Stem Inc., which provides intelligent energy storage as-a-service to commercial organisations, will build a 1MW / 4.2MWh energy storage project on the California State University (CSU) Dominguez Hills campus to help the institution save on energy costs.

Combined with an existing Stem storage system at this CSU location, the project will total 2MW / 6.2MWh. The storage systems will eventually be paired with solar to maximise the clean energy generation.

This project will also reduce energy congestion for a local utility through a “virtual power plant” model on the Carson, California campus. This works by the storage system providing capacity for the local utility in the West Los Angeles Basin. Earlier this month, Tesla launched the first aggregated virtual power plant in the country. 

“We are excited about our partnership with Stem in executing this project to deliver real savings for the campus, at an especially important time to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint and control our energy costs,” said Ken Seeton, Central Plant Manager and Energy Manager of CSU Dominguez Hills. “We plan to shift these energy cost savings to better use elsewhere in our services to our students.”

The project also means the Dominguez Hills campus is one of the leaders in sustainability in CSU.

“CSU Dominguez Hills is another example of a higher education leader who seeks Stem’s automated energy savings while also contributing to more intelligent grid solutions,” said John Carrington, CEO of Stem. “California’s universities and colleges want energy storage to help them control their energy choices, play a strong role in their community, and help transition the state to even higher amounts of renewable energy.”

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As battery costs decline and new control technology allows more value to be captured, the storage sector is expected to undergo rapid growth. 

8minutenergy points out that its move “aligns with industry forecasts,” including GTM Research estimates predicting U.S. energy storage capacity will reach 655 MW in 2018 and exceed 2 GW in 2021.

The company, already the largest independent renewables developer in the country, is working with manufacturers to offer lithium-ion and flow batteries, flywheels, and other storage resources. And 8minutenergy said it has also expanded its existing solar research facility by adding energy storage facilities to test performance innovations and grid balancing capabilities.

“We are working on storage solutions that are already cost-competitive across the board, improve energy yield, and maximize renewable incentives. Now with fully dispatchable renewable energy, we can complement any existing utility portfolio,” said 8minutenergy Vice President of Storage Integration Carl Stills.

8minutenergy boasts that members of its team have “initiated and/or managed” several of the country’s largest energy storage projects, including a 30 MW lithium-ion energy storage project in the western U.S., and the first utility-scale wind and storage project in Hawaii.

In April, the company announced it had received approval on a power purchase agreement to develop the 90 MW (AC) Springbok 3 Solar Farm, located in Kern County, Calif. 8minutenergy signed the Springbok 3 PPA with the Southern California Public Power Authority on behalf of its participating member, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

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Energy storage in the home has always been something of a holy grail for those who love renewable energy. Solar panels on your roof could power your home during the day, and any excess could be saved in a battery for later use. Heck, even an electric car could be powered with solar energy generated at home.

The realities of the market are that residential energy storage never really made much sense. Net metering meant solar customers could export solar electricity to the grid at the price they pay for electricity, meaning there was no need for energy storage, and the economics of a battery that cost thousands of dollars never really made sense in the past. But that may be changing as net metering rules are changed across the country and energy storage finds value for the grid. 

The new rental Powerwall

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Green Mountain Power are launching a program that will allow customers to get a Powerwall to back up power to their home for only $15 per month. That makes the price of a Powerwall — which starts at $5,500 for the battery itself and costs around $7,000 for full installation — much more affordable for consumers. 

It may not seem logical that Green Mountain Power would allow a customer to rent a Powerwall with a 467-month, or 39-year, payback, but they can do it because the rental fee isn’t the only value stream. Using utility data and Tesla’s GridLogic, the utility and Tesla will be able to provide value to the grid by reducing peak demand or filling supply gaps when sun isn’t shining or wind isn’t blowing. And that will be cheaper than installing new power generation capacity. 

This is the bleeding edge of energy storage

Long term, this could be a model that makes sense for residential energy storage, as long as utilities and regulators create a framework that will allow customers and solar or energy storage companies to generate value from batteries in the home. Tesla has been the most aggressive moving into this market so far, but SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) and Sunrun(NASDAQ:RUN) are exploring the space as well. 

SunPower has been testing energy storage in homes for years and is installing 4 MWh of battery storage with Sunverge Energy in Con Edison‘s territory in New York. SunPower’s management has said in the past that it will expand its energy storage offerings soon, giving customers the option to maximize value or self consumption. 

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In a series of tweets in early March, Tesla founder, CEO and Chairman Elon Musk made a dramatic offer to help address the issues bedeviling South Australia’s electricity grid: he offered to install 100MW of battery storage within 100 days — or the system would be free. This led to talks between Musk and South Australia’s Premier, and with Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

At the time of writing, it was unclear whether the offer would be taken up, and there are serious questions as to whether such a system would be an appropriate solution to the blackouts plaguing the Australian state. But the attention that Musk’s offer generated is testament to the increasingly important role that battery storage, at scale, is playing in modern electricity systems.

Storage technology is the vital missing element in the struggle to enable the transition to clean energy, allowing grids to accommodate ever-growing volumes of intermittent generation and transforming the economics of renewable energy systems. But, along the way, the growth of battery storage promises to transform power markets, accelerate disruption of the utility business model and challenge regulators to rethink how they oversee generation, transmission and distribution.

The growing penetration of batteries is, essentially, a solution to a problem that dates back to the construction of the first electricity grids. “The electricity supply chain is the longest supply chain in the world with almost no ability to store the product,” says Matt Roberts, Executive Director of the Washington, DC-based Energy Storage Association (ESA). “That means we have scaled everything to meet the absolute peak of demand — it’s an incredibly costly and inefficient way to build a network.”

The inability to store surplus power (beyond the limited capacity of older storage technologies such as pumped hydro systems) is becoming a more pressing problem with the greater penetration of wind and solar technologies. Solar output, while relatively predictable, dips in cloudy conditions, while local wind speeds are hard to predict with confidence more than a few days into the future.

In addition, thermal power plants currently play an important role in balancing generation and load to maintain the frequency of power grids within a constant range, which protects electric equipment. Renewable energy generation is unable to provide the on-demand balancing power needed for grid stability.

This means that battery systems — predominantly, to date, using the lithium-ion technology seen in electric vehicles — have multiple uses, and multiple market needs they can address.

“The opportunity for battery storage exists in all areas of the utilities value chain — in generation, transmission and distribution, as well as on the consumer side, behind the meter,” says Manish Kumar, Managing Director of Arlington, Virginia-based AES Energy Storage, an arm of power company AES Corporation.

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DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Developments in Energy Storage, Capacitors, Superconductors, and Tidal Energy” report to their offering.

This TOE focuses on advances in lithium-ion batteries, tidal energy, and advanced materials for superconducting applications. It emphasizes on innovations in dielectric material for high-power applications and advanced power factor correction capacitors. The TOE also provides brief insights on the recent developments in solid state batteries and solar energy storage solutions.

The Energy and Power Systems (EPS) TechVision Opportunity Engine (TOE) provides insights on the latest advances in the broad range of technology related to the energy industry. The topics regularly presented range from energy storage technologies (batteries, fuel cells, flywheels and other advanced energy storage devices) to non-renewable energy such as oil and gas. Special emphasis is given to emerging areas in the renewable sector such as photovoltaics, wind energy, and geothermal energy, and emerging alternative fuels such as hydrogen, syngas, ethanol and biofuels. The EPS TOE keeps clients abreast of the latest R&D developments at major corporate and academic research centers, provides competitor intelligence and helps create strategic alliances.

The Energy and Environment cluster provides global insights and intelligence on a wide variety of disruptive emerging technologies and platforms ranging from energy storage, advanced batteries, solar and wind energy, to unconventional oil, bioenergy, geothermal energy, and energy transmission.

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Eos Energy Storage added two new members to the company’s executive team Wednesday. Jeff Wiener, former director of global sales— energy storage at General Electric, joins as the company’s senior vice president of global sales, and Chris Gerlach, former vice president of finance at Solar Reserve, joins as the company’s chief financial officer.

“We’re incredibly excited to add these industry veterans to the team,” says Jim Hughes, Eos chairman of the board and former First Solar CEO. “Their combined experience strengthens capabilities around product deployment, bankability and financing, and will reinforce Eos’ position as the go-to supplier for safe, cost-effective energy storage.”

As senior vice president of global sales, Wiener will build and scale Eos’ brand globally, finding new opportunities and applications for the Eos Aurora battery. Wiener spent 36 years in GE’s power segment, playing roles in wind, thermal and hydro services, and most recently directed sales for the company’s energy storage division.

 “I watched Eos for a number of years as they brought the Aurora product to market, constantly meeting key business milestones: It is now ready to go mainstream,” Wiener said. “In addition to its industry leading cost position, I believe the Eos Aurora has significant advantages over other technologies in terms of full depth of discharge operation, modular design, installation simplicity and system safety. With industry leaders like Jim Hughes and CEO Michael Oster, I have great trust and belief in the leadership team, and I’m glad to be a part of it.  I’m delighted to be working with Chris.”

Gerlach has a diverse background in finance and banking in the renewable energy sector as well as in the oil and gas, conventional power and telecommunications industries. In his previous role at Solar Reserve, Gerlach was instrumental in financing the first commercial-scale power tower with storage which entered into commercial operation in late 2015. The project involved 1,100 MWh of storage capacity.

“I was drawn to the versatility of Eos’ revolutionary battery product, which can be brought to bear on a vast array of applications, from peak shaving and reliability-enhancing backup power to renewables integration and microgrids,” Gerlach said. “The cost effectiveness of Eos’ proprietary technology creates an enormous opportunity to disrupt the market and lead lithium ion from a price, safety and longevity perspective. With commercial deployments now going into the field, Eos is setting a new standard in the industry.”

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8minutenergy, the leading independent solar PV developer in the United States, has announced this week that it is expanding into the energy storage market, and it comes with a 1 gigawatt project pipeline already in place.

Announced on Tuesday, 8minutenergy revealed that it would be expanding into the US energy storage market, focusing on standalone storage, as well as solar PV and storage systems. The company also announced that it makes the transition from solar to solar and energy storage company with an impressive 1 gigawatt (GW) project pipeline already in place.

8minutenergy will focus on key solar markets such as California — where the company already has assets worth 700 megawatts (MW) — and growing markets such as Texas and the Southeast.

“Utilities and corporations nationwide are looking for reliable, cost-competitive clean energy solutions. Solar PV and energy storage are poised to meet this demand while delivering strong returns,” said Steve McKenery, 8minutenergy’s Vice President of Storage Solutions. “Not only can storage improve project economics, but it can also make renewable power dispatchable — that’s a clear win for the future of clean energy.”

“Having worked closely with the largest utilities in America for the past few decades allows us to uniquely understand our customers’ needs and system requirements,” added 8minutenergy’s Vice President of Storage Integration, Carl Stills. “We are working on storage solutions that are already cost-competitive across the board, improve energy yield, and maximize renewable incentives. Now with fully dispatchable renewable energy, we can complement any existing utility portfolio.”

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A team of researchers from the Naval Research Laboratory is on to a new zinc-based alternative to lithium-ion batteries. The new research aims at enabling the Navy to expands its energy storage options. The new zinc battery could also makes its way into the EV market, providing manufacturers with a lighter, less expensive alternative to today’s crop of lithium-ion batteries.

Head researcher Debra Rolison, who has been at NRL since 1980, graciously spent some time on the phone last week with CleanTechnica along with her colleague Jeffrey Long to provide some unique insights into the breakthrough.

The Navy’s problem with lithium-ion batteries is that they are not considered safe for some applications on ships as well as other facilities due to fire risks.

Don’t get the wrong idea about EV battery safety, though. Modern lithium-ion battery packs are designed with control systems that prevent overheating and provide for a longer lifespan.

Rolison underscored that you’re only going to get safety failure in a poorly designed control system — hoverboards being one notorious example. That kind of problem has practically zero chance of occurring in today’s intensely regulated auto market.

The safety issue does present an obstacle to designing lighter, less expensive energy storage systems, as Rolison explained:

“Lithium-ion thermal management has to be designed in. With other safeguards, these energy management systems add weight, volume, and cost.”

Rolison also noted that thermal management systems add complexity to the manufacturing end of things.

Throw in the additional supply chain complications and you can see why researchers have been pursuing an energy storage system that can safely ditch thermal management systems.

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Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has signed an agreement to acquire US energy storage company Greensmith Energy Management Systems.

The deal, which is still subject to US regulatory approvals, will allow Wärtsilä to expand its footprint in the energy storage market and position as a global energy systems integrator.

The transaction is expected to close no later than July.

Greensmith chief executive John Jung said: “The combination of Greensmith’s position and capability in energy storage technology with Wärtsilä’s global leadership in integrated energy solutions, with over 63GW of installed power plant capacity across 176 countries – will bring both market and technology synergies to both organizations.”

Greensmith’s projects include a partnership with Eon on two energy storage plants with a total volume of almost 20MW in Texas.

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In order to support its growth, the company is expanding in the country with new Supercharger stations and new stores.

The automaker announced yesterday that it opened three new stores and completed the expansion of Asia’s largest Supercharger station over the last week alone.

They wrote in a press release (translated from Chinese):

“In the fourth year since our introduction in China, Tesla continues to strengthen its commitment to investing and expanding the service network and facilities in order to allow more Chinese customers to join us and to experience intelligent, convenient and environmentally friendly pure electric mobility.”

One of the new stores they opened last week is located at the ‘Galaxy COCO Park’ in Shezhen:

It’s the fourth store in the Shezhen region. They are also adding 3 more Supercharger stations around the city.

A few days later, Tesla opened a store in Chengdu – the second store in the region:

Along with Shezhen and Chengdu, Tesla also opened a store in Shanghai’s Taikoo Hui district last week.

The new location is Tesla’s sixth in the city, which is the automaker’s biggest market in east China.

Finally, Tesla is also continuing its Supercharger expansion in the country.

Last month, the automaker announced a greater than anticipated expansion of its fast-charging network, which especially involves installing more charging stalls per station.

Tesla’s Supercharger stations had an average of 6 stalls per station and the biggest ones had between 8 and 12 stalls. A few had up to 20 stations, but now Tesla is planning stations with dozens of Superchargers – even some with between 50 and 100 stalls.

In China, they have 530 Superchargers at 110 different stations. Last week, Tesla expanded the Supercharger located in Beijing Huamao Center to 20 stalls – making it the largest in Asia.

It looks like China remains an important market for Tesla in the short-term, especially since the recent success that they have been having the country. In the long-term, it will likely involve local production, which has been rumored for years, and the introduction of the Model 3.

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