Energy Management Systems

Although light on detail, Hydrogenics Corp’s announcement of an electrolyzer project win appears to signal the North American nation has swelled the number of power-to-gas schemes worldwide – and this one should be in operation next year.

In Cambodia, Singapore’s Cleantech is building a 10 MW solar plant including a 2.7 MW floating section, and in Lithuania, state-owned utility Lietuvos Energija is deploying a floating plant at the Kruonis pumped storage hydroelectric power plant.

A European energy system powered solely by renewables is economically feasible, according to a study which suggests decentralized energy systems operating within the framework of a stronger pan-European energy trade could reduce the cost of electricity from the €69/MWh price seen four years ago to around €51 in 2050.

The module maker and electronics giant is testing the feasibility of a complex virtual power plant with a blockchain platform provided by US-based LO3 Energy.

IHS Markit’s analysts have mapped out what they are keeping an eye out for in the year ahead. Aside from higher installation figures, the number-crunchers predict a continued battle for multi-function in the hard-fought inverter segment and a potential watershed year for utility-scale storage.

The International Renewable Energy Agency has examined how common ground between sectors; digitalization; and technological innovation can transform the energy system and lower the cost of renewables. Storage technologies such as behind-the-meter applications, utility-scale storage and power-to-x are working in the right direction and much can be learned about digitalization from other sectors.

A few weeks out from the Energy Storage Europe conference and pv magazine is featuring the top ten developments in the field as our Energy Storage Highlights, selected by an independent jury of experts. Yesterday, we presented a ’70s revival of a ceramic high temperature battery.

As national utility Eskom faces a financial and operational crisis, rumors are spreading that the government may ask independent power producers to renegotiate the tariffs of PPAs awarded in the first two rounds of its renewable energy program. South African solar association SAPVIA has already given short shrift to the idea.

The two nations have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a third power link connecting their electricity systems. The news will again initiate hope for the transfer of solar energy from Africa to Europe, but is that hope justified?

Some 377 households and a retirement home are participating in a pilot project. In the first two weeks of this month, solar power generators sold 82% of their electricity within the neighborhood. The goal of the one-year test run is to develop a viable concept for the local marketing of solar power.