World-class Battery Storage System Helps to Power Country Town

on May 21, 2018

Phys-OrgA new energy storage system developed by University of Adelaide researchers and industry partners is now successfully supporting the electricity network for the country town of Cape Jervis, South Australia.

The new, world-class system is part of a $3.65 million trial led by the University of Adelaide in collaboration with SA Power Networks and system supplier PowerTec. The project is supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) on behalf of the Australian Government with $1.44 million in grant funding.

The mobile battery energy storage system and its specialised control system reduces peak load of the local substation, stabilises the  in the area, and supports a number of nearby customers in the event of a power interruption – all without manual intervention.

The battery receives control signals from high-voltage electricity infrastructure more than 5km away at the main powerline to the town of Cape Jervis, and makes its own decisions about how best to support local electricity delivery.

“This technology is novel because the mobile battery energy storage system’s operations are now completely autonomous,” said Associate Professor Nesimi Ertugrul, from the University of Adelaide’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

“If an outage occurs, our mobile battery system automatically runs a range of safety checks before providing back-up power to nearby houses until the main grid is restored.

“This feature means that residents can also share residential solar power with neighbours during an outage.

“This autonomous battery system has many unique and advanced features. We can monitor the system and intervene if necessary, but the system can operate safely in all kinds of situations without the need for any operator instructions,” Associate Professor Ertugrul said.

“It also allows us to understand the technology under real operating and weather conditions, and gives us the potential to create a knowledge base for industry and system developers.”

The South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining, Dan van Holst Pellekaan, welcomed the commissioning of the battery as an example of how  can be help make our system more affordable and reliable.

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Fractal Energy Storage ConsultantsWorld-class Battery Storage System Helps to Power Country Town

Storage Will Be Energy’s Next Big Thing

on May 21, 2018

BloombergThink the plummeting costs of solar and wind are transforming the energy landscape? Then you should be betting on ways to warehouse that power.

To understand why, consider: Unlike almost all their rivals in the energy-generation space, solar panels and wind turbines are mass-produced goods. That means they’re subject to the rules of continual improvement and falling costs that we see with semiconductors, household products and clothing as production volumes rise and factories undercut each other. Traditional power plants are essentially large-scale construction projects, which rarely achieve the same sorts of efficiency dividends.

As a result, the cost of new-build renewables has been sinking. The highest-cost solar and wind projects in the U.S. will now produce electricity at least as cheaply as as the lowest-cost coal plants, according to a report last year by Lazard Inc.

In Australia, that price differential means one of the world’s largest coal exporters is unlikely ever to build another generator powered by the stuff, Catherine Tanna, managing director of EnergyAustralia Pty, told a Bloomberg Invest conference in Sydney Wednesday. By the early 2020s, renewables will have gotten so cheap that it will be more cost effective to build them than to operate even an existing coal or nuclear plant, Jim Robo, CEO of Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc., said during an investor call in January.

Negative Charge

The price premium for new solar generation over coal in Asia has slumped, and gone negative in India.

Coal miners hope to see a final leg of demand over the coming decade as incomes in emerging Asia rise — but even there, the rapidly falling cost of renewables means solid fuel is close to being priced out of the market, data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance show.

The trouble with things that get extremely cheap, however, is that you often end up with too much of them. That situation is exacerbated by the no-off-switch nature of wind and solar power. Take California’s recent mandate to put solar panels on the roofs of all new buildings. As my colleague Liam Denning wrote last week, one likely effect will be to push more electrons into a mid-afternoon electricity market that’s already glutted with supply.

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Fractal Energy Storage ConsultantsStorage Will Be Energy’s Next Big Thing

Answering The Call For Long-Duration Energy Storage

on May 21, 2018

CleantechnicaA “may day”’ call this year came from the U.S. Department of Energy. The DOE made a $30 million funding commitment to long-term energy solutions through its Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) office. “Long-term,” as defined in the project scope, starts at 10 hours and extends up to 100 hours of stored energy.

Funding from the new program called DAYS (Duration Addition to electricitY Storage) is open to any technology able to meet siting, output, and cycle requirements. And the solution must deliver an average cost of 5¢/kWh cycle across the range of storage durations.

Why Fund Energy Storage

The shift to renewable energy continues, despite uncertainty about the direction of U.S. policy under the current administration.

¤ Non-hydro renewable energy generation increased +15% in 2017 with wind and solar capacity reaching 143 GW, a 431% increase in the last decade.

¤ And a recent survey of North American utility companies from Utility Dive shows sector leaders remain bullish about the growth of renewable sources. Results shown in the table below indicate the industry recognizes the transformation cannot be implemented without energy storage:

The anticipated growth reflects current commitments to cleaner energy by leading U.S. utility companies.

¤ Consumers Energy in Michigan: 40% renewable energy by 2040.

¤ National Grid in the Northeast: 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 (vs. 1990).

¤ Xcel Energy in the Central U.S.: 40% renewables by 2021, 60% by 2030.

¤ Ameren Missouri: Increase wind power to 700 mw by 2020 and solar to 50 mw by 2025.

¤ Duke Energy in the Southeast and Midwest: 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.

¤ Southern California Edison: 80% solar, wind, hydro power by 2030.

¤ American Electric Power in the Southeast and Midwest: 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 (vs. 2000).

¤ MidAmerican Energy in Iowa: 95% renewable energy by 2021.

¤ WEC Energy Group in Wisconsin: 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030

¤ DTE Energy in Michigan: At least 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.

¤ First Energy in the Mid Atlantic: At least 90% reduction in carbon emissions by 2045 (vs. 2005).

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Fractal Energy Storage ConsultantsAnswering The Call For Long-Duration Energy Storage

A Soft Solution to the Hard Problem of Energy Storage

on May 17, 2018

Drexel-NowIt’s great in the lab, but will it actually work? That’s the million-dollar question perpetually leveled at engineering researchers. For a family of layered nanomaterials, developed and studied at Drexel University — and heralded as the future of energy storage — that answer is now, yes.

For some time, researchers have been working on using two-dimensional materials, atomically thin nanomaterials, as components for faster-charging, longer-lasting batteries and supercapacitors. But the problem with the existing techniques for doing so are that when the thickness of the material layer is increased to about 100 microns — roughly the width of a human hair, which is the industry standard for energy storage devices — the materials lose their functionality.

Recently published research from Drexel and the University of Pennsylvania, shows a new technique for manipulating two-dimensional materials that allows them to be shaped into films of a practically usable thickness, while maintaining the properties that make them exceptional candidates for use in supercapacitor electrodes.

The study, published in the journal Nature, focuses on using soft materials — similar to those in the liquid crystal displays of phones and televisions — as a guide for self-assembly of MXene sheets. MXenes, are a class of nanomaterials discovered at Drexel in 2011, that are particularly well-suited for energy storage.

“Our method relies on a marriage between soft material assembly and functional 2-D nanomaterials,” said Yury Gogotsi, PhD, Distinguished University and Bach professor in Drexel’s College of Engineering, who was a co-author of the research. “The resulting electrode films show rapid ion transport, outstanding rate handling, and charge storage equal to or exceeding commercial carbon electrodes.”

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Fractal Energy Storage ConsultantsA Soft Solution to the Hard Problem of Energy Storage

US House Committee Cuts Federal Energy Research, Boosts Energy Storage

on May 17, 2018

WASHINGTON (May 16, 2018)—Today, the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations passed legislation that would cut Energy Department funding. Renewable energy and energy efficiency programs would sustain a $243 million dollar cut, while ARPA-E, a program key to advancing clean energy technology creation and development, would be slashed by about $28 million. The White House had proposed eliminating ARPA-E in their budget proposal for fiscal year 2019. The legislation would, however, also increase funding for federal energy storage programs.

Below is a statement by Rob Cowin, director of climate and energy government affairs at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

“This committee continues to miss opportunities to speed up the country’s transition to clean energy. The bill cuts the nation’s flagship clean energy research and development program, ARPA-E, which helps develop game-changing energy technologies and fills a critical gap in private sector investments.

“By reducing support for these kinds of programs, the U.S. is ceding leadership on clean energy and technological innovation to countries like China, which is investing in these technologies. You would think U.S. lawmakers would want to promote economic growth by capitalizing on the expanding global market for clean energy technologies.

“This legislation also exposes tensions in ideologies between Congress and the White House. The appropriators increased support for federal energy storage research, approving nearly $10 million in additional funding over the level set in the fiscal year 2018 omnibus bill. Energy storage systems can enable excess wind and solar energy to be stored for later use at times when the sun is not shining, and the wind is not blowing—making them more competitive with fossil fuel-based energy sources.

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Fractal Energy Storage ConsultantsUS House Committee Cuts Federal Energy Research, Boosts Energy Storage

Nissan Kicks-off UK Home Solar and Storage Sales

on May 17, 2018

Energy-Storage-NewsAutomotive giant Nissan has confirmed the UK launch of its home solar-plus-storage product, first revealed in February this year.

Speaking to an audience of car industry professionals in London yesterday Gareth Dunsmore, electric vehicle director for Nissan Europe, said that the product would allow UK homeowners to make significant savings on their household bills.

Dunsmore also said Nissan’s solution represented a “fresh opportunity” for the UK to expand on its base of 880,000 solar homes.

The launch is however behind schedule. Speaking to our UK sister site Solar Power Portal after the product’s reveal in February, Nissan’s Francisco Carranza Sierra said the company expected to start its sales process within “two to three weeks”.

Nissan’s online sales portal has now been launched using a similar tactic to the one deployed by retail giant IKEA, with Nissan also using the same lead generation service provided by UK solar player Solarcentury.

Customers are invited to provide their details and select which combination of solar and battery storage they would prefer before generating a quote that can then be pursued.

Panels are provided by Hanwha Q Cells and LG, and the battery storage system is Nissan’s own xStorage, which it has developed alongside engineering solutions firm Eaton.

System prices start at around £3,800, with more complete systems comprising additional solar panels and storage set to cost upwards of £10,000.

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Fractal Energy Storage ConsultantsNissan Kicks-off UK Home Solar and Storage Sales

Vivint Solar Is Already Falling Behind in Energy Storage

on May 17, 2018

the-motley-foolVivint Solar (NYSE:VSLR) has spent the past year cleaning up its house in residential solar after the company’s sale to SunEdison fell through. Now, operations are steadily improving. Vivint has also been one of the beneficiaries of Tesla‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) decision to shrink its solar business, and it has made a relatively quick transition to selling solar systems rather than financing them and then leasing to customers. That’s the good news.

What hasn’t been going so well for the company is its launch of energy-storage products. A partnership with Mercedes-Benz recently went up in smoke after the automaker decided to focus its efforts on large-scale installations, and its effort to go head to head against Tesla’s Powerwall apparently hasn’t been as successful as the company had expected. This leaves Vivint Solar without its key energy storage partner, and with no obvious path to becoming a leader in the rapidly growing energy-storage market. 

Mercedes-Benz abandons Vivint Solar

In May 2017, Vivint Solar and Mercedes-Benz forged an alliance to bring energy storage to the residential solar market. Mercedes-Benz’ supplied the battery units; each one had a 2.5 kW-hr capacity, and up to eight could be strung together in a storage system, enough to power the average U.S. home for about 16 hours. 

Now, the two companies are going their separate ways. Vivint Solar has already replaced Mercedes-Benz’ batteries with LG Chem batteries on its website, but Greentech Media is reporting that LG batteries are only available in Utah, and won’t be rolled out to larger markets like California until later this year. 

It’s likely that more than one fatal flaw contributed to the partnership’s collapse. The requirements an automaker has for an electric vehicle battery don’t entirely translate to what’s needed for one being installed in the home, so there could have been some issues with fit. Also, its batteries individually had far less capacity than Tesla’s 14 kW-hr Powerwall 2. Finally, Vivint Solar was relatively opaque on pricing, but Electrek has reported that the cost of a Mercedes-Benz energy storage system was between $5,000 and $13,000, which may not have been a compelling deal compared to the Powerwall, priced at $5,900 plus installation.

Replacing Mercedes-Benz batteries with LG Chem should help lower costs and bring a company more focused on what the home market needs in energy storage, so there are some positives to bringing LG Chem onboard and it’s probably the right move short-term. But it doesn’t help at all with differentiating Vivint Solar’s product in the marketplace. LG Chem is also partnering with the biggest residential solar installer in the U.S., Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN), meaning Vivint Solar is only catching up to, not surpassing, the competition.

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Fractal Energy Storage ConsultantsVivint Solar Is Already Falling Behind in Energy Storage

Lockheed Martin, ComEd Team Up For Chicago Microgrid With Solar, Battery Storage

on May 17, 2018

solar-industryLockheed Martin has signed an agreement to supply a GridStar Lithium energy storage system to ComEd, Illinois’ largest electric utility and a unit of Exelon. The 2 MWh system will be integrated into ComEd’s Bronzeville community microgrid project in Chicago.

As explained by Lockheed Martin, a microgrid is a small power grid with defined boundaries that can operate when connected to the larger electrical grid and as an “island” when there’s an interruption on the main grid. It draws on distributed energy resources, like solar power, to serve customers within the microgrid footprint. Lockheed Martin’s GridStar Lithium storage system will help ComEd integrate and use multiple energy resources to provide electricity to critical facilities in an emergency, when the microgrid is not connected to the main electric grid.

“Lockheed Martin is excited to work with ComEd on this innovative project,” comments Frank Armijo, vice president of Lockheed Martin Energy. “Improving grid resiliency and reliability is crucial to the future of secure, efficient energy supply, and Lockheed Martin is looking forward to collaborating with ComEd to reach this goal.”

ComEd’s Bronzeville microgrid will include battery storage and solar power. It will be connected to a microgrid on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), creating the first utility-operated microgrid cluster in the nation, claims Lockheed Martin. ComEd’s microgrid is expected to serve more than 1,000 customers, including critical service providers such as the Chicago Police Department. In an emergency, the microgrid will enable services to continue and demonstrate the capability of solar photovoltaics and energy storage within a microgrid.

“The use of solar PV and battery energy storage are critical features of the Bronzeville microgrid, and Lockheed Martin’s expertise in the integration of renewable energy resources will help ensure this project benefits the community and produces learnings that will inform the evolution of the system serving northern Illinois,” notes Michelle Blaise, senior vice president of technical services at ComEd.

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Fractal Energy Storage ConsultantsLockheed Martin, ComEd Team Up For Chicago Microgrid With Solar, Battery Storage

A Glimpse Into The Future of Energy

on May 17, 2018

GreenbizThe energy industry is being reshaped by major forces, including decentralization, digitization, shifting demand and prices and greater sustainability as a public policy issue. As the risks shift, so too do the opportunities. In March in Dubai, Christoph Frei, secretary general of the World Energy Council, spoke at Marsh’s Energy Industry Conference. Brock Meeks caught up with Frei after the conference.

Tom Carver: First of all, what risks to innovation do you see in the energy sector?

Christoph Frei: There are several key risk areas regarding innovation in the energy industry.

One of the main ones is decarbonization. If you look back over the past 45 years, we’ve managed to decarbonize gross domestic product by, on average, 1 percent per annum. If we want to achieve a change of 2 degrees Celsius, we must accelerate this from 1 percent to 6 percent per annum. The challenge of decarbonization is massive. We have a factor of 2.8 times more CO2 in our resources — coal, oil, gas — than we are allowed to emit.

Another challenge is innovation around electrification, decentralization and digitization. The one thing above everything else that is keeping energy leaders awake at night is the impact of digitization on the future of the energy system. New business models and digitization will define momentum on a path of innovation, which will change the way we produce and use energy in industrialized and developing worlds.

Carver: What is the industry saying about its key risk concerns?

Frei: We have an issues map where we look at about 40 risk issues in the energy sector through interviews with 300 energy leaders in more than 90 countries. Over the past five years, this has shown us a very dynamic market. The risks that have heightened in importance most dramatically are decentralized systems, digitization, electric storage, market design and renewable energies.

Issues such as carbon capture and storage have been cooling down — people just do not believe they will deliver on its promise. Unconventional, or renewable, energy is seen as less of a risk for the industry. Consider that 18 months ago, solar was being sold in Chile for 2.9 cents per megawatt. I recently spoke to several sources who said that this year they were probably looking at 2 cents per megawatt. That tells a story of continued crashing of prices.

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Fractal Energy Storage ConsultantsA Glimpse Into The Future of Energy

BRIEF-Lockheed Martin Selected To Supply Gridstar Lithium Energy Storage System To ComEd

on May 16, 2018

Decentralized-EnergyA plan by Edison-owned Exelon Corporation to build one of the first utility-scale microgrid clusters in the US has been approved by regulators.

Renewable Energy News reports that the microgrid in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago will connect with an existing microgrid on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), creating one of the most advanced clustered urban microgrids in the United States.

Joe Svachula, vice president, Engineering and Smart Grid Technology, ComEd, said in a statement, “By connecting with the IIT microgrid, we’ll learn how to integrate microgrids with renewable energy resources and how to maximize the value of the interaction between two microgrids. It’s an important step forward in our effort to develop a more secure, resilient and reliable distribution system in the future.”

According to ComEd, the neighborhood was selected following a comprehensive study to identify an overall resiliency metric for small sections of ComEd’s northern Illinois service territory and map locations where a microgrid could best address both security and resiliency. The project will serve an area that includes 10 critical service facilities.

ComEd said that the first phase of the project will include 2.5 MW of load and require reconfiguration of an existing feeder, and installation of battery storage and solar PV. The second phase will add 4.5 MW of load and 7 MW of distributed energy resources, enough to meet the peak electricity demand of customers within the microgrid footprint and maintain service when the microgrid is islanded from ComEd’s grid.

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Fractal Energy Storage ConsultantsBRIEF-Lockheed Martin Selected To Supply Gridstar Lithium Energy Storage System To ComEd