While we have avoided risking the spreading of false information or reacting too hastily too an ever-changing situation, here are some of the latest developments. This blog will be updated as and when new information or views arrive.
The cover image was taken at this year’s Smart Grid Expo in Tokyo, part of World Smart Energy Week and located alongside PV Expo, Battery Japan and other related events. As you can see, the event was hosted under strict WHO guidelines, meaning that face masks were compulsory while in the expo halls, and thermographic cameras checked each visitor as they entered the halls. Read my blog about the event on PV Tech.
You can still read our initial reaction piece from 24 February 2020: This was posted as it became clear the crisis unfolding in China would unquestionably have an impact on the rest of the world. My take was that even then it would likely become a global problem rapidly, requiring global cooperation and understanding. Analyst Dimitrios Pappas, analyst at new energy consultancy Delta-EE meanwhile pointed out that the US, the second biggest manufacturer of batteries after China, lags behind six-fold or more in capacity terms, meaning bottlenecks are likely to be acute through the year.
Solar Media Editor-in-Chief Liam Stoker and I discussed these and other impacts of the virus on the clean energy industry including solar on our podcast not long after that.
10-12 March 2020: The planned Energy Storage Europe event, a long-held fixture in the events calendar, hosted each year in Dusseldorf, did not take place. This site is a proud media partner to the event, which has been important not just from an industry point of view but has also hosted appearances from politicians at regional, national and European level. Here’s a couple of blogs from last year’s event, March 2019:
Big tech and new solutions at Energy Storage Europe 2019
Energy Storage Europe: Energy transition needs energy storage
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