Utility Scale Storage

A total of PLN 4 billion ($1 billion) will be distributed under the subsidy scheme by the end of 2025 in a bid to bring online more than 5 GWh of energy storage projects by 2028.

Spanish startup BlueSolar has unveiled a patented PV-CSP system that combines hybrid panels and thermal storage to deliver uninterrupted solar power. The technology uses optical light filters to generate electricity and capture heat for storage or steam, targeting large-scale plants in high-solar-resource markets.

The energy company says it is investing a mid-three-digit million euro amount into construction of the 600 MW battery energy storage system (BESS).

In a major policy shift toward electricity market liberalization, China has introduced contract-for-difference (CfD) auctions for renewable plants and removed the energy storage mandate, which has driven up to 75% of national demand to date. S&P Global expects the move to reverberate through the global battery storage supply chain, further driving down prices already at historic lows.

TotalEnergies says it has signed a 15-year deal with RWE to buy 30,000 tons of green hydrogen per year from a 300 MW electrolyzer in Germany, while Plug Power has announced a partnership with Southwire to create a clean hydrogen ecosystem in Texas.

Pairing solar plants with battery energy storage systems (BESS) will be the main strategic focus for the country’s upcoming renewable energy auction. Each project must have a minimum storage duration of four hours to ensure sufficient grid support and energy reliability.

Norway’s Scatec Asa has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Egypt Aluminium for a 1.1 GW solar plant with 100 MW/200 MWh of battery energy storage. The agreement has been billed as Egypt’s first utility-scale PPA with an industrial offtaker.

The administrative provisions regulating the integration of EES into the National Electric System are in effect as of Monday. The incorporation of 8,412 MW of EES is planned for the 2024-2038 fiscal year.

Out of 6.9 GW of prequalified battery energy storage systems (BESS), equal to 1.9 GW derated capacity, about 1.8 GW of derated BESS secured 15-year contracts in the UK’s T-4 auction – nearly double last year’s volume. Just a week earlier, the T-1 auction also set a record for BESS procurement.

Most studies of European 100% renewable energy overlook pumped-hydro energy storage (PHES), for the following, incorrect, reasons: there are few PHES sites; more dams on rivers are required; large areas of land are flooded; large amounts of water are required; there is a heavy environmental cost; and the capital cost of PHES is high. All these perceptions are wrong.