Keeping the lights on while decarbonising will require far more energy storage than the EU market is set up to facilitate, the EC said. Image: NASA.

The European Commission (EC) has published a strategy through which energy storage can become a cornerstone of a decarbonised and secure energy system for the European Union (EU).

Described by one source as a de facto ‘Energy storage strategy’ for the bloc, the recommendation document was published today, setting out the ways Member States of the EU can assess their individual and collective requirements for energy storage.

The recommendation comes in the wake of the EU considerably upping its EU Green Deal renewable energy targets with REPowerEU, its follow-up strategy focused more on achieving energy independence, particularly regarding decoupling from imported Russian fossil fuels.

Overall, that means achieving the Green Deal’s aim of climate neutrality by 2050, and an interim 55% reduction in net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. Meanwhile, clean energy would be an important tool for accelerating the reduction in dependence on gas from Russia.

The recommendations were referred to in brief in a leaked draft of the EC’s proposals on reforming the EU’s Electricity Market Design (EMD). The finalised EMD proposals came out today, as reported by sister site PV Tech. These are set to be discussed and agreed upon by the European Parliament and Council before coming into effect.

As mentioned in Energy-Storage.news’ coverage of the leaked draft yesterday, the EC wants Member States to assess their need for flexibility in their energy networks – which is set to become acute as the proportion of energy taken from variable renewable sources like solar PV and wind grows.

The document pointed out the various strengths and capabilities of energy storage to provide value to multiple stakeholders across Europe. Most of these will be familiar to regular readers of this site, but it is perhaps encouraging to see them spelled out by a multilateral legislative body like the EC.

Indeed, the recommendation is subtitled: ‘on Energy Storage – Underpinning a decarbonised and secure EU energy system’.

“To achieve the Union’s climate and energy targets, the energy system is undergoing a profound transformation characterised by improved energy efficiency, the massive and rapid deployment of variable renewable energy generation, more players, more decentralised, digitalised and interconnected systems and increased electrification of the economy,” the EC wrote in its recommendation, adding that that means flexibility resources like energy storage, demand response and interconnection between grids will be key, with the EU projected to reach 69% renewable energy by 2030.

The recommendation also highlighted that as well as batteries used for electricity storage in the power sector, thermal energy storage technologies which can provide renewable heat will also be essential.

Meanwhile energy storage can promote the decarbonisation of multiple sectors, whether through electric vehicles (EVs) and associated infrastructure, or through electrification of buildings and commercial and industrial (C&I) premises.

Elsewhere, the EC highlights the value of energy storage for individual consumers including households and businesses behind-the-meter, such as increasing self-consumption of solar PV energy generated onsite. Remote regions such as islands can also become more self-sufficient as well as decarbonised with the deployment of storage.

However, the EC noted that a number of challenges remain for the deployment of energy storage. Some of those challenges are linked to the difficulty in providing long-term revenue predictability and visibility to investors, making it hard to access finance.

Nonetheless, the EU electricity market is already designed to allow full participation of energy storage, meaning that in theory it can access different revenue streams and ‘stack’ revenues, maximising the value they bring to the system.

Facilitating change: 10 recommendations in strategy

EU State Aid rules allow for investment in energy security and supply measures to promote greener energy options. Energy storage falls neatly in line with that, with the likes of Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Finland already benefiting.

Transmission system operators (TSOs) should be able to leverage the benefits of energy storage in helping to manage peak demand on the grid, and the EC said “well-designed network charges and tariff schemes that strengthen the use of flexibility tools such as energy storage” would further enable that, with TSOs required to plan their investments on a 10-year horizon.

The EC’s recommendation featured a 10-point plan, which is further explained in detail in a 35-page Staff Working Document.

In short, it calls for the removal of existing barriers, such as ‘double-charging’ – whereby energy storage facilities have to pay twice to use the grid, once for drawing energy from it and again for injecting energy in. Double-charging rules are gradually being toppled across some European grid networks but still exist on others.

The aforementioned assessment of individual states’ flexibility needs features prominently, including a recommendation that national regulatory authorities play a role in making sure these are done properly by energy system operators.

The EC called for Member States to identify “potential financing gaps” and find ways to help bridge them, including the need for financial instruments to provide some revenue visibility and certainty for investors.

Other recommendations include: that ancillary services markets are examined to see if they provide adequate recompense and revenue stacking opportunities for the various grid-balancing services such as frequency regulation; that Member States consider the introduction of competitive bidding processes for flexibility resources; that they identify any regulatory and non-regulatory barriers to energy storage uptake; promote energy storage in remote regions; produce and share data on energy network metrics such as renewable energy production and curtailment; and support research and innovation in energy storage.

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The Michigan House of Representatives. Image: Michigan Municipal League / Flickr.

Democrat lawmakers in Michigan have proposed a bill requiring utilities to have a combined 2,500MW of energy storage online by 2030, and are mulling a specific target for long-duration technologies.

House Bill 4256 is being sponsored by state representative Jenn Hill and would require state-regulated utilities to have a combined total of 2,500MW of battery storage capacity in operation by December 31, 2029. It is co-sponsored by 19 other Democrats.

The proposal includes a requirement that at least 50% of the energy storage capacity be owned by an entity other than the electric utilities themselves, and that the utility must procure the project’s energy under a (at least) 15-year contract.

Those contracts would also have certain criteria. One is that the energy storage systems would need to be able to participate in wholesale electricity markets and provide all services that the technology is capable of doing.

The Bill also has stipulations around providing long-term revenues to support third-party financing and ensuring increased value for electric customers.

Its authors also want to see a study to determine procurement targets specifically for long-duration energy storage systems (LDES) and ‘multiday energy storage systems’. The Bill defined LDES as storage systems with a discharge duration of 10 hours or more.

The proposal mirrors an interim target proposed in the The Michigan Healthy Climate Plan, launched in April last year by the state’s governor Gretchen Whitmer. That followed on from the US state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) recommending the 2,500MW 2030 target in a report a month prior, both covered by Energy-Storage.news at the time.

The state falls within the territory operated by regional transmission system operator (TSO) Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).

Although downstream large-scale energy storage deployments have been few and far between in Michigan, it is the site of some notable battery and battery component manufacturing projects.

US firm Our Next Energy (ONE) is set to open a new lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell gigafactory in Van Buren in 2024 while a new sodium-ion battery plant is being built by Natron Energy and Clarios International on the site of an existing lithium-ion plant in Meadowbrook.

See the House Bill 4256 in full below.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 5th Energy Storage Summit USA, 28-29 March 2023 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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Microvast’s Energy Tech and Testing Center in Colorado. Image: Microvast.

Microvast, a technology innovator that designs, develops, and manufactures lithium-ion battery solutions, recently launched its new Energy Division with the anticipated release of an industry-leading battery energy storage system (ESS).

Microvast’s ESS offers 4.3MWh usable energy density per 20-foot container, one of the highest levels of energy density available on the market.

Additionally, Microvast’s ESS solution has superior energy retention and roundtrip efficiency capabilities.

“We are excited to launch the new Microvast Energy Division supporting the rapidly growing energy storage market, with an initial focus in the United States,” said Zach Ward, President of Microvast Energy.

“Our new energy storage system provides our customers with superior energy retention and roundtrip efficiencies, translating to significant economic advantages over competitive products.”

New Energy Division headed by industry veteran

Microvast is pleased to have Ward join as the head of the new Energy Division. Ward is an industry veteran with more than 18 years of experience in the solar energy sector as a senior executive for several of the largest and most active companies in renewable energy. He has executed more than 20GW of utility and distributed generation solar and 2GWh of energy storage projects.

Overseeing the Energy Division’s strategic initiatives, direction, operations, product development, sales, and key relationships, Ward has been actively recruiting and hiring a dedicated team composed of experienced industry personnel for the premiere of the new Energy Division and rollout of Microvast’s groundbreaking ESS container.

Speaking on the division’s new ESS solutions, Ward states, “Our utility-scale ESS container provides critical infrastructure capable of addressing the gap between renewable energy supply and peak grid demand. With the recent passing of the Inflation Reduction Act and the construction of our new 780,000 sq. ft. Tennessee manufacturing facility, we look forward to advancing clean and renewable energy initiatives.”

ESS container delivering industry-leading energy density

Microvast Energy Division’s priority is bringing its battery energy storage system, the ME-4300-UL ESS Container (the “ESS Container”), to the US market.

The ESS Container is designed for energy-shifting applications such as renewables integration, peak demand, and capacity support. The Microvast energy storage system delivers an industry-leading usable energy density of 4.3MWh per 20-foot container. This higher density equals fewer containers, a smaller footprint, easier installation, and less maintenance for utility-scale plants.

Additionally, the ESS Container offers a long battery life of more than 10,000 cycles under normal operating conditions, as well as easy transportation and installation for fast deployment at utility-scale plants, increasing overall project velocity.

Demonstrating Microvast’s commitment to becoming the leading provider of energy storage for utility-scale projects, the ESS Container is packed with features including:

The 6th generation battery management system (BMS) is developed and programmed in the United States to help ensure grid security

Ready-to-install, 20-foot liquid-cooled battery container with an industry-leading energy density of 4.3MWh per container (up to 30% more energy density than leading ESS containers)

Vigorously tested and qualified battery cells and modules based on Microvast’s proven commercial electric vehicle (EV) battery technology

Innovative safety features including fire suppression and explosion prevention systems

Expected to qualify as “domestic content” under the Inflation Reduction Act

“The superior performance of our products, domestic production capabilities, and our team’s ability to effectively execute large-scale utility projects sets Microvast apart. We believe our ESS solutions offer substantial benefits to our customers, including a lower total cost of ownership and expected eligibility for Inflation Reduction Act benefits,” Ward says.

Microvast’s ESS container will incorporate battery cells and modules manufactured in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Clarksville facility features 780,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space on 85 acres and is expected to create hundreds of new jobs in the region.

“The Clarksville plant should contribute to the resilience of the domestic lithium-ion battery supply chain, create manufacturing jobs, and expand American battery capacity for the US power grid,” says Shane Smith, Microvast’s Chief Operating Officer.

New Energy Division adds depth to Microvast’s lithium-ion battery product portfolio

Although new to the stationary energy segment, Microvast is an established brand in the electric vehicle battery market, with more than 30,000 commercial and specialty vehicles in operation worldwide and over 17 years of experience in the design, development, and manufacturing of lithium-ion battery solutions.

The battery cell and module technology used for the ESS Container is built on the proven performance of Microvast’s lithium-ion battery solutions developed for the commercial electric vehicle (EV) market. The battery cells incorporate Microvast’s 53.5Ah NMC cell technology, boasting 235 Wh/kg of energy density.

“Energy customers can trust and depend on Microvast’s 17 years of proven expertise in lithium-ion battery manufacturing and our experience with 30,000 battery systems operational worldwide,” states Ward.

Cutting the ribbon to open the Colorado center. Image: Microvast.

Microvast’s new ESS solutions have been developed for grid-scale energy storage projects using the same proven technology as Microvast’s EV batteries, which offer very high energy density, outstanding safety features, and unmatched performance. Production of the ESS Container begins in 2023, with first customer deliveries happening in the second half of 2023.

“The positive response we have received from potential customers in the United States speaks volumes. Our future plans include expanding the ESS platform globally, leveraging our existing manufacturing facilities in Asia and Europe. We expect the current electrification trends to further accelerate and keep us very busy,” says Ward.

Microvast Energy wins big contract

Microvast Energy recently announced the securing of a large contract to supply a utility-scale battery energy storage system to a US customer. The energy storage portion of the project is 1.2GWh and will be co-located with a solar plant. The energy storage containers will begin shipping in 2023, with commercial operation expected in 2024.

“This project will help position Microvast as a leader in the utility-scale energy storage market while reducing carbon emissions and assisting the local utility in meeting its growing electricity needs,” explains Ward. “We’re excited to be selected as a key supplier for one of the largest energy storage projects in the United States.”

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Solar developer IbVogt has chosen NX Horizon-XTR technology from Nextracker for its 150 MW Garnacha solar power plant in Spain.

“Due to the local zero-grading requirements on our project, we needed a solar tracker solution that would have minimal environmental impact and allow us to secure local permits,” says Patrick Zenker, global procurement director of IbVogt. “With a 10-gigawatt track record, NX Horizon-XTR gave us peace of mind and low risk.”

NX Horizon-XTR allows rows of solar panels to adjust to uneven terrain, following the natural curvature of the earth. Its terrain-following capabilities enable developers to work on challenging sites that would otherwise be infeasible. It also cuts costs by limiting grading work and associated delays, simplifying the permitting process, and reducing the need for soil-related maintenance, Nextracker says.

Solar projects using NX Horizon-XTR have a lighter impact on the environment as they leave more soil intact, benefitting the local ecology and reducing risk of soil erosion, the company adds. The projects also require less steel for extended pilings, lowering a project’s overall carbon footprint.

The Garnacha project expands Nextracker’s multi-gigawatt portfolio in Europe. The company has offices in Seville and Madrid, with dedicated employees working with customers across the continent with expertise to support the life cycle of every project.

The project is backed by a 12-year power purchase agreement with Google and is expected to begin production October.

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Peter Apperley

Solar energy company Lodestone Energy has selected Emerson to provide advanced automation solutions for New Zealand’s first large-scale solar photovoltaic power project: a pair of 23 MW installations in Kaitaia and Edgecumbe.

Emerson’s automation architecture will combine control software and technologies with enterprise data solutions to create an integrated, scalable control solution to maximize output and profitability while simultaneously contributing to grid stability.

“Emerson’s expertise in automation software for power generation and sustainability will help us more quickly build a world-class facility, while also more seamlessly integrating with the national grid to drive successful, efficient operation over the lifecycle of the plant,” says Peter Apperley, general manager of engineering at Lodestone Energy.

Lodestone will take advantage of Emerson’s Ovation distributed control system and new OCR3000 controller to provide control to minimize the impact of variability and intermittency in solar PV power generation. The same technologies will also make it easier for operators to quickly respond to grid frequency events. Ovation enterprise data solutions will provide secure monitoring of solar PV operations from the control room or mobile devices, measuring, monitoring and reporting key performance indicators to increase visibility of plant operations.

Lodestone’s solar PV project requires multiple interfaces to third-party systems, including inverters, high-voltage switchboards, weather stations, site security systems and grid authority remote terminal units. Ovation will act as a process orchestration tool to connect these devices and provide fast and intuitive visibility for operators.

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Julian Torres

Scale Microgrids says it will acquire more than 100 MW of New York community solar projects in late-stage development from CSG-Gutam. This transaction represents enough power for more than 15,000 homes.

The deal with Gutami, a Netherlands-based global clean energy developer, is part of a Scale pipeline helping New York to hit its mandated goal of a zero-emissions electricity sector by 2040. This equates to 70% renewable energy generation by 2030 and economy-wide carbon neutrality.

“This portfolio of community solar has the capability to reduce annual CO2 emissions by around 160,000 tons, making strides to advance our mission of powering the world with clean, distributed energy,” says Julian Torres, Scale’s chief investment officer.

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Built Robotics, a developer of construction autonomy solutions, has released its new fully autonomous RPD 35 solar piling system, which can construct utility-scale solar foundations up to five times faster than the market standard.The RPD 35 combines surveying, pile distribution, pile driving and inspection. Built’s construction AI software works in tandem with a custom pile cartridge system and advanced sensors (like RTK GPS) so a two-person crew can install upwards of 300 piles per day.“Solar piling is a tough, repetitive job, one well-suited to automation,” says Noah Ready-Campbell, founder and CEO of Built Robotics. “Our piling robots will dramatically improve the efficiency of workers on job sites, which is critical in the chronically tight construction labor market. And just as importantly, they will take people out of harm’s way, reducing noise exposure, strain, struck-by and pinch hazards.”

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John Berger

Sunnova Energy International Inc. has secured an additional 38 MW in the recent ISO-New England (ISO-NE) Forward Capacity Auction – its third consecutive win.

Sunnova says it now holds the largest wholesale market capacity position by a behind-the-meter solar and battery storage developer in the New England region, bringing total capacity cleared in the ISO-NE market from FCA15 to FCA17 to over 188 MW.

“Our continued success in this competitively priced auction, along with the largest aggregation of distributed renewables to date, demonstrates our commitment to leading the energy transition in the region,” says William J. (John) Berger, Sunnova CEO. “Our aim is to support ISO-NE in creating a clean, resilient grid and to provide homeowners with the affordable and reliable energy service they deserve.”

The company’s portfolio will provide clean energy to approximately 67,000 customers, and it expects the complete portfolio to begin participating in the FCA17 commitment year starting June 2026.

Sunnova has also collaborated with National Grid and SolarEdge to improve power quality in National Grid’s service area.

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Gore Street’s Drumkee BESS project in Northern Ireland. The firm now has assets across the the UK, Ireland, Germany and the US. Image: Gore Street.

Energy storage funds managed by UK-based Gore Street Capital and Gresham House increased their net asset value (NAV) per share in 2022, but by very different rates.

The Gore Street Energy Storage Fund and the Gresham House Energy Storage Fund, both of which invest in battery storage projects primarily in the UK, provided trading updates this week. Trading on the London Stock Exchange under the GSF and GRID tickers respectively, they revealed contrasting growth figures for NAV per share.

Gresham House said its unaudited NAV per share as of end-2022 was 155.5p (US$1.89), around 33% higher than end-2021 when it stood at 116.86p.

Gore Street meanwhile said its unaudited NAV per share at the end of 2022 was 113.5p. The firm’s financial year runs April-March so it did not provide a year-on-year figure. But, as per its equivalent release from a year ago, the year-end figure of 113.5p is 9.3% higher than 103.9 as of December 31, 2021.

A share issue by Gore Street which raised £150 million (US$182 million) in April 2022, after which Energy-Storage.news interviewed its CEO Alex O’Cinnede, may explain the difference.

In a lengthier update, Gresham House said its funds’ underlying EBITDA grew 20% in 2022 and it expects to reach a total operating capacity of 1GW in 2023. The firm has only invested in battery storage projects Great Britain to-date.

Gore Street meanwhile is diversifying its portfolio into other markets, so far buying projects in Germany and the US. Most recently it acquired a project in California, the biggest battery storage market in the world, buying a 200MW/400MWh project from Avantus.

Both funds saw battery storage projects win contracts in the UK’s recent T-1 Capacity Market auction for 2024/25.

The trading updates of both funds were covered in more detail by Energy-Storage.news’ sister site Solar Power Portal; see Gore Street’s here and Gresham House’ here. 

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 5th Energy Storage Summit USA, 28-29 March 2023 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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The project’s official unveiling took place yesterday. Fluence’s Gridstack BESS can be seen in the background. Image: Fluence via LinkedIn.

Energy storage technology provider Fluence and Siemens Smart Infrastructure have completed a renewable energy microgrid project on Terceira, a Portuguese Azores island.

Sitting in the North Atlantic Ocean a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, far from any of Europe’s major grid infrastructure, Terceira hosts an autonomous energy network, one of nine in the Azores.

The islands have great potential to be powered by renewable energy sources, particularly wind, hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. The project on Terceira uses Fluence’s sixth generation battery storage solution, Gridstack, and Siemens’ smart energy controls software, to help integrate renewables for utility Electricidade dos Açores (EDA).

Fluence supplied a 15MW/15MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), and with the addition of a further 6MW of renewable energy, Terceira can more than double its share of renewables on its grid to 60%.

Siemens Power Technologies International’s (PTI) consulting team worked with utility EDA from 2018 to model the optimal BESS sizing and integration options against metrics including cost, viability, and technical requirements.

At the heart of the project lies Siemens’ Spectrum Power Microgrid Management System (MGMS), which manages the interaction between the island’s power generation infrastructure, the BESS and the island’s power consumption.

It does this through real-time monitoring and control of associated infrastructure, as well as providing forecasts of production, consumption and storage of energy over hourly or daily periods, feeding in data such as weather forecasts and historical energy consumption data.

An inauguration event was held yesterday to officially hand over the microgrid, attended by guests and dignitaries including Azores president José Manuel Bolieiro and EDA CEO Nuno Pimentel.

“This project is an important step towards a sustainable future for Terceira island and the Azores. The project allows us to better address the instability caused by fluctuating renewable resources like wind energy and can replace the diesel spinning reserve needed to cope with the challenges of maintaining grid stability and the power quality requirements of an isolated system like ours at all times,” Pimentel said.

Infographic of the project. Image: Siemens.

A source close to the project explained how the project’s battery storage system will reduce emissions on the island, firstly by storing excess energy produced from renewables and feeding it back into the grid at times of peak consumption or low renewables production.

It can also support the island’s grid more broadly, by leveraging renewables to provide frequency regulation and voltage balancing ancillary services, as well as N-1 contingency to the network, which allows the microgrid system to instantly pick up the load if thermal generators trip.

That means EDA can reduce its use of thermal dispatch in the form of diesel engine reserves to manage the system’s balance of supply and demand, even at times when the supply of renewable energy is low.

For Fluence, the project builds on the company’s experiences of island grids, including its successful delivery last year of a similarly-sized BESS to another Portuguese island, Madeira, for that region’s public utility Empresa de Electricidade da Madeira (EEM).

That project was also delivered in partnership with Siemens Smart Infrastructure. It is perhaps worth noting that Fluence was originally formed as a joint venture (JV) between German engineering company Siemens and US power solutions company AES Corporation. While both companies retain a stake in Fluence, launched in 2018, a stake in the energy storage company is also now owned by Qatari sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, and went publicly listed a while back, releasing its most recent financial results in February.

“The project in the Azores demonstrates how to steadily expand renewables and integrate them into the power grid while reducing dependencies on fossil fuels and lowering CO2 emissions,” Siemens Grid Software CEO Sabine Erlinghagen said.

“Expertise in connecting software and hardware plays a central role in the energy transition.”

Read more of Energy-Storage.news coverage of island renewable energy projects with energy storage here.

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