NEC Energy Solutions has installed the largest battery system in Switzerland.

The 18MW/7.5MWh installation is owned and operated by the country’s largest power distribution firm Elektrizitätswerke des Kantons Zürich (EKZ) and being used for primary frequency reserve.

NEC has installed its Grid Storage Solution, which it says could also provide other ancillary services as EKZ sees fit.

“Battery storage is a vital part of future energy supply,” said Marina González Vayá, storage specialist at EKZ. “The now-completed storage system contributes to the stability of continental Europe’s power grid.”

The new storage system is sited next to an existing substation in Volketswil east of Zürich. NEC expects a payback period of 5-7 years.

“We are excited to deliver the largest energy storage project in Switzerland,” said Steve Fludder, CEO of NEC Energy Solutions. “As countries modernize their power grids across the world, NEC’s storage solutions enable the transformation to a cleaner, more renewable and more digital electric power system of the future. We value the confidence and trust which EKZ has placed in us,” he added.

If Hawaii is to meet its stated objective of reaching 100 percent renewable energy in just 26 years, milestones must be met en route. One marker was reached in January, when the world’s largest solar-plus-storage peaker plant came online in Lawa’i, Kauai in the 50th state.

The plant, formally termed the Lawa’i Solar and Energy Storage Project, is owned and operated by Boulder, Colo.-based AES Distributed Energy. AES partnered with Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, a member-owned cooperative serving 33,000 customer accounts on the island of Kauai, in the venture.

The facility consists of a 28-megawatt solar photovoltaic facility and a 100 megawatt-hour, five-hour duration energy storage system. The new peaker will provide approximately 11 percent of Kauai’s power, bringing the portion of the island’s energy supplied by renewable sources to more than 50 percent.

“We believe this project is the largest solar-plus-storage facility in the world at the present time,” said David Bissell, KIUC’s president & CEO. When operating at full capacity and coupled with the Tesla solar-plus-storage facility, it will allow KIUC to meet 40 percent of its evening peak needs with solar energy, he added.

According to AES, the Lawa’i project will eliminate the use of 3.7 million gallons of diesel fuel each year, and at the same time support several vital power distribution scenarios. It allows for solar generation to supply the grid while charging the battery system. It dispatches power stored in the battery system to the grid during peak demand periods. And it can dispatch solar and battery power simultaneously to respond to demand spikes, in addition to supporting the grid by providing ancillary services.

KIUC’s renewable portfolio has grown from eight percent in 2010 to more than 50 percent. Over that period, there has been a corresponding 15 million gallon annual reduction in reliance on fossil fuel.

Highview Power has partnered with TSK, an engineering and construction firm to develop large-scale cryogenic energy storage facilities.

The partners say that the technology could enable an immediate shift to renewables, rapidly speeding up the transition to sustainable energies.

Cryogenic energy storage uses low-temperature liquids such as liquid oxygen or nitrogen to store surplus power by using electricity to freeze them. When its required, stored energy is released by rapid heating, and the resultant gas turns a turbine to generate power.

The partnership, under the auspices of their joint venture Highway TSK, will develop multiple projects between 2019 and 2022 in Spain, South Africa and the Middle East.

Long term energy storage is growing in popularity with grid operators as it helps balance the grid, increase reliability and improve generation economics as the technology offers weeks-long storage potential, rather than hours or days.

Joaquín García Rico, CEO of TSK, said: “The technology is not only cost effective, it is scalable, clean, has a long lifespan and can be deployed now.”

Highview Power has already built and connected two cryogenic energy storage plants to the UK grid.

Walking around Energy Storage Europe this year, hoping that as a British citizen I won’t be needing a VISA to come back to Germany next year somehow, it was obvious that the show, like the market, has grown from a small handful of “strong believers” as one source put it, to a forward-looking show focused on a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario.

“We’re not in the discovery phase anymore, we’re almost in a run-of-the-mill phase,” Olivier Chabilan, product marketing manager of Skeleton Technologies says.

“The technology is already well implemented with the main key players, but there’s still a lot of people turning up [at the trade show]”, Chabilan said.

We heard from German trade association BVES’ senior expert in communications and markets Valeska Gottke that there’s a growing recognition that the aims of the country’s Energiewende cannot be achieved without “better system integration of energy storage technologies”. And not only in Germany, but across Europe and the whole world, there’s a growing recognition that business-as-usual scenarios will require a holistic view of the entire energy system – from power to energy, from grid to off-grid and from transport to heat to electricity.

From lithium to ultracaps to hydrogen… and beyond
Energy storage is increasingly being seen as a key cornerstone and enabler of the transition to renewable energy worldwide. Yet for the most part, we have seen the advanced energy storage market dominated by lithium-ion batteries. Trade events such as Energy Storage Europe, which encompasses both downstream and upstream topics, gives providers of competing – or complimentary – technologies, a chance to enter the conversation.

Skeleton Technologies is a maker of ultracapacitors and ultracapacitor-based energy storage systems and solutions. Ultracaps cost more upfront but can deal with aggressive cycling while delivering intense bursts of power to the grid. Skeleton Tech’s systems have been deployed at a project on the Scottish Isle of Eigg, where ultracaps work alongside an existing flywheel system, improving the flywheel’s reactivity.

Everyone is familiar with the saying about an ounce of prevention. California Professional Firefighters urge the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) to take a common sense, important action to help prevent avoidable fire hazards.

When it meets March 21 (tomorrow), we urge the CSLB to clarify regulations to ensure that only qualified, licensed and adequately trained electrical contractors are authorized to install battery energy storage systems.

Firefighters are increasingly reporting on the dangers these systems can cause with faulty installation or poor maintenance.

Battery energy storage systems are rechargeable battery systems that capture and store energy — from solar systems or the electric grid.

These systems act effectively as a mini-power plant. Because battery energy storage systems capture and store energy for later use, these systems are a key technology to help California meet our clean energy and emissions reduction goals and expand the adoption of solar, wind, and other clean energy sources.

More and more, these systems are being installed in our homes, schools, hospitals and businesses. However, if not installed and maintained correctly by qualified and licensed electrical contractors and electricians, battery energy storage systems pose unique fire, electrical and public safety risks to installers, consumers, utility workers, emergency personnel and firefighters.

Fires involving battery energy storage systems are particularly dangerous for firefighters as they burn at extreme heat, can react violently with water and can reignite even after being extinguished. Firefighters are increasingly reporting on the dangers these systems can cause with faulty installation or poor maintenance.

Can an income tax credit boost the market for behind-the-meter energy storage systems? Yes, but in Maryland’s experience that measure alone is not enough to unlock the market’s full potential.

In 2017, Maryland became the first state to pass legislation establishing an income tax credit for energy storage systems.

Last month, the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) announced it was accepting applications for the state’s energy storage income tax credit for the 2019 tax year. The deadline for residential and commercial customers to submit applications is January 15, 2020.

This year, up to $750,000 is available ($300,000 for residential customers, $450,000 for commercial customers) on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tax credits are capped at 30 percent of the total installed system cost, or up to $5,000 for residential systems and up to $75,000 for commercial systems. Maryland’s energy storage income tax credit is funded at $750,000 annually through the 2022 tax year.

First-year program results
Given the program’s constraints (more on that below), program officials said they have been pleased with the results so far.

“We are encouraged with the performance of the program in year one, knowing that building on current energy storage technology is key to the State’s renewable energy future,” Mary Beth Tung, MEA director, said in a statement.

In 2018, in the program’s first year, 61 residential customers and one commercial customer in Maryland claimed the energy storage income tax credit.

GTM asked MEA officials why just one commercial customer took advantage of the tax credit last year.