America’s second-largest PV manufacturer, SunPower, is set to test its rooftop solar leasing program in Australia, with the launched this week of a pilot program in Melbourne. The Nasdaq-listed solar […]
Tag: energy storage
Solar panels & energy storage: What to consider
Energy storage is an option whose appeal is growing globally–and Australia is no exception. But energy storage is seldom considered as an option in isolate: the vast majority of those […]
Sharp enters energy storage market with SmartStorage
In a major boost to the growing market for grid and renewable energy storage, Japanese PV manufacturer, Sharp, has recently debuted a new grid connect energy storage solution dubbed ‘SmartStorage’. […]
Sonnenbatterie energy storage systems
Sonnenbatterie is a German manufacturer of energy storage devices with a focus on electricity self-sufficiency. The company, whose name means ‘solar battery’ in German, offers products that not only store […]
SunPower to offer commercial energy storage solution in Australia in 2015
Commercial energy storage systems could hit the Australian market as soon as next year, according to leading US solar company SunPower. SunPower, one of the world’s biggest PV module manufacturers […]
Electricity pricing structures must change to prevent mass grid defection: Energetics
Electricity utilities and network operators risk sending Australia’s rooftop solar households off-grid in droves if pricing signals remained unchanged, a solar and energy storage expert has warned. Gordon Weiss, from […]
Indian village leads the way in rural electrification with solar-powered micro-grid
A small village in one of India’s poorest states has becomes the nation’s first to meet 100 per cent of its own energy needs using off-grid solar power. Dharnai village […]
15-20% of Australian solar customers interested in energy storage
Installation rates of battery storage systems in Australian homes could reach around 1,000 a year by the end of 2014, according to new estimates, as solar households look for ways […]
Sunpower and KB Homes partnership offers PV with battery storage
Sunpower is offering fully integrated solar PV and battery storage solutions for new energy efficient homes in Southern California, in partnership with US home builder KB Homes. The pilot program initially aims […]
New technique to unlock Li-ion’s replacement: the lithium-sulphur battery
Pushing the boundary of lithium-based battery technologies is a new lithium-sulphur battery technology being jointly developed by researchers in the US and Korea. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), […]
Rooftop solar will slow or reduce electricity demand in WA
Western Australia’s Independent Market Operator says it expects the state’s electricity demand to increase by nearly 2 per cent cent a year over the next decade, depending on the impact […]
US solar PV installer SolarCity to start panel manufacturing with new 1 GW factory
Vertical integration and using economies of scale to push down prices are classic strategies in economics and ones that Elon Musk, chairman of US solar installer, Solar City, is hoping […]
FRV suggests energy storage ‘multiplier’ incentive to encourage renewables, reduce peak demand
Spanish renewables group, FRV, has suggested the introduction of a form of banding, or a “multiplier,” to encourage the development of energy storage. FRV suggests a multiplier could be applied […]
Florida woman evicted for off-grid living, while QLD utilities move to encourage it
A Florida woman was served orders to vacate her own home for not being to connected to water or electricity mains, according to OffTheGridNews. The woman, Ms Robin Speronis, made […]
Aussie investors Southern Cross Ventures back US solar-plus-storage startup
A leading US developer of battery storage and energy management systems has gained backing from Australian cleantech investment fund Southern Cross Venture Partners. Southern Cross led a $15 million fundraising […]
Shady Deals at MIT a Benefit to Solar PV
A team of students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has won US$225,000 for developing an integrated chip that can recover up to twice as much wasted energy from […]
New chemical breakthrough with stabilised lithium could enable safer, cheaper Lithium-ion batteries
While many contend that lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries may be replaced with other, more promising battery technologies in the long run, incremental improvements continue to keep Li-ion relevant with promises of […]
Aussie rooftop solar now 5% of total generation capacity: IEA
Rooftop solar PV now accounts for around 5 per cent of electricity capacity and 2 per cent of electricity generation in Australia, according to a report from the International Energy […]
Energy storage at center of discussion at Intersolar Europe 2014
Energy storage has dominated discussion in the opening days of the world’s biggest solar conference, the Intersolar Europe 2014 in Munich, with industry leaders pinpointing it as a major component of the […]
Power Japan Plus introduces dual-carbon batteries to replace lithium-ion
Power Japan Plus, a Japanese battery technology start-up, revealed a new carbon-based battery as a replacement for lithium-ion technology. The new battery, trademarked Ryden, offers comparable energy densities to Lithium-ion […]
Lithium what? Know your Lithium Ion battery technologies
The solar world is abuzz with the advantages that energy storage systems can bring to solar owners. In Germany alone, their support for solar storage has resulted in more than […]
Ambri’s liquid metal battery edges closer to commercialisation
Promising grid-scale battery technology startup Ambri has recently completed its third round of funding, bringing its unique liquid metal battery closer to full-scale commercialisation. Ambri raised a total of USD […]
SunPower CEO: Australia could be a world leader in distributed energy & solar PV
Australia has been named as a potential leader in the global shift towards decentralised renewable energy generation by the head of one of the world’s biggest solar manufacturers – provided […]
Pollinate Energy to introduce solar-powered light sculpture ‘Ray’ at Sydney’s Vivid Festival
Australia’s Pollinate Energy, the NGO bringing solar-powered lighting to India’s urban poor, is planning to introduce a solar-powered light sculpture with its own personality–and name, ‘Ray’–at this year’s Vivid Festival in Sydney. […]
Energy storage both opportunity & threat as regional grid operators look to shrink assets
The head of Australia’s Energy Networks Association has predicted that grid operators in Queensland and Western Australia are likely to offload some of their extensive “poles and wires” networks. The […]
Panasonic announces stand-alone PV-storage product for remote islands
Panasonic Corporation recently announced that it has developed a 3kW/13kWh stand-alone photovoltaic power package. The product is being targeted towards remote and non-electrified areas and has been selected for use in […]
German startup Qinous aims to bring energy storage to remote areas
German startup Qinous has devised with a ‘plug-and-play’ energy storage solution that aims to bring access to cleaner, more reliable electricity to the world, beginning with a focus on remote […]
Morgan Stanley: US solar PV and solar-with-storage installs to skyrocket
Investment bank Morgan Stanley says the addressable market for solar PV in the US is way bigger than anyone had previously imagined; and battery storage costs could fall way quicker […]
Energy storage: are we there yet?
As a solar industry analyst, technologist and electric motorcycle owner, you would expect me to be optimistic about where storage is up to. The reality is, every time I turn […]
Toshiba’s SCiB batteries to be deployed in Japan’s remote islands
Toshiba Corporation recently announced an order for its innovative SCiB batteries for a large-scale renewables/storage project on remote islands in Japan. The systems were installed by Kyushu Electric Power Co. […]
Who will own the batteries? GSES suggests some ways utilities can adapt to the rise of distributed generation
Although we’re still waiting for it to happen, everyone in the Australian renewable energy sector is talking (a lot) about energy storage and its supposedly massive potential to revolutionise how […]
