Trump’s infrastructure wish list includes many provisions observers would expect — the document is heavy on the bridges and road projects he promised throughout the campaign would create jobs for Americans. 

Those in the utility industry who hoped that affinity for big infrastructure projects would translate into power sector programs may take heart in the document released by McClatchy on Tuesday. Just how the Trump administration plans to encourage the projects remains unclear, but it could give an indication of the White House’s priorities.

Of the 50 infrastructure projects, seven focus on the electricity sector:

• #9: The Plains and Eastern transmission lines, which aim to move wind power from the Oklahoma panhandle to load centers in Tennessee;
• #12: Hydroelectric Plants operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, many of which are slated for upgrades;
• #16: The TransWest Express Transmission line, which would deliver renewable energy produced in Wyoming to load centers in California, Nevada and Arizona;
• #17: The Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind projects, an up-to 3,000 MW wind energy project in Wyoming;
• #20: The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a multi-utility project that would transport gas from West Virginia down through North Carolina;
• #21: The Champlain Hudson Power Express, a hydropower project that could bring up to 1,000 MW of clean power to the New York metro, and;
• #49: Energy Storage and Grid Modernization in California, which highlights the mitigation efforts taken during the Aliso Canyon natural gas shortage.

It’s not clear whether the document is a draft or finalized edition, nor whether it has been submitted to congressional lawmakers. But according to McClatchy, the National Governors’ Association asked state governments for input on an infrastructure program list for the transition team last month, and that list is nearly identical to the one compiled by the White House. 

Though the NGA list was preliminary, the association’s letter to state governments pledged “there will be a more formal process for states to submit information” once Trump takes office. 

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ASTANA – Primus Power, a provider of long-life and long-duration energy storage systems, is working on its second project in Kazakhstan with Samruk Energy, a subsidiary of the Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund. Primus Power’s innovative EnergyPod has been used to deal with specific energy issues internationally, and now will be showcased as one of the best energy storage solutions at the upcoming EXPO 2017.

Based in Silicon Valley, Primus Power was established back in 2009. It offers innovative flow batteries for international microgrid, utility, military, commercial and industrial customers. The company has received 32 patents in seven countries.

“Flow batteries offer a unique advantage for grid storage. As Bill Gates remarked in launching the Breakthrough Energy Coalition in November 2015, unlike lithium-ion batteries, flow batteries could last for decades and the rechargeable electrolyte liquid could last indefinitely,” says the company’s website.

“Simply put, Energy Pod is a giant rechargeable battery – giant not in terms of the sizes, but in terms of its capacity and power. It is very flexible in its usage,” said General Director of Primus Power in Kazakhstan Ruslan Rakymbay in an interview with The Astana Times.

Also, it takes five to six hours for a flow battery to discharge, while widely used lithium-ion batteries are unable to show such characteristics.

The low-maintenance EnergyPod can solve issues such as high demand charges or grid outage and islanded operation, the likes of which it has managed to resolve at the ICL Phos-Chek Facility or U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The system can also help manage unstable electricity generation from renewable sources, said Rakymbay.

“We have to take account that while using renewable power sources, the energy flow depends on the wind or sun activity. For example, there can be energy surges due to cloud movement, so generation jumps and the grid infrastructure – stations, substations, transformers and the whole interconnections – suffers from those energy leaps,” he added. EnergyPod smoothes out those jolts by giving its own energy during such leaps, so the flow is constant.

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Project funding for energy storage jumped to US$820 million in 2016 from just US$30 million in 2015, while Sonnen was revealed as the energy storage company to raise the most VC funding this year.

The latest quarterly report from Mercom Capital on financial activity in battery storage, smart grid and energy efficiency wraps up the results for the entirety of 2016. It found that during the year, energy storage companies raised US$820 million in project funding across seven deals, compared to US$30 million across three deals in 2015.

The majority of this project funding, US$625 million, was raised in the third quarter of the year and included Tabuchi America netting US$300 million for residential work and Advanced Microgrid Solutions with US$200 million of project financing from Macquarie Capital.

VC funding winners

Most significant among 11 mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2016 – coincidentally the same number as was seen in 2015 – was the US$1.1 billion acquisition of battery and system maker Saft by oil major Total. The company has also invested in the likes of Stem, Sunverge, Powerhive and Off-Grid Electric within the storage sector and SunPower in solar. Analysis firm Lux Research said in August that Total and other oil majors had significant funds available to invest and should try and get a foothold in the energy storage market.

Meanwhile, the number of VC investors in energy storage grew annually last year, to 62 from 57 in 2015. The overall figure invested fell very slightly, from US$397 million in 37 deals in 2015 to US$365 million in 38 deals in 2016. Total corporate funding, which included debt and public market financing, reached US$540 million in 2016, again a drop from the previous year when it saw US$676 million of corporate funding used.

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NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Eos Energy Storage (“Eos”) – pioneer of the safe, ultra-low cost Znyth^® battery technology – today announced a partnership with Siemens to integrate, install and service energy storage solutions.

“Working with such an established energy industry leader like Siemens is an exciting step for us and the energy storage industry,” said Eos CEO Michael Oster. “By combining Eos’ cost and performance advantage with Siemens’ capabilities in system integration and project execution, we are able to offer solutions that reduce risk and complexity for the customer while setting a new benchmark for energy storage reliability and cost-effectiveness.”

The Eos Aurora^® 1000│4000—a 1MW|4MWh DC battery system—is being sold today at $160 per usable kWh for the full DC system with performance guarantees supporting up to 20 years of continuous operation with minimal maintenance. Eos packages its patented Znyth^® technology in a modular, pre-integrated, outdoor-rated enclosure called the Energy Stack^TM.

Leveraging this novel design, Eos and Siemens have jointly productized an energy storage system including AC power conversion and controls that enables modular installation and ease of maintenance, lowering cost throughout the project development cycle. This joint product offers utilities an economic alternative to conventional system upgrades, renewable energy developers a means of dispatchable hybrid power, and commercial customers load management savings paired with enhanced power quality and reliability.

“Our goal is to standardize and productize energy storage projects with focus on reliability and return on investment for the customer,” said Siemens VP Brian Dula. “This process starts with modeling and analytics to optimally size the energy storage asset and carries all the way through project implementation and performance guarantees. By offering a solution with supporting services, Siemens will help customers realize the full benefits of the Eos Aurora battery.”

Together, Siemens and Eos are able to offer energy storage solutions for a broad range of grid-connected and off-grid markets. Collaborative testing and product validation is setting the stage for MW-scale installations in the first half of 2017—including a California Energy Commission funded project with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), demonstration of a behind-the-meter, commercial and industrial product at the University of California at San Diego, and a first-ever utility microgrid installation combining the Eos Aurora with on-site solar and diesel generation.

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Jobs in New York’s energy storage sector have grown to approximately 3,900 – a 30% increase from 2012 through 2015, according to a new report from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

The agency says New York’s commitment to clean energy helped spur this strong growth, and storage will advance the state’s  50% by 2030 clean energy standard, as storage technology can save power generated from solar, wind, and combined heat and power (CHP) systems for later use.

The report projects that by 2030, New York’s energy storage industry could realize annual global revenues between $5.6 billion and $8.7 billion. In addition, jobs could reach between 17,300 to 26,800 employees (a consistent growth scenario versus a delayed market adoption scenario).

“New York State has become a hub for energy storage technologies – creating new, skilled technology jobs and meeting the needs of utilities, building owners, manufacturers and other large power users,” says John B. Rhodes, president and CEO of NYSERDA. “Under Gov. Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision to create an energy system that is cleaner, more affordable and more resilient, strong growth continues for storage technology and investments.”

NYSERDA says it has invested in more than 50 energy storage technology development projects across the state. It is also working to reduce soft costs associated with distributed energy storage systems by 33% in five years.

In December, NYSERDA hosted a two-day, on-site power conference and expo, which brought together stakeholders in solar, energy storage and CHP to facilitate discussions about when and how the technologies can work together to help New York meet its clean energy goals.

Along with several partners, NYSERDA established the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST) in 2010 to help advance the state’s energy storage industry. The consortium now includes Fortune 500 companies, startups, universities, national research centers and laboratories spanning all facets of the energy sector, NYSERDA says.

“NY-BEST is pleased that our efforts to grow the energy storage industry in New York State are producing positive results,” says Dr. William Acker, executive director of NY-BEST. “Thanks to the state’s clean energy policies and strategic investments, New York State has created an unmatched ecosystem for energy storage companies seeking to grow their businesses, and we look forward to continuing to help foster the growth of this industry in New York.”

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Over the next eight to nine years, energy storage capacity in developing countries is expected to skyrocket from 2 gigawatts (GW) today to more than 80GW, according to a new report by the World Bank Group.

The report, “Energy Storage Trends and Opportunities in Emerging Markets,” indicates the annual growth in energy storage capacity will exceed 40% each year over the next decade.

The study, commissioned by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank-administered Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), indicated the largest energy storage markets are expected to be China and India.

The researchers believe that 78GW of new solar and wind generating capacity was installed globally in 2016, and that 378.1GW is projected to be installed over the next five years.

“Energy storage will play a crucial role in helping to meet demand for low-carbon electricity in developing nations,” the report said. “By 2020, these countries will need to double their electricity generation, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), and by 2035 will account for 80% of the total growth in energy generation and consumption globally.”

While the cost for deploying renewable energy systems continues to fall, integrating technologies such as photovoltaic rooftop systems and solar farms into regional grids will require energy storage in the form of batteries and other technologies for load continuity.

Those storage technologies include mechanical systems such as flywheels, compressed air or pumped hydro; electrochemical storage, such as lithium-ion (li-on) and flow battery technology; and thermal systems like phase-change technology. Phase-change tech uses materials such as molten salt to store heat from concentrated solar farms for later release in steam generators.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this month his company is now mass producing li-ion batteries for both commercial and residential use. His first “gigafactory” outside Reno, Nev. has a footprint of 1.9 million square feet of manufacturing space. Musk already plans to build other gigafactories around the world.

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A new residential energy storage pilot seeks to better understand how batteries installed in homes can be used at the neighborhood level by grid operators to absorb solar power generation excesses during the day and discharge them when needed later in the day.

A partnership between battery manufacturer Moixa, electricity distributor Northern Powergrid, and the community energy company Energise Barnsley aims to put the idea to the test with a new pilot. Specifically, 40 homes will have Moixa lithium-ion batteries installed, including 20 x 2 kWh batteries and another 20 x 3 kWh batteries.

Simon Daniel, CEO of Moixa, said:

“Solar homes with batteries can halve their electricity bills, and this solution will become increasingly popular as costs of storage and PV fall.

“We are working closely with Northern Powergrid and this project will deliver insights to develop incentives which we hope will allow us to roll out solar plus storage to tens of thousands of homes in their region, by creating a business case for homeowners to invest and also by increasing the number of solar connections allowed on each substation.”

These 40 batteries and homes will be linked into a Virtual Power Plant (much like what Next Kraftwerk is doing today but on a smaller scale) which the utility can then utilize to absorb power when solar production is peaking. Conversely, at night when the sun isn’t shining on all those glorious solar panels, or anytime demand exceeds production, the utility can tap into this Virtual Power Plant to supply power to the grid.

Most of the homes in the pilot already have photovoltaic (PV) solar installed (30 of the 40 homes) which will allow the pilot operators to better understand how residentially installed solar PV can play well with residentially installed lithium-ion batteries.

In this pilot, the batteries will be installed at no cost to the residents, with all funding provided by Northern Powergrid in an effort to support the masses of solar being deployed by Energise Barnsley.

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New research from the World Bank Group indicates energy storage capacity will increase 40-fold in developing countries over the next 8-9 years; growing to 80GW from 2016’s 2GW capacity.

The report, commissioned by IFC and the World Bank-administered Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), says energy storage deployments in emerging markets are expected to grow more than 40 percent each year in the coming decade.

The largest energy storage markets during this timeframe are expected to be China and India.

Energy storage will play a crucial role in helping to meet demand for low-carbon electricity in developing nations. By 2020, these countries will need to double their electricity generation according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), and by 2035 will account for 80 percent of the total growth in energy generation and consumption globally.

The report says the uptake of battery and other stationary storage technologies would enable emerging markets to roll out more solar power and wind energy, with reduced need for fossil fuel-fired power plants to provide backup when conditions are unfavourable. Storage can also help overcome other grid management challenges associated with variable energy generation from these sources.

“By dramatically expanding the capacity to store energy, these technologies will help countries meet their renewable energy targets, support the demand for clean energy, and help bring electricity to the 1.2 billion people who currently lack access,” said IFC Executive Vice President and CEO Philippe Le Houérou.

It’s unlikely to be a smooth journey, with significant barriers and challenges ahead to overcome. These include challenges relating to awareness, competition, operational practices, regulatory issues, political and economic instability and procurement.

However, the report states the most important factor in the energy storage market achieving its full potential may be the availability of low-cost financing for project development, as high upfront costs would otherwise limit growth.

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From the perspective of both renewable-energy advocates and electric utilities, grid-scale energy storage offers many potential benefits.

By storing energy in battery packs for later use, energy storage can make intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind into more reliable forms of power.

It also helps utilities “balance” the grid by absorbing excess energy during periods of low demand, and releasing it during periods of peak demand.

Yet energy storage has not been tested on a large scale by U.S. utilities.

Until now, that is.

California now has three completed energy-storage sites, constituting the biggest test yet for the technology, notes The New York Times (subscription required).

The state passed an energy-storage mandate, but development did not pick up until a massive 2015 gas leak in Aliso Canyon, a large-scale environmental disaster that also cut off fuel to local power plants.

The leak started at a Southern California Gas Co. storage facility in October 2015, and lasted several months.

In that time, it released greenhouse-gas emissions equivalent to the annual emissions of 1.7 million cars.

Infrastructure company AES built an energy-storage array for utility San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) in Escondido, California, about 30 miles from San Diego.

Billed as the largest installation of its kind in the world, it uses lithium-ion batteries from Samsung, and reportedly has enough capacity to power about 20,000 homes for four hours.

AES is also installing a smaller energy-storage array for SDG&E in El Cajon, which is also near San Diego.

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