Cisco DeVries

OhmConnect has announced successful integration of their Market-Aware Behind-the-Meter Battery Storage Pilot Program with SunPower, recently introduced as part of the California Energy Commission’s Demand Side Grid Support Program.

As part of a suite of programs implemented to address the energy shortages caused by heat waves, wildfires and other impacts of climate change, the program offers incentives to electric customers providing backup generation to support the state’s electrical grid during extreme events. 

Under the program, SunPower customers who are enrolled in the OhmConnect-powered SunPower virtual power plant are able to earn rewards from their stored solar power when demand for electricity is at its highest.

“By seamlessly integrating into the SunPower platform, we’ve enabled residents to participate in creating a more resilient grid, without lifting a finger,” says Cisco DeVries, OhmConnect CEO. “With OhmConnect’s years of proven success, these results not only showcase its effectiveness, but also anticipate an even more substantial impact as more SunPower customers come on board.”

Since the launch of the pilot program in August, SunPower VPP customers have provided an average of 400 kW of capacity and a total of 1.2 MWh of energy during market-triggered events, with an average participation rate of 94%, says OhmConnect.

Continue reading

Nischal Agarwal

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) through its flagship funds has taken final investment decision and commenced construction on a 500 MW energy storage system in Coalburn, Scotland. 

The facility is the first project to be developed from the partnership between CIP and Alcemi to deploy 4 GW of energy storage assets across the UK and will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe, says the company. 

The Coalburn 1 facility has been developed with landscaping and ecological mitigation measures, including the maintenance of peat reserves, as well as tree and wildflower promoting biodiversity across the site.

“Achieving final investment decision on one of the largest battery projects in Europe is a significant milestone for CIP,” says Nischal Agarwal, partner at CIP.

“It demonstrates CIP’s industrial approach in identifying a market need and delivering a large-scale project with a robust contractual framework with high quality partners and counterparties. The integration of renewable energy into the energy system requires significant investment into storage solutions and we have a significant pipeline of storage projects across the world which we hope to build in the years ahead.” 

Canadian Solar’s e-STORAGE will deliver their proprietary energy storage solution, SolBank, while H&MV Engineering will undertake the balance of plant works. SSE Energy Markets will provide the optimisation services for the project.

Continue reading

Heliene has invested an additional $10 million to expand an original manufacturing and assembly line at its Mountain Iron, Minn. facility. 

Minnesota Line One, first installed in 2018 at 150 MW, has doubled its capacity to 300 MW with this expansion, situated contiguous to the 500 MW line installed 12 months ago. These upgrades will improve the efficiency of the line and enable Heliene to manufacture TOPCon solar modules, says the company. 

“We’re proud to be delivering on our commitment to grow our U.S.-based manufacturing capacity and create new clean energy jobs with the refurbishment of Minnesota Line One,” says Martin Pochtaruk, Heliene CEO. “Recent funding and federal incentives are helping us grow our facilities and workforce to keep up with historically high demand for domestically produced solar PV modules. We’re thankful to our clients for enabling us to grow rapidly, while maintaining the customer-first approach Heliene has become known for.”

The expansion of Minnesota Line One is the latest milestone in Heliene’s continued growth and investment into the North American solar industry. In August, Heliene and community solar provider Nexamp  entered into a partnership that includes a 1.5 GW module order to support the development of national community projects. 

Heliene secured $170M in debt and equity financing from OIC and 2 Shores Capital earlier this year, with existing customers also participating in the round. Heliene also announced plans to pursue a new manufacturing facility in the greater Minneapolis area in 2024.

Continue reading

The government’s ambition is clear: to establish a globally competitive battery supply chain that not only bolsters economic prosperity but also propels the nation toward a net zero future.

In this pursuit, the UK aspires to lead the world in sustainable battery design, manufacturing, and utilisation, all while nurturing a thriving battery innovation ecosystem. As we delve into the details of the strategy, it becomes evident that while it presents a roadmap for supporting innovation in battery technologies, it also has limitations, particularly in its minimal focus on utility scale battery energy storage systems (BESS).

This article explores the impact of the UK Battery Strategy on the broader energy landscape and delves into the critical question: How does it impact the UK BESS industry?

The UK Battery Strategy lays out a ‘DESIGN-BUILD-SUSTAIN approach’ that will achieve the Government’s aims. This strategy outlines an approach for the UK government to support innovation in battery technologies. It is not comprehensive however and is concentrated on enhancing and protecting supply chains for electric vehicles.  

DESIGN focuses on supporting innovation across the battery value chain and of financing mechanisms.

BUILD focuses on building the resilience of the UK battery manufacturing supply chains, and international collaboration and support, alongside supporting energy intensive industries, speeding up energy grid connections and planning and permitting reform actions.

SUSTAIN focuses on facilitating skills for the sector and ensuring collaboration with international partners on green trade. 

The strategy outlines investment of over £2 billion (US$2.53 billion) of new capital and R&D funding for five years to 2030, an additional £38 million to enhance the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre development facilities, £12 million in the Advanced Materials Battery Industrialisation Centre, and £11 million in 20 Faraday Battery Challenge competition winners developing technologies across the battery value chain. 

The UK Battery Strategy outlines the potential for the UK to be global leaders of the sector industry and manufacturing.

The risks posed by the UK neglecting the opportunity to become a leader are acknowledged in this document in terms of both the economy and security. The significance of global cooperation and market entry alongside ensuring foreign investments occur are discussed.

How does it impact the UK BESS industry?

The UK Battery Strategy is an important first step to shape the UK into a global leader in the storage sector. However, the strategy gives minimal attention to utility-scale storage, which is vital to the UK’s goal of achieving net zero by 2050. The report primarily focuses on supply chains, manufacturing, and R&D for the EV sector.

The EV sector is undeniably important for the UK to achieve net zero by 2050, but the importance of BESS for national grid projects and the need for improved related policy has been neglected. 

The BESS industry currently faces a myriad of challenges that this strategy does little to address beyond what British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak discussed in his announcement of a supposed new approach to net zero policy, made on 20 September 2023. Sunak announced plans for a spatial plan for infrastructure, and to speed up the planning process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) and grid connection waiting times for renewable energy developments.

The strategy reaffirms Sunak’s commitment to planning reforms which we at Atlantic Green welcome. We understand first-hand the challenges for approval to be granted for renewable energy developments and the need to speed up grid connection waiting times which hinder the UK in its aim to reach net zero by 2050.

The strategy seeks to confirm the UK Government’s commitment to renewables in the UK by reiterating commitments made previously in the 2023 Autumn Statement (essentially a regular progress report on the UK economy made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer). The Autumn Statement revealed the government’s intention to respond comprehensively to the Winser Review on grid connections, potentially bringing in an extra £90 billion in investment over the next decade – a positive step.

However, this commitment appears at odds with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s criticism of opposition party Labour’s £28 billion green investment plan. He seems to overlook that future generations will see this spending not just as a financial duty but as their responsibility, as they will benefit from it.

Questions over government commitment to net zero promise

Additionally, the government’s promise to speed up planning processes is good news for renewable energy developers, offering hope for a quicker transition to sustainable energy.

The path forward seems promising, but the real risk lies in failing to keep these promises, something we are all too used to in the renewables sector.

The UK Government faced sharp criticism in September regarding its policy U-turn to delay the ban on petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035. Widespread backlash was felt in July when the granting of new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea was announced which appears to be quite contradictory to the UK reaching net zero by 2050. 

The contradictory approach taken by the UK government towards renewable energy and measures to be a global leader tackle climate change does cause the government’s commitment to reaching net zero by 2050 to be called into question.

The UK Government’s recent barrage of policy announcements committing to net zero either suggests a renewed commitment or merely a shoring up of green credentials as a general election approaches.

Regardless of the reasoning behind the commitments, what is needed is continuity in following through on commitments of the current government by the government that is in power after the next election, which by law must be held before the end of 2024.

The UK Battery Strategy charts a course towards a more sustainable and prosperous future. While it holds the promise of significant positive changes in the energy landscape and renewable sectors, it also raises questions about the government’s ability to maintain consistency in its commitments.

As the UK strives to reach its ambitious net zero target by 2050, the strategy’s focus on electric vehicle supply chains and manufacturing, while neglecting the utility-scale BESS industry, underscores the importance of a balanced approach.

The government’s recent policy shifts and apparent contradictions have left observers wondering about the authenticity of its commitment. Whether driven by renewed determination or electoral considerations, the key to success lies not only in making commitments but in honouring them, regardless of who holds the reins of power in the years to come.

About the Author

Nick Bradford is the Managing Director at Atlantic Green, a Battery Energy Storage developer. Atlantic Green is currently developing a pipeline of Battery Energy Storage with a total capacity of c. 500 MW. Atlantic Green recently picked up two wins, for Newcomer/Startup of the Year and Challenge of the Year at the Energy Storage Awards 2023, hosted by Energy-Storage.news publisher Solar Media.

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.

Continue reading

Johnnie Taul

DEPCOM Power has introduced Ciro One, Puerto Rico’s largest solar and battery energy storage system (BESS), previously inaugurated by local government and community representatives last month. 

“We are honored to join our partners on this landmark project for Puerto Rico,” says DEPCOM CEO Johnnie Taul. “Ciro One illustrates DEPCOM’s strengths in merging large-scale solar deployment, advanced BESS expertise and integrated EPC and O&M services; building critical infrastructure for the community’s energy future.”

Ciro One’s BESS integrates a lithium-titanate oxide battery, which delivers higher cycling power and lower degradation than more commonly used lithium iron phosphate technology, says the company. 

The PV system, designed to withstand hurricane-force winds, features a lower panel tilt angle and east/west row orientation. The inverter technology includes salt fog filters to mitigate the effects of salinity on the system’s power electronics.

As a pilot site for agrovoltaics, Ciro One will use one of the PV arrays for demonstration and scalability for future implementation, and use sheep to manage fast growing vegetation. Additionally, DEPCOM has developed a solution to keep the system safe in the event the grid goes down, by connecting the BESS to a PV array for power supply instead of using diesel generators.

The project is expected to produce enough energy to power 60,000 typical Puerto Rican homes, says DEPCOM, marking a step toward meeting Puerto Rico’s mandate of generating 100% of its electricity needs with renewable resources by 2050.

“This project will strengthen our island’s energy network at a scale that gets us closer to meeting our renewable goals,” says Ciro Energy Group president Mario Tomasini. “At the same time, we are maximizing the site’s potential through a multi-use approach, integrating vital agriculture with solar power generation.”

DEPCOM conceptualized, procured and managed the installation of the 90 MW PV and 51.5 MW BESS facilities alongside developer partner Ciro Energy Group, and local subcontractor Lord Construction. The system, located in Salinas, is expected to begin operation by the end of next year. DEPCOM will also operate and maintain the hybrid system for a five-year period.

Continue reading

Alcemi and CIP partnered for the development, construction and operation of a 4GW portfolio of UK energy storage assets back in March 2022. 

Alcemi also confirmed that e-Storage will provide its SolBank battery system for the 2-hour duration project. Engineering company H&MV will undertake the balance of plant works.

Canadian Solar’s e-Storage, a subsidiary of the vertically integrated solar PV company’s manufacturing division, CSI Solar, launched SolBank in September 2022. The technology utilises liquid cooled lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, alongside active cell balancing, fire safety systems with multiple levels of protection, and more.

It is worth noting that Solbank is being used to spearhead Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ expansion into the Australian market with the firm recently announcing its 240MW/480MWh Summerfield battery storage project in South Australia, as covered by Energy-Storage.news.

To read the full version of this story, 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.

Continue reading

The imminent start of construction was announced by Weil and MLL Legal, two companies which advised MW Storage on the developer’s formation of a joint venture (JV) to work on the project with infrastructure investment manager Reichmuth.

With MW Storage and Reichmuth as majority shareholders, the E.On-owned distribution network provider Bayernwerk and municipal power production consortium ZukunftsEnergie Nordostbayern (ZENOB) are also involved in the JV. The two majority owners are both headquartered in Switzerland, while the energy companies are both local to the Bavarian region.

MW Storage is itself backed by an asset manager, Swiss KMU. The developer put its first BESS project into operation in October 2020 in the Swiss municipality of Ingenbohl. The company noted at the time that the 20MW/18MWh project, performing frequency regulation for transmission system operator (TSO) Swissgrid, was funded without subsidies or public assistance.

The company has done a similarly-sized project in Finland which went into operation a year after Ingenbohl, but to date those are the only two listed as part of its portfolio on MW Storage’s website.

Global system integrator Fluence – which recently showed quarterly profit in financial results for the first time since its IPO – is MW Storage’s BESS supplier, having worked on the companies’ previous two projects.

Germany’s utility-scale BESS market seeing bigger projects

The Arzberg project was claimed to be the biggest BESS facility in Germany, according to the announcement from legal firm Weil.

It likely will be, but only retain that title for a short time. Germany’s utility-scale BESS market is finally back on the rise and it is perhaps primed to accelerate, given growing commitments at national and European Union (EU) level to renewable energy.

The main economic opportunities in Germany are for frequency regulation ancillary services and energy trading on the wholesale market. While the market enjoyed a short boom in the mid-2010s as an early adopter of battery storage for frequency regulation, opportunities in the main market, primary control reserve (PCR) quickly became saturated.

Growing shares of renewable energy and growing volatility in electricity markets across Europe in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine pushing up gas prices, have amplified the fundamental drivers for battery storage, while a waiver on fees storage operators in Germany were being charged for their use of the grid has been extended for three years. In addition to PCR, there is now also a market for secondary reserve (aFFR) which is pan-European, being rolled out across the continent’s grids.    

A feature article for our quarterly journal PV Tech Power (Vol.32) last year examined whether Germany’s utility-scale market was due for revival, despite having seen just 32MW of large-scale BESS deployed in 2021.

The German market also saw some uplift from the launch of Innovation Tenders – government-backed reserve auctions for projects that combined two low-carbon technologies, which has resulted almost exclusively in contracts for solar-plus-storage plants – and so-called ‘NetzBooster’ (‘GridBooster’) projects, which are individual large-scale battery assets deployed to directly support the transmission network.

One of those GridBoosters, to be delivered by Fluence, is 250MW/250MWh and could come online subject to regulatory approvals by 2025 while Fluence was awarded two more, each of 100MW/100MWh, in June this year.

In November, developer Kyon Energy got approval for a 137.5MW/275MWh BESS project in Germany’s Lower Saxony region, and while it might not be the biggest BESS in Europe as Kyon claimed, it was the biggest in Germany to date.

Another developer, Eco Stor, however, is also planning two projects of 300MW/600MWh each in the country. According to an expert report recently commissioned by Eco Stor, wholesale market revenues earned by wind and solar assets in the country could be increased so much by the addition of a forecasted 50GW of storage on the grid by 2037 that it could save taxpayers €3 billion (US$3.3 billion) in green energy subsidies.   

The MW Storage-Reichmuth JV project in Arzberg is scheduled to come online in early 2025.

As of mid-2022, Germany’s biggest BESS project was Lausitz Battery Energy Storage System (60MW/52MWh), at a coal plant operated by generator LEAG.

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.

Continue reading

Its priorities are to aid the rapid growth and development of grid-tied energy storage in low- or middle-income countries, as well as to further the development of off-grid renewable energy aggregation technologies.

It is into this first priority area that the latest announcement falls. The consortium’s stated goal for the 2023-2024 timeframe was to secure commitments from utilities and governments in more than 10 countries to deploy battery storage on their grids.

That effort has been a success, and the following countries signed up as ‘first-mover’ members:

(In alphabetical order)

Barbados

Belize

Egypt

Ghana

India

Kenya

Malawi

Mauritania

Mozambique

Nigeria

Togo

In addition, Indonesia showed “strong interest”, GEAPP said, without yet committing to join, while Vietnam participated in the launch, again without yet joining up.

Some of the above countries have already begun to deploy energy storage or established policies to support it, with India the furthest ahead in that journey, while others have a small handful of projects largely supported by development finance. In Kenya, for example, a feasibility study for a first project in the country has just been started, financed by the World Bank.

In a statement last week (2 December) at the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference, the alliance noted that an estimated 400GW of renewable energy is needed to alleviate global energy poverty by 2030 in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), for which 90GW of energy storage will be required.

GEAPP also claimed that level of renewables deployment would reduce CO2 emissions by a gigaton.

That 5GW would represent an initial jumpstart towards achieving that 90GW goal, with projects committed to expected to be installed and online by the end of 2027.

In addition to the buy-in from those first-mover nations, the BESS Consortium will be supported by a host of development finance institutions, non-profits, private and state-backed companies. They include the World Bank, African Development Bank and Asian Development Bank,  German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the US’ National Renewable Energy Laboratory and developers Masdar and Infinity Power.

The COP28 Presidency, which is led by the UAE, is backing the consortium as one of its resource partners, as well as being owner of Masdar.

The Global Leadership Council meanwhile has the backing of parties including the Rockefeller Foundation and Norway’s sovereign wealth.

‘Africa needs local manufacturing’ for BESS value chain

“Africa has the largest source of renewable energy in the world, especially solar power, for which it has 60% of global potential, although it uses only 1%. Consequently, despite its huge potential in renewable energy, Africa has close to 600 million people without electricity,” African Development Bank president Dr Akinwumi Adesina said in a speech at COP28 as the consortium’s members were announced.

“To change this, the African Development Bank is investing heavily in renewable energy. We currently devote 87% of our financing for power generation to renewable energy,” the president said, noting that battery storage is essential to the integration of variable renewable energy (VRE).

“That is why the African Development Bank is strongly promoting battery energy storage systems.”

Citing two examples of battery storage projects the bank is supporting, including a solar-plus-storage project in Egypt just announced by Norwegian renewables developer Scatec, Adesina said that pooled procurement could help lower the cost of energy storage equipment.

However the president argued the continent needed to go further and establish local manufacturing, taking advantage of Africa’s “global dominance in deposits of green metals” and do so profitably.

Continue reading

Jeff Blau

energyRe has raised a $1.2 billion capital package to support expansion of its large-scale renewable portfolio. . 

The portfolio, comprising utility-scale transmission and storage, onshore wind and solar generation, as well as offshore wind, will leverage these investments to advance its stated mission of decarbonizing U.S. cities.

“energyRe’s world-class renewable energy portfolio and team have earned the trust of institutional investors and are more ready than ever to advance the U.S. transition,” says Jeff Blau, energyRe’s chairman and founding partner. “We look forward to leveraging our experience and expertise to deliver reliable clean power and advance a sustainable, carbon-free American future.”

The package is comprised of committed capital investments from Glentra Capital alongside co-investors Novo Holdings and Denmark-based pension fund PKA. Glentra will leverage its track record in developing and constructing renewable energy assets in the U.S. to support the energyRe team’s growth plan. 

Additionally, Ella Group has acquired a stake in energyRe and will be offering its expertise in the development, construction, operation and maintenance of offshore transmission infrastructure; HVDC technology; transmission planning and congestion management to the partnership. 

The capital package also includes a mandated corporate debt facility to be arranged by Santander and Deutsche Bank.

Continue reading

Carlos Domenech

Enfinity Global has closed €118 million in financing for the construction of 101 MW in four utility-scale solar power plants located in the Lazio, Italy region.  

UniCredit, BayernLB and Siemens Financial Services through Siemens Bank acted as mandated lead arrangers for each project financing through a club deal structure. The financing will provide €77 million of non-recourse senior debt, €41 million of VAT financing and LC facilities for PPAs and PV modules. 

Production from these four plants is expected to translate into 172 GWh of clean electricity per year, enough to power 64,000 Italian homes and offset 69,000 tons of CO2 emissions, per the company. 

“We are delighted to partner with UniCredit, BayernLB, and Siemens Bank for this initial set of projects as we build our existing 4 GW portfolio in Italy,” says Carlos Domenech, CEO of Enfinity Global. “We are pleased to bring competitive clean energy to Italy in support of the country’s net energy needs and carbon emission reduction targets.”

Enfinity Global is currently building four additional projects in Italy, totaling 134 MW for which it previously closed €165 million in financing.

“Financing plays a key role in bringing large-scale ventures to life, especially when investing in capital-intensive infrastructure like solar power plants,” says Siemens’ Siobhan Smyth. “Significant energy projects like this emphasize the critical role of well-structured financing solutions. We are proud to continue our support as a leading financer for renewables on the way to a more sustainable future.”

The plants are expected to become operational next year.

Continue reading