MITECO did not provide a project-by-project breakdown of the generation technology types, though it said it would ‘promote’ solar PV installations.

Funding will be portioned out from Spain’s Recovery, Transition and Resilience Plan (PRTR), a €163 billion EU-funded scheme to support the renewable energy and digitisation transitions in Spain. MITECO said that the PRTR has a specific fund set aside for sustainable energy investments on Spanish islands, designed to support their relatively isolated energy systems.

Renewable energy penetration into the Canaries’ energy systems has been meagre so far, and the islands have mostly relied on fossil fuels for their energy supply.

To this end, the projects will particularly prioritise energy storage deployments at new, repowered or existing power stations. In its announcement, MITECO said that the isolated nature of the Canary Islands’ electricity networks allows it to test the use of storage as a tool for integrating storage into a ‘100% decarbonised system’.

The financial aid will cover between 40% and 75% of the investments into the projects.

In June, Spain was one of a number of EU member states which updated its National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). In the revised plan, MITECO said that it would target 75GW of deployed solar PV capacity by the end of the decade.

This story first appeared on PV Tech.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 9th annual Energy Storage Summit EU in London, 20-21 February 2024. This year it is moving to a larger venue, bringing together Europe’s leading investors, policymakers, developers, utilities, energy buyers and service providers all in one place. Visit the official site for more info.

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Hamid R. Moghadam

Rooftop solar and storage installations on Prologis buildings can now generate 500 MW of energy, the company claims, putting the logistics real estate company halfway to its goal of 1 GW of storage-supported solar by 2025. 

“With 1.2 billion square feet of premier real estate around the world, we have a significant opportunity to help our customers and the communities where we do business with rooftop solar and energy storage,” says Hamid R. Moghadam, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Prologis.

“Solar plays a central role in our work to achieve net zero emissions,” says Susan Uthayakumar, Prologis’ chief energy and sustainability officer. “Prologis has long invested in solar and increasing the amount of solar on the roofs of our buildings goes far to help us meet customer demand for cleaner energy while also contributing to the decarbonization of local grids.”

The company has been installing solar in its buildings since 2005, when its 1 MW facility in Ontario, Calif. was activated.

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Jeff Bishop of energy storage developer-owner-operator Key Capture Energy (KCE) has long been vocal in highlighting the potential his company sees for grid-scale battery storage in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) electricity market, of which Michigan is a part.

While the US’ energy storage market has grown rapidly in the past few years, growth has largely been concentrated in the biggest markets in California and Texas, with other states in the south-west and south making a significant contribution.

There are also regional hotspots elsewhere, like Massachusetts and perhaps soon New York on the east coast, but the Midwest and MISO – which is geographically the largest independent system operator (ISO) region in the US, covering all or part of 15 states and part of Canada, and second largest for electric demand served – has been lacking beyond a handful of innovative projects.

PJM Interconnection, the next biggest grid operator area for area and the biggest in terms of demand, covers parts of Midwestern states too, and had an early boom in the mid-2010s as an early adopter of “pay-for-performance” ancillary services markets which battery energy storage system (BESS) resources could play into, but became saturated some time ago, eroding revenues and largely detering new investment.

The bill signed by Governor Whitmer makes Michigan the tenth US state to adopt an official energy storage policy target or goal. What’s KCE’s reaction to that and what does it represent?

I think from a very high level for Michigan, it’s two things. So number one, they’re now leading the Midwest as far as clean energy adoption and so they have now signed into legislation 100% goal of emissions-free energy by 2040.

I remember way back in 2006, when I worked for a wind farm developer, and I would go to middle of nowhere in Michigan, whenever I was seeing family up there and scout out places for potential wind farms. That Michigan, has gone from 0% clean energy to what’s now going to be 100% in just 25 years, it’s just really transformative.

And so I’m excited for that. I’ve been wanting to do a project in the state for 20 years. Anything that gives me an excuse to go see family! It’s transformative in that way, for the state.

And then, we’re going to be seeing legislation like this all throughout the Midwest, and Michigan is just going to be the start.

The establishment of the target – as well as the rest of the clean energy policy package – has been a while in the making. Was that process something you were able to get some visibility on, and perhaps have some input as well?

[At] our company, ever since I co-founded it back in 2016, we focus on the markets that are going to be the major ones in three to five years.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer as the clean energy package was signed just over a week ago. Image: Gretchen Whitmer via X/Twitter

And so it’s not surprising, in 2020, when we started our first energy storage development project within the state, at the same point, we started getting engaged in stakeholder processes as well because, we saw something here.

Today we have 700MW of projects in various stages of development within Michigan, and are really excited to be able to compete to provide battery storage as part of this 2,500MW goal by 2030.

Obviously, MISO overall, just needs more capacity. Looking at all the coal plant retirements, even the natural gas plant retirements that are in Integrated Resource Plans [published regularly by utilities], and they just need more capacity. That’s where storage can really shine.

We do have a lot of other developments throughout MISO, the region needs it. Whether that’s Illinois, whether that’s Minnesota, whether that’s Indiana, the region is going to be needing standalone battery storage projects. We definitely ramped up our development activities three years ago, all throughout the entire ISO and plan on continuing.

Presumably the target was set at 2,500MW by 2030 based on various criteria, and ultimately, these targets are far from being the only way energy storage gets deployed in the US. How though, does that target level align with your view of the need for storage, as a developer active in Michigan?  

Back when I was 20, I worked on my first wind farm on the development side. For more than two decades since, anytime that we saw Renewable Portfolio Standards come out, it was always a huge stakeholder process. The environmental groups really helped lead the way to creating great industries.

All the targets would start relatively small, and then the states quickly realised both how cost-effective they were, how much economic development came from them, and how entire industries can be created. Then pretty much every single Renewable Portfolio Standard in the States has gotten significantly bigger.

I assume the same will happen with energy storage, where we’ll start with today what will look big, but tomorrow will look relatively small and get bigger from there.

Again, just looking at what the state and what MISO needs; as they get to more weather-dependent sources of energy, are going to be needing the backup capacity.

Whether it’s our projects or somebody else’s projects, they need the energy storage, and I’m going to be very intrigued to see how this market emerges.

Is there a typical kind of profile of an energy storage project that you’re thinking about in Michigan, or that you might expect to result from this target?

Right now, in general the MISO market incentivises 4-hour duration. I expect that’s going to be what most parties target, but as more energy storage is deployed, and as the longer duration storage that’s out there, that’s really really cool, bleeding edge stuff, I expect the overall market will shift.

I think four hours is probably the initial sweet spot and then after that, it may go to some longer duration projects as well.

For KCE, we started in Texas with 1-hour to 2-hour batteries and now at this point are only doing to 2-hour+ batteries within the state. Things will continue to evolve, but at least for now, it looks like 4-hour will most likely be the sweet spot.

As to how the target will ultimately lead to deployments: do you think it’s something that’s been determined yet? Or is going to now be figured out a little bit in terms of which we sort of markets energy storage plays, in what sort of ancillary services opportunities might be there, and so on?

It’s going to be really interesting to see how the implementation of this policy is going to be going over the next few years. Right now, Michigan is the de facto leader for battery storage in the entire Midwest and is leading as far as what other states will likely do, and it will continue to be a stakeholder process. 

Like in every market, I never quite know how they’re going to evolve, I just know directionally where the market is going to go. Directionally, they need capacity.

Coal is 30% right now of Michigan’s generation and natural gas is 30%. Battery storage is going to be coming in and replacing a lot of fossil fuels and I assume they’re going to be needing the 4-hour batteries right now, but during the stakeholder process, a lot of people way smarter than me will be involved and ultimately help determine what the market is going to look like.

As well as replacing retiring capacity, we see energy storage being deployed to manage growing demand for electricity in the face of electrification, not just of transport but also buildings and industry.  Those of us outside the US perhaps know of Michigan as a traditional home of manufacturing. Is there a sense that this target can help harness clean energy as a stimulus to the regional economy?

I grew up in Pennsylvania, but my entire mom’s side of the family is in Michigan. So I get to go a few times every year. Overall, Michigan, as part of the Midwest, they know how to build stuff.

Michigan is a historic manufacturing centre for the US, home to ‘Motor City’ Detroit. Image: FCA

At KCE, we were acquired by SK two years ago now and our parent company, they have a fair amount of manufacturing within Michigan, and it just comes down to: the state knows how to build stuff.

So anytime a target like this comes about, you expect industry to follow. Anytime there are price signals that make you known that a market is going to exist in the future, as a developer, you put money in and you start to develop and then as the manufacturer, you look to see where the market is going, and where makes the most sense, from a supply chain perspective. Michigan is incredibly well positioned at this point. It’s just cool!

Overall, Midwest and MISO is where I think batteries are going to be most needed over the next five years out of anywhere in the country. Just to start to see the signals happening now, from an industry perspective, that’s really exciting.

What do you think the impact of this legislation will be onto other states, within MISO, the broader Midwest, and the rest of the US?

Illinois, last year, they put out a potential goal that didn’t pass through, but it would have been for 7,500MW of energy storage. That could  

But, once Michigan proves that this is good for ratepayers, it’s good for reliability, it’s good for economic development, other states follow. This is going to be the first of what I expect to be many. MISO needs it.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 5th Energy Storage Summit USA, 19-20 March 2024 in Austin, Texas. Featuring a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders focusing on accelerating the market for energy storage across the country. For more information, go to the website.

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Marc N. Casper

Thermo Fisher has entered into a 15-year virtual PPA with ib vogt for a 91 MW portion of the Serbal solar project, located in Spain. 

Eurofins Scientific collaborated in the aggregated deal for a 36 MW portion of the project, expected to be operational in January 2025. Thermo Fisher’s share will match over half of its addressable European sites by delivering approximately 192,000 MWh of 100% renewable electricity annually, says the company. 

To further accelerate its climate progress, Thermo Fisher has established a commitment to achieve 80% renewable electricity globally by 2030, in alignment with the Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force joint supplier standards. The aggregated shares will simultaneously reduce both Thermo Fisher’s and Eurofins’ respective Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions.

“This new global climate goal not only strengthens our record of accelerated progress toward net-zero emissions, but it also underscores our collaborative approach on this journey,” says Marc N. Casper, chairman, president and CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific. “By working together with customers who share our vision for a healthier planet, we can achieve even greater impact across our collective value chains. We thank Eurofins for partnering with us on this meaningful action and ib vogt for the opportunity to expand our virtual power purchasing efforts beyond the U.S.”

“Renewable electricity offers a tangible way for global companies to reduce their emissions,” adds Anton Milner, ib vogt CEO. “We want to thank Thermo Fisher and Eurofins for selecting this site and for taking an approach that will power their sustainability goals and move the life sciences industry to the next chapter in the energy transition to net zero.”

Sustainability Roundtable advised Thermo Fisher and Eurofins on this VPPA.

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Derick Botha

GameChange Solar (GCS) has opened a new training, service and technical support center, dedicated to its Genius Tracker product line, in Cape Town, South Africa. 

The new center is expected to be staffed locally by employees able to train EPC companies and installation technicians on project construction and assembly of the tracker’s components. The training site will also contain a warehouse for GCS equipment to provide support for projects in the region.

“By providing an in-person training center in Cape Town, the South African hub for the solar industry, we will be able to deliver higher quality hands-on local training and service for solar project owners and EPCs before, during and after project construction,” says GCS’ Russ Bowden. “With the current growth of our business in Africa, it was essential for GCS to have a local team of local experts who can respond quickly to the needs of our customers.”

“GameChange Solar entered the South African market in 2021,” adds GCS CCO Derick Botha. “We are thrilled that our growth in the region since then has led to this new milestone of opening the training and service center in Cape Town.”

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Anthony Smith

Secure Solar Futures has signed a 25-year PPA with Roanoke City Public Schools (RCPS) to develop a 1.7 MW system. 

The company will install a total of 3,667 solar panels manufactured by Trina Solar at seven locations: Fallon Park and Fishburn Park elementary schools; James Breckinridge, John P. Fishwick, Lucy Addison, and Woodrow Wilson middle schools; and the William B. Robertson central administration building. Construction will begin early next year and is slated to be complete by 2024’s close.

“Going solar helps Roanoke City Public Schools protect their budgets against volatility in utility costs that is likely in the future,” says Anthony Smith, Secure Solar Futures president and co-founder. “And hosting solar energy systems on site makes RCPS a leader in protecting the environment while offering students hands-on opportunities to learn about renewable energy and tap into the 21st century economy.”

In its first year, the system is set to produce 2,287,402 kWh of electric power, offsetting nearly 39% of the electricity demand of the seven locations combined, says the company. 

Arrays will be installed at no upfront cost to RCPS. After installation, Secure Solar Futures will own, operate and maintain the equipment, selling the clean energy produced to the school division at a cost generally lower than the rate charged by the local electric utility for the term of the PPA. 

“Utilizing solar power, as set forth in our strategic plan, will allow RCPS to be better stewards of our environment,” says Dr. Verletta White, superintendent of Roanoke City Public Schools. 

At the conclusion of the PPA, RCPS will take ownership of the system at no additional cost, producing its own energy for the remainder of the equipment’s expected 35- to 40-year productive lifespan.

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Another thing the projects on the two island territories have in common is that they will enable 30% or more of the energy consumed on both the US Virgin Islands, with a population of around 80,000 people, and St Kitts & Nevis, with a population of around 47,000, to come from renewable energy sources.

Sustainable technologies helping reduce cost of electricity

Honeywell will supply its battery energy storage system (BESS) technology to six solar PV projects in the US Virgin Islands that will take the archipelagic unincorporated US territory to 30% renewable energy consumption.

US-headquartered automation and engineering group Honeywell’s battery storage units totalling 124MWh will be paired with 140MWdc of solar PV at six solar parks spread out on St Thomas, St Croix and St John, the three main islands that comprise the territory.

It’s a big step forward for the US Virgin Islands – according to the national Energy Information Administration (EIA), as of 2020, less than 10% of electric generation came from renewables, and as recently as last year, solar PV’s share was only about 3%.

Most of the islands’ electricity is generated by propane or fuel oil, which comes with an associated cost that means US Virgin Island residents pay US$0.41/kWh for their power, around three times more than the US average of US$0.15/kWh.

“This renewable project is an example of how sustainable technologies are helping reduce the cost of energy for the people of the US Virgin Islands and around the world,” Honeywell Process Solutions president Pramesh Maheshwari said.

Honeywell has been contracted to supply the equipment for renewable energy solutions provider VI Electron, a subsidiary of Massachusetts-based renewables group CB Loranger. Honeywell did not offer comprehensive details of the BESS and associated technologies to be used at the sites, but did note that the systems will be integrated with Honeywell’s battery management system (BMS). The BMS’ control capabilities will enable forecasting and optimisation of energy usage and costs against expected solar production from weather reports, demand on the grid and so on.

“It propels us closer to our goal of achieving 30% renewable energy consumption in the US Virgin Islands, fostering a cleaner and greener energy ecosystem,” US Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan Jr said.

According to the EIA, about 80% of the solar that is installed on the islands is distributed rooftop PV, and only 20% utility-scale. The new projects will also alter that balance significantly, although a release from Honeywell did not mention expected timelines for their completion.

Other recently announced project contracts for Honeywell’s BESS division include what could be Vietnam’s first grid-scale BESS asset, for which the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding in May with Philippines-headquartered developer AC Energy (ACEN), and Vietnam’s AMI Renewables.

Much of the company’s other activities have been focused on battery storage solutions for the commercial and industrial (C&I) market segment, with Honeywell launching its newest BESS product, Honeywell Ionic, integrated with the company’s own energy management system (EMS), Experion Energy Control System, for mid to large C&I applications, in June.

Renegotiated contract for delayed St Kitts & Nevis project

The single-site project contract Leclanché is fulfilling on St Kitts & Nevis may have a similar impact on an island region, but there’s a less fortunate reason for the timing of its announcement.

The news may sound familiar to regular readers of Energy-Storage.news, as the project was among those that fell victim to fluctuating cost dynamics in the post-pandemic era.

Leclanché will provide a 43.6MWh BESS solution to be paired with 35.7MWp of solar PV, to a project by developer SOLEC Power.

In fact, Switzerland-headquartered battery manufacturer and BESS system integrator Leclanché originated the project back in 2019, when it secured land for it before negotiating a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the St Kitts & Nevis government.

There were then false starts over the project’s commencement, and it was greatly delayed due to COVID, with Leclanché and the government prematurely celebrating groundbreaking in late 2020, needing to find extra financing in 2021 to keep it afloat, before again saying the start of construction was close at hand in June 2022.

However, all involved will be hoping a third time will go more smoothly: the project is finally ready to go, after a renegotiation in terms of the PPA signed between Leclanché’s project development vehicle, SOLEC Power (formed as a joint venture with Canada’s Solrid Ltd), and state-owned St Kitts Electricity Company (SKELEC) was agreed upon.

Following a “complete and thorough review” of the PPA deal directed by St Kitts and Nevis government and assisted by the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), the government requested that the PPA price be reduced, that opportunities for local investment to get involved be written into project terms and putting in place “rigid timelines,” the government said.

Under the renegotiated terms, the project is expected to save the St Kitts economy US$200 million in costs associated with importing diesel to burn for power generation over its 25-year lifetime. Put another way, it will reduce the cost of power generation by 40% versus diesel, providing multiple applications from making the onsite solar PV dispatchable to the grid at times of high demand to ancillary grid services including spinning reserve, and providing some emergency backup to the grid.

Construction is now expected to begin in Q2 2024. Leclanché said it would provide the solar PV technology as well as BESS, which will be integrated with the company’s own battery management system (BMS). The Swiss battery cell and energy storage technology group launched LeBlock, its latest modular BESS solution, in 2021.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 6th Energy Storage Summit USA, 19-20 March 2024 in Austin, Texas. Featuring a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders focusing on accelerating the market for energy storage across the country. For more information, go to the website.

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US-listed private equity firm KKR has also announced a £600 million investment to become a joint majority shareholder alongside Infracapital. This was reported by our sister publication Energy-Storage.news in September but now has been officially confirmed.

In total, this means £870 million will be pumped into the business, equivalent to US$1.095 billion. The company in fact topped a list of VC-funded deals in the battery storage sector for the year to the end of Q3, according to research from Mercom Capital.

The investment in Zenobē will enable the firm to continue to expand its battery energy storage portfolio and support the company in powering 4,000 electric buses, trucks and commercial vehicles by 2026.

At the time of reporting, Zenobē has supported over 1,000 electric vehicles globally and has 430MW of battery storage in operation or under construction. This is across a number of international markets including the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America.

Zenobē has been working on a number of notable grid-scale BESS including a 300MW/600MWh unit in Blackhillock, Scotland, on which construction started earlier this year with commercial operation scheduled for mid-2024. That is part of a portfolio of four sites in Scotland totalling 1050MW/2100MWh of energy storage.

The BESS developer-owner won Developer of the Year at the 2023 Energy Storage Awards three months ago.

To read the full version of this article visit Solar Power Portal.

Energy-Storage.news publisher Solar Media will host the 9th annual Energy Storage Summit EU in London, 20-21 February 2024. This year it is moving to a larger venue, bringing together Europe’s leading investors, policymakers, developers, utilities, energy buyers and service providers all in one place. Visit the official site for more info.

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The PV system has been designed to withstand hurricane-force winds – which Puerto Rico is prone to experience, and was severely hit by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 – with a lower panel tilt angle and east/west orientation, while inverters include salt fog filters to mitigate effects of salinity on the system’s power electronics. The plant is built alongside developer Ciro Energy Group and local subcontractor Lord Construction.

Utility-scale projects in Puerto Rico are scarce due to the limited land available on the island, while its residential market is much more developed. This was fast-tracked after the territory was hit by hurricanes Irma and Maria, which put the island in a total blackout. These unfortunate events boosted interest in and consciousness of solar-plus-storage on the island’s residential market, as covered in a recent PV Tech Premium article.

To read the full version of this story, visit PV Tech.

DEPCOM VP of energy storage business development Greg Weyl recently spoke to Energy-Storage.news about the company’s combined EPC and operations and maintenance (O&M) role at a 200MW/800MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) for Arizona utility Tucson Electric Power.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 6th Energy Storage Summit USA, 19-20 March 2024 in Austin, Texas. Featuring a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders focusing on accelerating the market for energy storage across the country. For more information, go to the website.

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Honeywell will provide VIElectron, a CB Loranger Company, its first installment of battery energy storage solutions (BESS) to six solar parks across the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

The solution will enable VIElectron to install panels across St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John, while the 124 MWh BESS will include an end-to-end battery management system delivering energy controls with an integrated safety system. 

“Honeywell is committed to helping our customers achieve their energy targets and decarbonization goals,” says Pramesh Maheshwari, president of Honeywell Process Solutions. “This renewable project is an example of how sustainable technologies are helping reduce the cost of energy for the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands and around the world.”

“As we embark on a transformative journey toward renewable energy, Honeywell’s battery storage expertise aligns seamlessly with our vision,” says U.S Virgin Islands governor Albert Bryan Jr. “It propels us closer to our goal of achieving 30% renewable energy consumption in the U.S. Virgin Islands, fostering a cleaner and greener energy ecosystem.”

When completed, the solar array and BESS will boost the islands’ decarbonization efforts by fulfilling 30% of its energy consumption through renewable sources, says the company. It adds that these capabilities will help enable the U.S. Virgin Islands to forecast and optimize energy usage and costs through the 140 MW solar array.

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