Energy Storage

The U.S., Japan and South Korea are the leading energy storage markets worldwide, says IHS, with each forecast to exceed 100 MW of annual installations this year. Between 2015 – 16, they are set to install 1.4 GW of new capacity. Large-scale system costs, meanwhile, are expected to fall significantly by 2019, which will spur global growth.

Electric car production is likely to accelerate in the wake of the VW emissions scandal, according to Audi’s top U.S. exec. While Daimler appears content to use Asian-made batteries, there are increasing calls for German automakers to work together to develop the next generation of batteries in Europe.

Researchers from Germany’s Technical University of Munich (TUM) have discovered key processes by which lithium ion batteries lose capacity. The scientists believe that battery life can be enhanced through adjusting the process by which lithium ion batteries form a pacifying layer on graphite anodes or by carrying out modifications on the cathode surface.

Report by KPMG India finds that the levelized cost of solar power in India will be around 10% cheaper than coal by 2020, with PV penetration rates set to reach around 5.7%.

Battery storage could be just five years away from being an economic no-brainer for some Australian solar households, according to a new report which predicts grid-connected battery storage will be economically attractive for many homes from around 2020. RenewEconomy reports.

The advanced energy storage system will optimize renewable energy generation at its water management facilities, providing “an added layer of protection” against power outages and make it easier to share renewable resources.

The British Photovoltaic Association has published a new report detailing the transition to a new kind of residential PV market. What role is energy storage playing in it?

Despite the recommendation of Germany’s scientific advisory, the Federal Ministry of Economics will wind up the KfW-storage subsidy program, for battery storage coupled with small PV arrays, at the end of this year. The Federal Ministry of Economics confirmed this news to pv magazine today. The German Parliamentary Economic Committee was informed by the Ministry this week that all of the targets associated with the program have been achieved.

In what is claimed to be the world’s largest re-use of batteries originally purposed for e-mobility, a 13 MWh system has been installed at a recycling facility in the German town of Lünen. The “second use” project has been developed in a partnership between automaker Daimler, Getec Energie and The Mobility House.

Tesla Energy has brought forward plans to begin producing its Powerwall and Powerpack products at its Nevada Gigafactory to this quarter, in a move that will push back the delivery of some products to Q1 2016. Plans to commence cell production at the Gigafactory have also been accelerated, with cells set to roll off lines by the end of 2016.