NineDot Energy’s battery storage system in the Bronx, New York City. Image: Ninedot Energy.

The first battery energy storage system (BESS) in New York City using Tesla Megapacks, a 12MWh system in the Bronx by NineDot, has been inaugurated.

Community-scale renewable energy project developer NineDoty Energy unveiled the 3.08MW/12.32MWh BESS unit yesterday (9 August). Alongside the four-hour battery, the project – called Gunther – includes a solar PV canopy and infrastructure ready for bi-directional electric vehicle (EV) charging points.

The project appears to have been developed for NineDot by commercial and industrial-focused (C&I) energy storage system integrator Stem Inc. In January, the two companies announced a deal for over 110MWh of front-of-meter BESS projects delivered by Stem for NineDot and a press release about Gunther’s inauguration listed Stem as one of the project partners.

David Arfin, NineDot Energy CEO and co-founder: “Building battery storage sites in a dense urban environment requires an unusual set of skills and experience all brought together in NineDot Energy, as well as support from a wide range of visionary regulators and policy-makers and a terrific group of dedicated partners who we are thanking today.”

The company said it builds its battery storage projects in areas that sit at the intersection of existing infrastructure and high energy demand, in this case a ‘barely-used sliver of land in the Bronx’. It has a pipeline of 400MW of clean energy systems to 2026.

The project received US$1.2 million from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) through the Retail Energy Storage Incentive Program. The programme provides commercial customers funding for systems up to 5MW in size, grid-connected or behind-the-meter, and provide value to a customer under an investor-owned utility rate, including delivery charges or New York State’s value of distributed energy resources (VDER) programme.

Several BESS projects using Tesla Megapacks, the EV giant’s biggest utility-scale storage product, have been announced over the past month and reported on by Energy-Storage.news.

They range from a 12MWh system being built in Somerset, UK, after local opposition thwarted original plans to build a gas generator, to much larger 198MWh and 300MWh projects in the UK and Australia, respectively. The EV giant was the third-largest BESS system integrator globally as of the end of 2021 according to research firm IHS Markit.

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SolRiver Capital, a national solar investment fund, has completed Whitetail Solar, a 14 MW utility-scale solar project in Dillon County, S.C. The project creates a biodiversity sanctuary amongst the solar panels. SolRiver partnered with NARENCO, as the installer, to take the development plans from paper to solar energy generation.

Whitetail Solar will produce over 25 million kWh of clean energy annually. Whitetail incorporates a Biodiversity Plan deploying numerous features designed to help maintain a sustainable environment.

“This is the first project where we implemented a Biodiversity Plan. It proves utility-scale development can be done in a way that preserves and even enhances the habitat on which it is located,” says Brandon Conard, partner at SolRiver Capital. “The Whitetail project provides a blueprint for expanding our projects to benefit the surrounding environment in addition to generating solar energy.”

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The Biden-Harris administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the development and implementation of a $675 million Critical Materials Research, Development, Demonstration and Commercialization Program. Funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the program will address vulnerabilities in the domestic critical materials supply chain, which are both an economic disadvantage and an impediment to the clean energy transition.

Critical materials, which include rare-earth elements, lithium, nickel and cobalt, are required for manufacturing many clean energy technologies, including batteries, electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels. The program will advance domestic sourcing and production.

“We can follow through on President Biden’s clean energy commitments and make our nation more secure by increasing our ability to source, process, and manufacture critical materials right here at home,” states U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is supporting DOE’s effort to invest in the building blocks of clean energy technologies, which will revitalize America’s manufacturing leadership and bring along the benefits of good paying jobs.”

Global demand for critical materials is expected to increase by 400-600% over the next several decades. For certain materials, such as lithium and graphite used in electric vehicle batteries, demand is expected to increase by as much as 4,000%. DOE’s comprehensive strategy calls for increased domestic raw-materials production and manufacturing capacity, which would reduce dependence on foreign sources of critical materials, secure America’s clean energy supply chain and introduce more jobs associated with the clean energy transition.

Established through the Energy Act of 2020 and expanded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, DOE’s Critical Materials Program will develop materials, components and technologies; promote efficient production and use, and circular economy approaches; and ensure a long-term, diverse, secure and sustainable supply of critical materials. The Critical Materials Research Program will expand on DOE’s decade-long history of investment in critical materials supply chains, which includes fundamental research on materials science, separation science, and geoscience; public-private partnerships, such as the Critical Materials Institute; and efforts to validate and commercialize new technologies through demonstration projects.

The Critical Materials Research Program RFI solicits feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, state and local coalitions, labor unions, tribes, community-based organizations, and others, on the structure of these programs, timing and distribution of funds, and selection criteria. Comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET on September 9, 2022 and can be submitted to CriticalMaterialsProgramRFI@ee.doe.gov.

Image: “Solar panel” by OregonDOT is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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Mustang Energy was part of a consortium that invested in CellCube in April 2021. Image: Enerox/Cellcube.

SPAC Mustang Energy PLC is increasing its effective stake in CellCube to around 25% while a company launching a vanadium mine project in Australia has injected US$3.5 million in a new flow battery maker.

Mustang Energy increases stake in CellCube

Special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Mustang Energy has agreed to buy a 27.4% interest in VRFB Holdings Limited from Acacia Resources for US$10.5 million, increasing its stake to 49.5% having already bought 22.1% in April 2021.

VRFB Holdings Limited is a 50% shareholder in Enerox Holding Limited, a vehicle which owns 100% of Enerox GmbH, the Austria-based vanadium flow battery company better known by its brand name CellCube.

Through the intermediary of VRFB Holdings, the transaction means Mustang Energy will effectively hold around 25% of CellCube’s parent company as does stock-quoted vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals, which owns the other 50.5% of VRFB Holdings.

The two were part of a consortium that invested in Enerox/CellCube in April last year through the VRFB Holdings Limited vehicle, reported by Energy-Storage.news at the time. The consortium in total injected US$30 million into the company to scale up its production of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) to 30MW by 2022.

Dean Gallegos, Mustang Energy managing director, said: “The opportunity to increase Mustang’s interest in Enerox represents an exciting opportunity for our stakeholders, thanks to Enerox’s research and development initiatives in the energy storage sector, and its state-of-the-art vanadium-based technology.”

CellCube has deployed 130 systems globally totalling 23MWh. Recent notable project announcements include an 8MWh microgrid project in Illinois, US, and a potentially huge rollout in South Africa with Kibo Energy, which just agreed to procure two proof of concept projects to that end.

Richmond Vanadium Technology invests in Ultra Power Systems

Richmond Vanadium Technology, a company launching a vanadium mine in Queensland, Australia, has agreed to invest up to AU$5 million (US$3.5 million) in Ultra Power Systems, a new vanadium flow battery company.

The deal also gives Richmond Vanadium Technology (RVT) the right to supply all vanadium offtake to UPS and give it a seat on UPS’ board. It is subject to RVT’s successful listing on the Australian stock market and completion of due diligence of UPS’ products.

RVT is currently completing a bankability feasibility study for the Richmond Vanadium Project, located in north Queensland where it has five Mineral Exploration Permits for potential vanadium extraction. The company is 25% held by Horizon Minerals, a mid-tier gold producer.

The pre-feasibility study was concluded based on a vanadium price of V2O5 Flake of AU$16.44/lb (US$11.48).

Ultra Power Systems says it is Western Australia’s first vanadium battery manufacturer. It is taking orders for its V40 product, a 6KW/40kWh modular solution which it says is for the ‘harshest of environmental conditions’.

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MGA Thermal CTO Alexander Post (left) and CEO Erich Kisi with their thermal energy blocks. Image: MGA Thermal.

Australian startup MGA Thermal has bagged around US$1 million in government funding for a 5MWh thermal energy storage project while Israel-based Brenmiller Energy has inaugurated a 1MWh unit in Brazil.

1MWh system online in Brazil

Brenmiller and Fortlev, a Brazilian manufacturer of water tanks, pipes, and water connections, have inaugurated the bGen thermal energy storage unit at the latter’s production facility in Anápolis, Brazil.

The bGen system will allow Fortlev to use renewable biomass instead of natural gas to heat the air it uses to manufacture plastic water tanks, reducing fuel costs by 75% and lowering greenhouse gas emissions by 800 metric tons a year.

The system heats crushed rocks to 600° Celsius which can then store that thermal energy for minutes, hours or days, to be used later to produce heat energy in the form of steam, water or hot air to mould plastic or other industrial products.

The company said it is the first thermal energy storage system powered by renewables to be put into commercial operation in South America, and the first anywhere to generate hot air for manufacturing plastic products using renewable power.

Although the project with Fortlev does not appear to do so, the bGen system is designed to charge by harvesting waste heat from a factory’s chimney system using an insulated ducting system. The storage system comprises a modular rock-based design with a thermal capacity of between 1 and 1,000MWh for each unit.

It can also discharge electricity using a steam turbine system with a startup time of five minutes-plus.

Avi Brenmiller, chairman and CEO of Brenmiller Energy said: “Our bGen technology enables these companies to start using renewable energy resources and waste heat to efficiently produce clean steam, hot water, and hot air on-demand, allowing them to decarbonize their thermal process – and in some cases, like Fortlev, reduce their fuel costs while doing so.”

Thermal energy storage pilot project funded

In a piece of concurrent news, Australia-based company MGA Thermal has been awarded AU$1.27 million (US$0.9 million) from the Federal Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to fund its pilot thermal energy storage solution.

The money will help fund the creation and installation of a 500kW/5MWh storage prototype to demonstrate the generation of steam from stored thermal energy, which is expected to cost a total of AU$2.85 million. The company expects it to produce performance data and a tangible demonstration of the technology for potential customers.

The company claims it has a current customer interest of 20GWh for its solution and recently unveiled the first stage of its commercial manufacturing facility in Newcastle, New South Wales. The facility will be able to produce over 1,000 of its blocks, totalling 1MWh of thermal energy storage, a day by the end of 2022.

The first of those blocks will go to a partnership with Toshiba International Corporation and Graphite Energy to produce green hydrogen, funded by a AU$9.8 million grant from the Australian Government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

“While conventional storage technologies like batteries are no doubt important to that mission (of the renewable energy transition), we believe our MGA Thermal Blocks will be a major part of that transition, to retrofit existing thermal power plants and support development of low-cost renewable energy storage and green hydrogen,” said Erich Kisi, co-founder and CEO of MGA Thermal.

“Utilities around the world have told us they need this type of technology to make that move, and we are well on our way to building the capacity to meet that demand.”

The thermal energy storage sector has gained traction in the last few months with several high-profile projects and announcements.

Last month, and at the less technologically novel end of the scale, Swedish utility Vattenfall started filling up a 200MW-rated water tank in Berlin which will hold 56 million litres of water to be fed directly into the district heating network.

A few weeks prior to that, a project in Australia combining multiple renewable technologies including thermal storage, Aurora, was revived and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between two companies to build a 2GWh pumped heat storage project in Bulgaria.

In March, a flurry of positive reports covered by Energy-Storage.news showed a maturing sector. These included a two-year evaluation study validated by utility Edison International, another Israeli company Nostromo Energy achieving 100% round-trip efficiency for its system, and an intellectual property (IP) acquisition.

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Groundbreaking at Kuihelani. Image: AES Corporation via Twitter.

Construction has begun on two large-scale solar projects paired with battery storage in Hawaii from AES Corporation.

AES announced via Twitter on 4 August that ground has been broken on Kuihelani Solar + Storage, a 60MW solar PV plant with 240MWh of containerised battery energy storage system (BESS) technology. The project is on Maui, Hawaii’s second-largest island.

AES Corporation executives and representatives of its Hawaii-based subsidiary attended a ceremonial event, along with the Mayor of Maui, members of the local community and other stakeholders.

Then, yesterday German renewable energy company Baywa r.e. said it has been appointed as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor to another of AES’ Hawaii projects. Work will be done through Baywa r.e. Power Solutions, a division of the company formed through the acquisition of US solar and storage EPC company Enable Energy in 2020.

Located on Hawaii Island, the Waikoloa Solar + Storage plant will include 30MWac/43MWdc of bifacial PV modules on a single-axis tracking system and a 30MW/120MWh BESS, in the state’s biggest island’s South Kohala district.

Baywa r.e. said that with permits secured and construction having already begun, “substantial completion” of the project is expected during this year. Waikoloa Solar + Storage will create around 200 construction phase jobs and inject about US$47 million economic stimulus into the local economy.

Both power plants have in place 25-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed with the state’s utility, Hawaiian Electric Co (HECO). HECO awarded AES the projects in 2018 before signing off on the PPAs in 2019.

According to AES’ website, both have a guaranteed commercial operation date in 2023 and will feed into the respective Hawaii Island and Maui grids.

The lithium-ion batteries will store energy generated at times of abundant solar resources and low electricity demand, for outputting to the network at peak times and when solar generation tails off. They will also perform ancillary services and other applications.

AES noted that the cost of power from both projects will be US$0.08/kWh, far lower than the cost of imported fossil fuels that the state of Hawaii is largely reliant on.

Workers at the Waikoloa site. Image: Baywa r.e.

HECO has long identified solar PV paired with batteries – as well as some standalone battery storage – to be the best way to bring electricity costs down and lower carbon emissions. Indeed, Hawaii’s last remaining coal power plant is to retire imminently and the main other fuel source is diesel.

The utility said last year that it anticipates any solar projects competing in a forthcoming tender will need to include storage, while at a distributed level, HECO runs a ‘Battery Bonus’ programme which incentivises Hawaii’s many residential rooftop solar adopters to get battery storage too.

HECO announced winners of its most recent large-scale renewables tender in late 2020, which pushed through despite numerous delays and challenges posed by the COVID19 pandemic. It eventually awarded contracts for nearly 300MW of solar PV and 2,000MWh of battery storage.

However, one of the winners of the biggest tender in HECO’s history, which was the round prior to the one mentioned above, cancelled its awarded project a few months ago. European utility group ENGIE had been contracted for Puako Solar PV + Battery Storage, a 60MW PV and 240MWh BESS project in a tender round in which 16 projects totalling 460MW of solar and nearly 3GWh of batteries were successful.

ENGIE attributed its cancellation of the project to elevated grid interconnection costs, headwinds for the solar industry such as the then-ongoing trade tariff dispute for imported PV modules along with other global supply chain and production issues.

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Genex’s solar power plant at Kidston, where the company is building a 2,000MWh PHES plant. Image: Genex Power.

Genex Power has bought up a 2GW clean energy project which it intends to build in five stages beginning with a large-scale battery system, in Queensland, Australia.

The renewable energy developer and power producer announced this morning that it has acquired a 100% interest in development rights for the Bulli Creek project from its original developer Solar Choice.

Genex’s plans for the site begin with its first stage, a proposed 400MW/1,600MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). At that sizing and that capacity, it would be equal to the project bearing the title of world’s biggest BESS, Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California.

It’s about 100km from the city of Toowoomba in southeast Queensland and subsequent stages would add solar PV generation.

That would begin with an initial 475MW to 675MW of PV, eventually adding up to the 2GW figure given by Genex in a release to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).

Solar Choice began development on Bulli Creek back in 2013, choosing the 5,000-hectare site due to its proximity to both grid infrastructure and electricity demand centres.

It is 4km from Bulli Creek 330kV substation which feeds the Queensland-to-New South Wales interconnector as well as being close to demand from Brisbane as well as a Regional Reference Node – one of the interconnection points at which prices for the National Electricity Market (NEM) are set. Proximity to the substation in particular means low grid connection costs, which can be an expensive component of any electricity project.

Bulli Creek already has development approval from the Queensland state government, as well as Environmental Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Approval and clearance Aboriginal Cultural Heritage for the whole site.

Genex expects to be making a Final Investment Decision on the project in the second half of the 2024 calendar year. Solar Choice will receive development fees from the purchaser, and Genex is seeking joint development partners to work with. CEO James Harding said discussions with some potential partners have already begun.

It will be the Australian company’s second battery storage project to date. Genex achieved financial close on the first, Bouldecombe Battery Project, a 50MW/100MWh facility also in Queensland in February this year.

Construction on Bouldercombe is underway, while at the same time Genex is the driving force behind the 250MW/2,000MWh Kidston 2 pumped hydro energy storage (PHES), Australia’s first new large-scale pumped hydro project since the early 1980s and in construction next to the company’s Kidston solar PV plant, again in Queensland.

“The Bulli Creek Battery Project is a continuation of our battery strategy and will be one of the largest battery energy storage systems in the National Electricity Market,” CEO James Harding said.  

“This represents an exciting opportunity for Genex to apply the extensive market knowledge and learnings gained from the development of the Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project as well as the Bouldercombe Battery Project.”

The company said volatility in Australian electricity prices reflected in market activity across the NEM show the urgent need for dispatchable power from low emissions sources into the market, such as the Bulli Creek, Bouldercombe and Kidston 2 assets.

Genex has been the recent target of a takeover bid worth AU$319 million (US$222.5 million) from Skip Essential Infrastructure Fund and Stonepeak Partners, which the clean energy company rejected. CEO James Harding however told Reuters News Agency today that the company remains open to discussions with the prospective buyers.

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Origami Solar, developers of a patent-pending steel solar module frame, has published initial test results from TECSI Solar that confirm the Origami roll-formed steel frame design is superior in performance to conventional aluminum frames. The testing conducted at TECSI Solar compared a 35 mm tall Origami steel frame against a 40 mm aluminum frame under identical conditions and using identical PV laminates.

Steel frames were tested for compression strength to support typical top clamp loads, which could result in frame buckling or laminate breakage. The Origami steel frame delivered more than sufficient rigidity and stability to resist such loads.

The Origami steel frame significantly outperformed the taller aluminum frame in frame wall rigidity, structural stability, and total deflection, even at a 150 psf load. Most importantly, the solar active components of the PV laminate were far better protected from possible damage as validated in EL imaging tests done during testing.

When comparing mechanical load performance, the Origami steel frame again outperformed standard aluminum frames – including being able to withstand upforce loading to 135 psf.

The Origami steel frame maintained laminate rigidity better than aluminum, better protecting the solar cells from cracking under downward loading.

The Origami steel frame was tested for top-clamp and bolt-mounting installations, proving compatibility with existing racking systems.

Switching from aluminum to steel module frames would bring tremendous benefits to the solar industry. Solar panel costs are rising after decades of reductions, due to long and expensive supply chains struggling with increased demand. A shift to steel frames would greatly reduce supply chain concentration risks and help stabilize prices by enabling large-scale domestic manufacturing. Steel also reduces production-related GHG emissions by 87%, according to a recent report published by Boundless Research.

“The Origami roll-formed steel frames proved to be durable, resilient, and able to surpass the performance of typical aluminum frames under real-world rail-attached test conditions. The frames did a better job of protecting the laminate from cell crack initiation and propagation, which is critical to reliable long-term energy production. Our office has concluded that the Origami steel frame is a suitable candidate for consideration to replace extruded aluminum PV module frames and can provide significantly better performance if properly designed,” says Samuel Truthseeker, Founder and Principal Engineer at TECSI Solar.

Origami Solar is a finalist in DOE’s American-Made Solar Prize competition, which will be awarded in September. The company uses a steel roll forming process that creates a frame with intricate folds. Origami’s patent-pending design, combining innovative engineering and deep knowledge of the capabilities of precision roll-forming and utilizing domestically available recycled steel, delivers performance that equals or exceeds that of aluminum frames, while lowering material costs. This innovative module frame is readily manufacturable and will meet or exceed all UL and IEC standards.

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Robert Pohlman

New Jersey Resources (NJR) has named Robert Pohlman as vice president of NJR Clean Energy Ventures (CEV) and corporate strategy. He will be responsible for leading and developing the renewable energy business, while also driving new growth opportunities and strategic initiatives across NJR.

“NJR Clean Energy Ventures is a core part of our business and growth strategy,” states Steve Westhoven, president and CEO of New Jersey Resources. “With his extensive experience in the sustainable investment space, Bobby has played a key role in our company’s investment of over $1 billion in renewable infrastructure over the last decade and helped grow CEV into one of the largest solar owner/operators in New Jersey. He has proven himself to be a strong, capable leader in every job he’s held. I am confident Bobby will continue to facilitate growth and success at CEV as we invest in and deliver cleaner energy to our customers.”

Pohlman joined NJR in 2011 as director of business development at CEV. In 2019, he was named chief of staff to the president and CEO of NJR and served as managing director of innovation and strategic initiatives before being promoted to vice president of strategy, communications, government relations and policy in 2021. Prior to joining NJR, he worked as vice president at Citadel LLC and assistant vice president at Credit Suisse Energy LLC and Barclays Capital Inc.

Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar projects with a total capacity of more than 370 MW, providing residential and commercial customers with low-carbon solutions.

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Photo credit: AES

The AES Corp. (AES) has chosen BayWa r.e. to construct the Waikoloa Solar + Storage Project, an integrated solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage system owned and operated by AES on Hawaiʻi Island. BayWa r.e. Power Solutions will build the 30 MW AC/43 MW DC solar and 30 MW/120 MWh storage project on approximately 300 acres of leased land near Waikoloa Village in the South Kohala district of the island.

The power generated and stored by the Waikoloa Solar + Storage Project will be bought by local utility Hawaiian Electric Co. Inc. (HECO) under the terms of a cost-competitive 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). On completion, the project will produce enough electricity to power 13,600 households, contributing more than 7% of Hawaiʻi Island’s annual energy needs and resulting in a total avoided fuel consumption of more than 511,000 barrels of oil over its 25-year lifetime.

Permits have been secured and site preparation and construction on the project have begun, with substantial completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2022. Over the course of the project, 200 jobs will be created, and the project is expected to generate a total economic output of an estimated $47 million toward Hawaiʻi’s economy.

The solar portion of the project will feature single-axis trackers equipped with bifacial PV modules. The associated lithium-ion battery system will safely store energy during periods of low customer demand for use at peak demand periods, such as the early morning or evening hours. The batteries will also provide grid and ancillary services and enable the grid to accommodate more renewable sources while displacing conventional generation.

“We have completed several successful solar and storage projects in Hawai’i,” says Todd Lindstrom, COO at BayWa r.e. Power Solutions LLC. “We’re excited to support Hawaiʻi’s renewable energy leadership in the U.S. and about the growing relationships we have with the local community. We look forward to bringing more renewable energy solutions to the island as we grow.”

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