Energy Management Systems

pv magazine has spoken to José Antonio Unanue, director of the battery energy storage system business at Ingeteam, the equipment integrator and manufacturer of the first grid-connected battery storage system in Spain, which electric utility Iberdrola launched in Caravaca de la Cruz, Murcia, at the end of November.

After announcing plans to test hydrogen fuel cell buses in November, the European coach travel route planning start-up has begun a pilot project to reduce diesel consumption by using solar panels on the vehicles of its partner companies. FlixBus says the ultra-thin, lightweight CIGS modules help save 1.7 litres of diesel per 100km.

Australian peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading pioneer Power Ledger has won a lucrative contract with Alperia SpA, one of Italy’s largest renewable electricity utilities.

Germany’s Fraunhofer IEE uses weather data relevant for transmission line limits. Two new algorithms have been developed to identify local hotspots and better benefit from over-network use.

Several large utility-scale storage projects have already been developed under Ireland’s DS3 program. Innogy says that it now plans to look for more storage project possibilities in the country.

State-owned Energy Efficiency Services and New Delhi-based Bharat Heavy Electricals have agreed to set up public charging stations for electric vehicles on highways across India.

Under the umbrella of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 initiative, the research platform ERA has initiated a new batch of future energy projects. Looking at the list of winning projects, it is easy to tell that hydrogen, virtual power plant, and blockchain projects are really at the center of what Europe thinks will be important for its net-zero carbon plans by 2050.

A report from Dutch grid operator TenneT and gas business Gasunie suggests the companies should jointly develop infrastructure after 2030. With hydrogen and synthetic methane in demand, electricity and gas will become increasingly inter-linked. Only seamless integration of the two networks would enable the EU to achieve its net-zero-carbon 2050 plan.

Scientists at Switzerland’s University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil have demonstrated an aluminum conversion process which could be valuable for long-term renewable energy storage. Simulations suggest that by employing the process, a new multi-family building in Switzerland could meet all its energy demand from a 7-11 kWp solar system.

The 25 MW/52 MWh battery at the Lake Bonney wind farm is in the final stages of testing. Once operational, the big Tesla battery will supply the electric carmaker’s Australia EV supercharger network with renewable electricity.