A world first hybrid renewables trial, pairing a grid-connected wind farm with lithium-ion battery storage and energy management software, has been switched on in Spain, in a bid to boost the integration of variable-generation renewables into electricity networks around the world.

The project, led by Spanish wind energy giant Acciona, will use in-house developed “simulation” software to control the battery storage systems at a specially developed hybrid power plant, which is located next to Acciona’s experimental wind farm at Barasoain (Navarra).

The storage system has two batteries in separate containers: one a fast-response 1MW/0.39MWh battery that can maintain 1MW of power for 20 minutes; the other a slower-response battery with greater autonomy that can maintain 0.7 MW for 1 hour.

Both of the Samsung SDI-supplied batteries will be connected to a 3MW Acciona wind turbine – one of five that make up the Barasoain Experimental Wind Farm – and will store energy produced by the turbine when required.

The installation also has three other units: one for medium voltage cells and analyzers, another for inverters/chargers and a transformer (installed by Ingeteam, a company participating in the project), and a third for the control and monitoring equipment.

Acciona says that he main aim of the trial is to use the software and grid-connected storage solutions to optimise the quality of the wind energy that is sent to the grid.

It will also test the plants ability to provide ancillary services to the electric power system – necessary to maintain a continuous balance between supply and demand – and to shift supply to match periods of higher demand, thus improving the economic performance of the wind farm.

The project has received funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which manages the Spanish Centre for Industrial Development (CDTI).

And the Acciona-developed software – or ‘ADOSA’ (Analysis, Dimensioning and Optimisation of Storage Systems) – recently won the top prize from the Spanish Wind Energy Association, in the field of R&D.

“The application of electric power storage systems using batteries connected to wind farms and solar plants is a field with great growth potential due to the major development of renewable energies worldwide, lower battery technology prices and improved efficiency,” Acciona said in a media statement on Tuesday.

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Nevada lawmakers recently passed a number of energy bills, with two of them focusing on energy storage incentives for residential and grid-scale segments. Source: Flickr/steakpinball

Ecotricity has announced plans for a pilot storage project near its head office in Stroud in the company’s first move into utility scale storage.

The green utility has not yet specified the services its 2.5MW system will provide but has said it will begin by charging the battery with renewable power to be delivered to the grid during periods of high demand.

Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, said: “We’ve been looking at energy storage for some time now – waiting for the technology to make it possible. And we’re excited that we’re now at that point.

“Not many people know that, as an energy company, we have to manage the energy our customers use every half an hour – energy storage will better allow us to do that, meaning we can more efficiently supply energy and better manage the green energy we generate.

“This is a trial project for us – and we’re going to learn a lot about energy storage and how it can help us. And we’re hoping it will be the first of many more energy storage projects to come.”

The project will be located at Ecotricity’s Wallbridge building in Stroud, after Stroud District Council recently approved the site for change of use. A supplier and technology provider has not yet been selected and it remains unclear how the solution will be branded or when the install will be completed.

The announcement of a grid scale storage facility comes after Ecotricity was expected to carry out trials of its own domestic storage offering, the ‘Black Box’, which the utility has spent five years developing.

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It’s the thinnest material known to man—1 million times thinner than a human hair. It’s the world’s first 2D material, and it’s ultra light and transparent. It’s 200 times stronger than steel, but unlike steel, it’s flexible and superconductive—and it could be a game-changer for energy storage.

This material is called graphene—a nanomaterial hailed as a miracle material since it was isolated in 2004 by researchers at The University of Manchester, Professor Andre Geim and Professor Konstantin Novoselov, who won The Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for their experiments with graphene.

Graphene is made up of a single layer of carbon atoms in a honeycomb-like structure. Many layers of graphene make up graphite, so chances are that if you’ve drawn with a pencil, you’ve probably made graphene.

Graphene is an excellent conductor of electricity, and one of its potential industrial applications is in energy and energy storage. The material is believed to be able to dramatically increase the lifespan of lithium-ion batteries. Graphene capacitators could also provide power while using much less energy than traditional technology, and it could be potentially used in grid applications by storing solar and wind power, according to The University of Manchester.

What’s tricky about graphene, however, is that scientists, researchers, and industries are struggling to find a cost-effective way to make large commercially viable quantities of the material.

Related: Plasma Jet Engines: Is Flying At 20Km Per Second Possible?

In recent years, billions of dollars have been poured into research in the hope that this wonder graphene could be taken out of the laboratory and used in factories for large-scale production at efficient costs.

The latest graphene research breakthrough comes from Sweden, where researchers at the Linköping University have increased the capacity of the material to store an electrical charge by introducing defects into graphene’s perfect surface on silicon carbide.

Researchers studied what happens when defects in the surface of graphene are introduced in a controlled manner.

“An electrochemical process known as ‘anodising’ breaks down the graphene layer such that more edges are created. We measured the properties of anodised graphene and discovered that the capacity of the material to store electricity was quite high,” Linköping University researcher Mikhail Vagin said.

Still, the researchers admit that although their study offers more insights into how graphene could be used, much work is needed to replicate the results on a larger scale.

Research into the properties of graphene is further complicated by the fact that graphene can be produced in several, very different ways, the scientists noted.

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration has estimated energy storage and renewable fuels other than hydro, wind and solar together provide four percent of electric capacity in the United States.

As of the end of last year, 195 utility-scale geothermal units were in operation, totaling 3.7 GW. The largest cluster of these are the Geysers complex in Northern California, which has a capacity of 943 MW.

Wood and wood waste biomass makes up the largest share of biomass at 10.2 GW of capacity. Municipal solid waste, landfill gas and other waste biomass have capacities of 2.2 GW, 2.12 GW and 0.8 GW respectively.

California leads the nation in hydroelectric pumped storage, geothermal, landfill gas and battery capacity, while Florida leads in municipal solid waste. Virginia’s Bath County is the site of a 3 GW hydreoelectric pumped storage plant, which is the largest in the nation. All geothermal capacity is located in seven states in the western United States, while landfill gas and wood waste generators are in 44 states and 32 states respectively.

Nearly all currently operating batteries and flywheels were added after 2010. Battery storage now totals 540 MW, with half located in California, Illinois and West Virginia. Nearly all of the nation’s 44 MW of flywheel storage are located in New York and Pennsylvania. 

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Announcement feeds into state-wide debate over cost of rooftop solar

From energy storage systems for private homes and commercial applications to energy management and smart systems integration to e-mobility and large-scale storage systems: ees Europe, the continent’s largest and most visited exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems, will be presenting the latest trends and technologies in the industry in cooperation with the International Battery and Energy Storage Alliance (IBESA) from 31 May–2 June.

The exhibition is taking place in parallel with Intersolar Europe, the world’s leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners. The ees Forum is dedicated entirely to the most important markets and practical experiences in the production, sales, installation and application of batteries and energy storage systems, and features presentations and discussions from specialists and experts from all over the world.

Innovative storage solutions are driving the energy transition forward. As power from fluctuating energy sources is not available at all times of day or during all seasons, energy has to be stored and released again when necessary. Storage systems are therefore the ideal companion for photovoltaic (PV) installations. This combination makes a significant contribution to ensuring a stable and safe future energy supply with renewable power.

At the ees Forum (hall B1, booth B1.151), experts, exhibitors and startups will be offering insights into the latest developments in the energy storage industry on all three exhibition days. Right at the start, the market research institute EuPD Research will be reporting on the status quo and the future of the energy storage market in the keynote speech titled Current Trends and Market

Forecasts in the German and Global Energy Storage Market on May 31 at 10:15am. Subsequent presentations will address the legal conditions for the profitability of energy storage systems, installation and operation safety, and quality assurance.

The afternoon of the first day of the forum will focus on the finalists for the ees AWARD, who will be presenting their award-winning, innovative energy storage solutions at the podium starting at 1:00pm.

New technology for lithium-ion batteries, modular, easy-to-manage battery solutions as well as highly scalable mini-grids and new business models along the value-added chain for batteries and energy storage are among the many innovations that will be presented. Following this, the winners of the renowned industry prize will be announced at the Innovation and Application Forum (hall A4, booth A4.530) from 5:00pm.

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Energy storage has been called a “game changer,” a “panacea,” and a “disruptor.” It has garnered widespread interest from electric companies, residential customers, businesses, manufacturers, regulators, and policymakers. Its potential for growth has been described as “astronomical” and “colossal,” and its benefits sometimes touted as incalculable. Indeed, energy storage has the potential to be a true game changer.

It is a very promising technology that, along with other elements of a diverse resource mix, will benefit consumers by allowing greater penetration of renewable energy; creating more dynamic generation, transmission, and distribution systems; and enabling transportation electrification, microgrids, smart grids, smarter cities and communities, and all the visions of the future energy grid.

Energy storage technologies include batteries, flywheels, compressed air, thermal storage, and pumped hydropower. These technologies all provide a way to save previously generated energy and to use it at a later time, which is why energy storage is such a useful and versatile resource for electric companies and their customers.

Although energy storage has been around for decades in one form or another, only recently has it become a viable technology able to provide multiple benefits to customers as well as the energy grid, and energy storage is well on its way to becoming an integral part of our electricity system. While costs are still relatively high for many energy storage devices, costs are rapidly declining for some storage technologies, facilitating their deployment.

Yet, as penetration of energy storage increases, the limitations of existing rules and regulations are becoming increasingly apparent, prompting a review of state and federal policies aimed at reducing regulatory barriers and allowing these technologies to participate in the marketplace on a comparable basis with other resources.

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Ecotricity will today announce plans to install a 2.5MW battery project at its Stroud HQ, making the green energy specialist the latest high profile company to move into the fast-expanding energy storage market.

The company confirmed it has secured planning approval for a change of use at its Wallbridge building in Stroud and is now working on plans to install a battery storage system at the site capable of matching the output of a large wind turbine.

“We’ve been looking at energy storage for some time now – waiting for the technology to make it possible,” said Ecotricity founder and chief executive, Dale Vince, in a statement. “And we’re excited that we’re now at that point.”

He added that the project should benefit Ecotricity customers and could potentially act as a forerunner for further investments in energy storage technologies.

“Not many people know that, as an energy company, we have to manage the energy our customers use every half an hour – energy storage will better allow us to do that, meaning we can more efficiently supply energy and better manage the green energy we generate,” he explained. “This is a trial project for us – and we’re going to learn a lot about energy storage and how it can help us. And we’re hoping it will be the first of many more energy storage projects to come.”

A spokesman for the company confirmed the project was at a relatively early stage and Ecotricity was currently working to select a battery provider.

He added that the company will be looking at a “number of mechanisms” for generating revenue from the project. The nascent energy storage market allows operators to sell a range of services, including demand response, load balancing for grid operators, and back up capacity through the government’s capacity market.

Ecotricity said the project should also help curb carbon emissions by displacing the diesel generators and gas power stations that are typically used to meet short peaks in demand for power.

The plans are the latest in a series of votes of confidence for the UK’s fledgling energy storage market. For example, last week Italian energy giant Enel announced it had acquired a construction-ready 25MW project in Newcastle that is now plans to invest €20m in delivering, while demand management software specialist Limejump announced it had secured the contract to manage the 6MW Network Storage Facility in Leighton Buzzard.

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To sustain the growth profile of alternative energy systems like solar power, experts have stressed the need for the deployment of effective and quality energy storage systems like batteries.

In an interview with the Founder and Executive Director of Greenicles Solar, Lanre Okanlawon, he said there is a gradual shift from the previously cynical and doubtful stance evident of about three years ago, to a more receptive and positive outlook, stating that public perception is changing.

Okanlawon said: “In 12 months, the Solar Nigeria programme alone installed solar electricity for 170,000 homes across Nigeria. This and many other successful projects carried out by solar power installation companies have positively impacted the market and reduced reliance on the unstable power from PHCN.”

He added that apart from achieving power independence, many customers confirm there has been money savings and elimination of noise from generators by going solar.

However, he said there is an area of concern that seems to be causing dissatisfaction among a small but vocal number of customers. “Because solar panels generate electricity only when exposed to sunlight, they are heavily reliant on an energy storage medium to store the power generated during the day for use at night. This is where batteries become very essential for solar power applications,” he said.

He recalled that there had been much development in battery energy storage for solar power applications globally. Batteries have been found to ease the deployment of solar to both the most advanced societies and the most remote parts of the world.

According to him, a typical solar power system consists of solar panels, a charge controller, inverter, circuit breakers and a bank of batteries. On average, the batteries make up, at least, 40 per cent of the total material cost of a typical solar power system in Nigeria, that is, an off-grid or hybrid solar electricity system.

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