SolarCity one of the biggest names in US residential solar, has announced a new set of services targeted at utility and grid operators including the official launch of its grid-scale solar-plus-storage offering.

The PV provider will be branching into installation, financing and consulting services for utility-scale solar as well as expanding its activities in energy storage development. In conjunction, SolarCity will be advancing controls for distributed energy resources (DERs), demand response and aggregated grid services, to form a full network of solar-related activities.

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A subsidiary of German automaker Daimler has reportedly joined Tesla in the home energy storage market.

TechCrunch reports that Deutsche ACCUmotive — the Mercedes-Benz owner’s lithium-ion battery division— introduced storage batteries for industrial customers last year. Recently, home storage units were introduced in Germany with plans to expand into other countries not far behind.

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Global maker of construction and mining equipment Caterpillar has launched an integrated micro-grid solution which combines solar PV and energy storage with the company’s power generation equipment.

Cat Microgrid Technology is available in a range from 10kW to 100MW of modular solutions. It can be configured to include thin-film solar panels, Caterpillar generator sets and a selection of energy storage technologies, including ultracapacitors and lithium-ion batteries.

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In late 2014, a virtually unknown company called Alevo announced it was entering the energy storage market with a new inorganic, sulfur-based lithium ion battery technology that it had acquired from the bankrupt German company fortu PowerCell. Alevo entered the U.S. with a big splash, investing over $68 million in the 3.5 million-square-foot former Philip Morris tobacco factory in Victory, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. It also announced that it would hire up to 2,500 workers over three years, with a potential maximum workforce of 6,000 capable of turning out thousands of megawatts of electricity storage products annually. In other words, Tesla would not be the only storage company with a gigafactory.

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CHICAGO, May 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — S&C Electric Company, a global leader in energy storage integration, has completed one of the largest energy storage systems in Ohio. The 7-MW system located in Minster, Ohio, was built in conjunction with Half Moon Ventures (HMV) and the local municipal utility, the Village of Minster. A ribbon cutting ceremony is being held on site at the Minster Solar + Storage Facility, May 6 at 1 p.m. EDT, to officially present this project to the residents of Minster.

“This is a milestone day for our community as we mark the first time a municipal utility has combined solar power and energy storage,” said Don Harrod, Village Administrator, Village of Minster. “The official launch of this system assures that the Village of Minster can continue to provide affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity for our residents and businesses.”

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In an interesting duo of energy stories this week, Arizona is getting two new innovative energy storage systems while Illinois is this close to losing up to 2300 megawatts of coal-fired power plant capacity. The news illustrates how quickly the country is transitioning to a low carbon economy. In the context of last year’s McKinsey report on the state of the US coal industry, that’s already proving to be a harsh and painful process for some communities.

The two Arizona energy storage projects are under the umbrella of Tucson Electric Power (TEP). The utility will be working with two companies, Chicago-based E.ON Climate & Renewables and NextEra Energy Resources, to construct two 10-megawatt facilities.

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To Steve Yates, the best thing about his new Tesla Powerwall is that he doesn’t have to worry anymore about the lights going out during a storm. Or maybe it’s how cool an addition it is to the entryway of his house in Monkton, Vermont.

“I’ve always wanted to have a backup power source,” said Yates, who was without electricity for 36 hours during Hurricane Irene in 2011. He also admires the Powerwall’s sleek white contours. “It’s kind of art-deco looking.”

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Series of high profile deals suggest innovations in energy storage are starting to push down costs and push up commercial viability

Combining solar panels with batteries to keep electricity flowing when the sun isn’t shining has long been the target for companies dabbling in the emerging technologies of the power grid.

This year is seeing more development in that space than ever before, thanks to falling battery and solar prices, the marketing prowess of super-entrepreneur Elon Musk, and national and international clean-energy and climate-change policies.

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MINSTER — S&C Electric Company, a global provider of equipment and services for power systems, has completed one of the largest energy storage systems in Ohio.

The 7-megawatt system, located in Minster, was built in conjunction with Half Moon Ventures and the village. A ribbon- cutting ceremony was held Friday at the Minster Solar + Storage Facility.

“This is a milestone day for our community as we mark the first time a municipal utility has combined solar power and energy storage,” said Minster Village Administrator Don Harrod. “The official launch of this system assures that the Village of Minster can continue to provide affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity for our residents and businesses.”

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