Software for energy storage systems will be a mixture of in-house solutions by integrator/developers and third-party providers, in an industry segment set for a steep rise in value, according to one expert.

A new report from Navigant Research has predicted a steep rise in the value of energy storage software. Navigant analyst Alex Eller told Energy-Storage.News that cumulative vendor revenues will rocket from US$201.2 million this year to US$3.4 billion by 2025. The report itself looks at both utility-scale and behind-the-meter energy storage software, including residential, commercial and industrial (C&I) and large-scale, from a range of providers with a range of approaches.

Software is a vital piece of the advanced energy storage puzzle, used in three key areas: analysing projects, controlling and operating storage systems, and system optimisation. As Eller points out, software determines how effectively the storage will achieve revenues or savings, whether that be in helping C&I customers reduce demand charges on their bills or providing multiple or ‘stacked’ services to grid operators.

While on the one hand the right software can effectively manage and control systems, it also plays its role even before systems are built.

“Usually a lot of the same vendors that have management systems platforms also do system design and analysis,” Eller said.

“So before anything even gets built they can model how components are going to interact, the optimal size for the system and all different operating parameters that are going to allow streamlined installation, make the whole process faster and more accurate, you’re not going to have systems that are oversized or undersized, theoretically that’s the idea there.”

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U.S. energy producers of all kinds see reasons for optimism as they start 2017, though the incoming Trump administration may spell trouble for some of a greener hue.

Among oil drillers, a recent uptick in prices suggests an end to a slump that has persisted since mid-2014, while natural gas, solar and wind energy companies aim to build on their gains in U.S. electric power markets in 2016.

Even the struggling nuclear sector can point to victories in New York and Illinois, where unprofitable reactors were saved by state actions last year.

That said, here’s a list of some of the most notable energy developments for the U.S. in 2016 — ones that may set the stage for how Americans produce and use energy in 2017.

The re-emergence of OPEC

For the first time since 2008, OPEC agreed to cut its oil output in a bid to boost prices and recover some market control. Saudi Arabia and other cartel members were joined by Russia and other non-OPEC nations in agreeing to curtail production by nearly 1.8 million barrels a day in 2017. It’s still too early to say whether the deal will stick, though Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was up by 12% on Friday from   Nov. 30, when OPEC met. Not bound by the deal are U.S. producers, whose output could jump thanks to higher prices.

Trump promises energy shakeup

Donald Trump’s surprise election will mean a significant shift in U.S. energy policy. The president-elect has promised to promote oil, natural gas and coal aggressively, and pull back on Obama administration commitments to fighting climate change. The men he has chosen to head the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Department, not to mention the State Department, indicate he intends to follow through on those commitments.

Temperatures up, carbon emissions flat

The year 2016 is likely to be the hottest on record, surpassing record highs set in 2015 and 2014. This comes as the 2015 Paris climate agreement, signed by the U.S. and nearly 200 other nations to avoid a catastrophic increase in temperatures, took effect. Still, carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels are likely to rise only slightly globally in 2016 and fall a bit in the U.S., thanks considerably to reductions in coal use, the Global Carbon Project reports.

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Climatescope, a new report from BNEF, was released last week, and while many news outlets highlighted the finding that solar is now cheaper than wind, the report contains numbers that signal another major shift in renewable energy.

The report focuses on “clean energy market conditions and opportunities in 58 emerging nations in South America, Africa, the Mideast, and Asia” and contrasts the progress of these poorer nations against the achievements of the OECD countries — the wealthier nations of the world that are members of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development.

And for the first time, the developing nations are winning.

The center of the clean energy universe has shifted from north to south

The 58 emerging-market economies aggregated in the Climatescope report set a record for clean energy deployed in 2015 with 70 gigawatts built, compared to the 59 gigawatts of clean power deployed in the 35 wealthier OECD countries. Cumulatively, the developing nations have won $154.1 billion in cleantech investment and added more clean energy capacity, with faster growth rates than the OECD nations using both those metrics. 

According to the report, 80 percent of the developing nations studied now have national clean energy targets, while three in four have set CO2 emissions reduction goals.

China played a big part in this, but “less-developed nations also played a role.”

There is a downside to record rates of renewables being added to existing grids, and that’s integration challenges. The report notes that some nations have built wind or solar projects despite not having the “associated transmission to deliver power” along with “grid operators [prioritizing] delivery” of power from fossil-fuel plants over those from renewable sources.

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The summer of 2016 was one of dire warnings for Southern California energy consumers.

A massive methane leak from the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility outside Los Angeles had drained the region’s natural gas supply, and the word went out that gas shortages could disrupt the region’s power deliveries by the summer of 2017.

Amid fears of rolling blackouts across the nation’s second-largest metro area and beyond, utilities like Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric latched on to a solution that for years had been quietly deployed, but needed an event like a looming gas shortage to be thrust into prime time.

The solution was large-scale battery storage.

Thanks in part to California’s crisis, but also improving economics and new state policies, the technology is preparing for unprecedented growth in the United States over the next several years. As much as 1,800 megawatts of new energy storage — mostly from lithium-ion batteries — is expected to come online by 2021, according to GTM Research, which tracks the sector for the Energy Storage Association.

That’s eight times larger than total U.S. installed energy storage capacity in 2016 and should translate into nearly 5,900 megawatt-hours of stored electricity that can be dispatched quickly to address power outages, shave peak demand charges or simply enhance grid reliability, according to experts.

Energy storage is also critical to solving the intermittency challenges associated with renewable energy. That’s because batteries can smooth the ebbs and flows associated with wind and solar power by supplementing the grid when those resources are not available.

“One of the trends we’re seeing lately, and what could be a game-changer, is the level of utility interest and involvement,” said Anissa Dehamna, a principal research analyst and head of the energy storage team at Navigant Research. “We’ve had growth of a little over 200 percent [annually] in the past, and we’re expecting that trend to continue in the North American market.”

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It’s really no wonder lithium is compared to oil so much these days; they’re both absolutely essential to the way our world works.

Crude oil is a major component of… well, basically everything in one way or another.

It’s the ingredient necessary to keep our electronics running, in addition to supporting a number of other industries as well.

Of course, we can’t forget that lithium is setting itself up to be a major player in fueling our transportation. Personal cars, buses, and even delivery trucks are going all electric nowadays.

And depending upon where you live, lithium could already be powering your home, too.

Is there even a question that utility-scale storage is absolutely killing it right now?

It’s actually more popular than home storage systems, much to the chagrin of companies like Tesla. Have you noticed you haven’t heard anything big about the Powerwall lately? It wasn’t a fan favorite.

Of course, that hasn’t deterred Tesla from joining the big boys in the energy storage industry…

Growing Storage

Tesla has recently teamed up with Southern California Edison to build a 30-megawatt storage project in San Diego County.

This one will work alongside AES’s 37.5-megwatt two-facility storage project in the same area.

In fact, California has been commissioning large-scale storage projects like these for years.

These two projects were expedited after a gas leak in late 2015 left Southern California utilities scrambling to keep the power on.

The systems will store energy from nearby solar and wind installations, then distribute the power back onto the grid at peak times.

Not only will this act as coverage in case regular baseload power goes out again, but this setup will make it easier for the state to integrate more renewable infrastructure later down the road.

And this isn’t the only large-scale system Tesla has installed recently, either.

The company’s first large-scale storage system in Europe was installed in the UK earlier this year. The project was paired with a solar PV farm in Somerset and, if successful, will be the first of many such installations across the UK.

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EMERYVILLE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Greensmith Energy, the leader in energy storage software and integration, announced 130 megawatts of new energy storage systems in 2016, all powered by the company’s industry-leading software platform, GEMS5. The multi-project year includes the design and delivery of the largest energy storage system in the world deployed in Pomona, California providing 20MW/80MWh capacity.

“There’s no question 2016 was another record-setting year for Greensmith and the energy storage industry as a whole, particularly from a grid-scale perspective”

“There’s no question 2016 was another record-setting year for Greensmith and the energy storage industry as a whole, particularly from a grid-scale perspective,” said John Jung, President & CEO of Greensmith Energy. “As the industry begins to grow and expand, Greensmith has seen rapid transition from test systems and pilots to bankability and ROI over the past eight years. As perhaps the largest provider of energy storage software and turn-key systems to some of the largest power companies in the world, coupled with tier one battery and PCS vendor relationships globally – Greensmith enjoys a holistic view of the entire market.”

With this perspective, Greensmith offers seven predictions for 2017:

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