We’ve said it here, and it’s been said elsewhere: lithium-ion batteries just don’t pencil out for backup power. The incumbent technologies, like diesel generators and lead-acid batteries, have a big lead in affordability for essentially the same service.

It was surprising, then, to hear Greg Smith, the senior technical trainer for battery-maker Sonnen, tell a crowd at Solar Power International that “the overwhelming portion of the systems we sell is for backup.”

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Fewer than four months ago, the still-emerging energy storage industry faced a big challenge.

With the Aliso Canyon natural gas field in Los Angeles essentially out of commission after a massive leak, the California Public Utilities Commission called on San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison to come up with storage solutions to help ward off the risk of power outages for the upcoming winter.

The two investor-owned utilities did not have to come up with a specific amount of storage but they were under a major time constraint: SCE had to find the sources by the end of the calendar year while SDG&E was given roughly the same target deadline.

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Powin Energy, a manufacturer and developer of scalable energy storage systems for commercial and utility customers, has been chosen by Southern California Edison to build a 2 MW/8 MWh energy storage system in Irvine, Calif.

According to Powin, the selection is a result of the California Public Utilities Commission’s Aliso Canyon Energy Storage request for energy storage projects that could be operational by the beginning of 2017.

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WASHINGTON — The Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) today announced $37 million in funding for 16 innovative new projects as part of a new ARPA-E program: Integration and Optimization of Novel Ion-Conducting Solids (IONICS). IONICS project teams are paving the way for technologies that overcome the limitations of current battery and fuel cell products.

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It wasn’t all that long ago that there was no mid-tier market for solar energy-energy storage. That’s changed pretty radically in a short span of time as a result of efforts by pioneering startup and government support for development of low or emissions-free energy generation and grid modernization.

Sharp Electronics Corp.’s Energy Systems and Services Group (ES&S) on Sept. 8 announced it is allocating $25 million to finance commercial & industrial (C&I) projects that combine solar PV systems with its ¨behind the meter¨ SmartStorage energy storage system.

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The Global Energy Storage Forecast, 2016-24, published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), predicts the Asia Pacific region will host a majority of the 45 gigawatts and 81.3 gigawatt-hours of non pumped-hydro storage due to be installed worldwide by 2024. 

By then, the Asia-Pacific region will account for 53 percent of the world’s total capacity in megawatts. Three Asian countries — Japan, India and China — will be among the world’s top five markets for energy storage.

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Canadian manufacturer Sentinel Solar has announced a ‘plug-and-play’ energy storage system, the AHI Wave ESS, for residential use.

Designed for solar and storage applications, the new battery is based on the “safest, cleanest and most reliable battery chemistry ever,” according to its maker. The Ontario-based firm said it “closes the loop in the clean energy cycle” as a sustainably developed means to produce, store and consume clean energy.

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TUALATIN, OR–(Marketwired – Sep 12, 2016) – Powin Energy, a leading manufacturer and developer of scalable energy storage systems for commercial and utility customers, announced today that Southern California Edison (SCE) has selected Powin Energy to build a 2 MW/8 MWh energy storage system to provide critical grid support and capacity services. The selection resulted from a process started in response to the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Aliso Canyon Energy Storage (ACES) request for energy storage projects that could be operational by the beginning of 2017.

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LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HOUZE ® Advanced Building Science, a global leading smart zero energy innovation company, announced today during the Solar Power International 2016 trade show that it will introduce its ZEROCELL™ in the USA, Europe and UAE before the end of the year. The company is establishing a network of distributor partners ranging from retailers to solar companies to utilities. ZEROCELL and HOUZE® will start accepting online reservations atwww.ZEROCELL.World and schedule installations beginning in October.

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Energy storage is crucial for taking full advantage of solar power, which otherwise suffers interruptions from cloudy skies and nightfall. In the past few years, concentrating solar power plants have begun producing additional electricity at night and during peak demand periods by using stored heat energy to propel a steam turbine.