storage Monitor reveals that the U.S. storage market grew 245 percent in 2015 over 2014 (albeit from a small base). By 2019, America’s storage market could amount to 1.7 gigawatts and be valued at $2.5 billion.

Through my 20-plus years of experience developing storage technology and storage power plants, I believe the best way to understand the future of storage is to view the evolution of the industry through a series of phases.

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