The Alta dam in northern Norway. Statkraft is responsible for most of Norway’s hydropower assets which provide the vast majority of the country’s electricity. Image: Statkraft.

Norwegian lithium-ion gigafactory startup FREYR Battery has signed a binding agreement with renewable energy group Statkraft covering 2024-31 for its first two gigafactories.

The two companies have signed a binding Heads of Terms which will be finalised as a long-term physical supply agreement of power for FREYR’s first facilities, in Mo I Rana, Norway. The deal will secure the supply from Mo I Rana’s central grid to FREYR’s Customer Qualification Plant and Gigafactories 1 and 2, which FREYR calls a combined gigafactory.

The combined gigafactory will have an annual production capacity of 13GWh and the company has indicated a strong focus on the energy storage sector in the last 18 months.

Statkraft will commit to a 23MW baseload with an accumulated 1.3TWh delivery over the contract as well as guarantees of origin to ensure the power is sourced from its hydropower assets, specifically the 500MW Rana hydropower plant. The company is owned by the Norwegian state and is responsible for the majority of Norway’s hydropower assets, which provide the vast majority of the country’s electricity needs.

Tove Nilsen Ljungquist, EVP Operations of FREYR, said: “Our ambition is to produce clean battery cells, and a key element of our strategy is to power our operations with renewable energy. This agreement with Statkraft ensures that our production facilities in Mo i Rana will have a steady, long-term supply of hydropower from local sources – keeping our carbon footprint to a minimum as we speed forward to full operations.”

Unlike many other new gigafactory players in Europe and North America, FREYR’s announcements in the last 18 months have shown a clear focus on energy storage systems (ESS) applications, with all of the company’s announced offtake partners being from that sector. The company is targeting an annual production capacity of 100GWh by 2030 and half of that could go to ESS, CEO Tom Jensen told Energy-Storage.news in a recent interview.

In the last few months, the company announced offtake agreements totaling 53.5GWh (over multiple years) with several energy storage incumbents. Those built on existing announcements worth a total of 50GWh with Honeywell and an unnamed partner that FREYR will work with to launch a system integrator play.

It signed an ‘initial agreement’ with Siemens Energy supplying batteries for energy storage applications in 2020, but its first gigafactory launch date has been pushed by at least two years since then so the outcome of that deal is not clear.

Continue reading

VSUN Energy’s EV charging trial in Western Australia. Image: VSUN Energy.

Australian Vanadium, a startup looking to establish a vertically integrated vanadium flow battery business, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with developer North Harbour Clean Energy (NHCE).

NHCE is focused on developing long-duration energy storage capacity at pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) and vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) sites, having identified strong fundamental market drivers for the technologies as Australia moves away from fossil fuels.

The developer is in a collaborative partnership already with the University of New South Wales (UNSW), where the vanadium flow battery was invented and developed in the 1980s by a team led by Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos.

Australian Vanadium, which is developing an upstream primary vanadium resource as well as electrolyte manufacturing, also has a subsidiary, VSUN Energy which promotes and markets VRFBs and VRFB-based battery energy storage systems (BESS). VSUN also has a partner in Singapore, VFlowTech, which makes the systems.

It has received funding support from the Australian government including A$49 million of the expected total cost of A$367 million for building a vanadium processing plant, through the government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

The company said this morning that NHCE has identified VRFBs as a “proven, commercialised product” that can support the developer’s roll out of PHES.

Through the non-exclusive two-year MoU, the two parties will explore possible project development opportunities as well as local manufacturing opportunities and options for leasing vanadium electrolyte, the single biggest-cost component of the devices.

NHCE could potentially source electrolyte from Australian Vanadium and work with VSUN Energy on product selection and project development.

NHCE is also supported by government funding, albeit indirectly as the company is one of 27 partner organisations working with UNSW and the University of Newcastle on Trailblazer, a federal government-led effort to establish new businesses and research partnerships.

VSUN Energy recently joined a project to trial the use of flow batteries to support electric vehicle (EV) charging. Parent company Australian Vanadium also signed an MoU in November 2021 which covered vanadium pentoxide as well as electrolyte supply, electrolyte leasing and possible product sales to Spanish company Gransolar Group’s energy storage subsidiary, E22 Energy Storage Solutions.

Continue reading

Samsung SDI batteries at ees Europe 2022. Image: Cameron Murray / Solar Media

The Solar Media Podcast returns to discuss the continued rise of TOPCon PV modules and energy storage demand throughout Europe.

Fresh from Intersolar Europe 2022 and the accompanying electrical energy storage Europe (ees Europe) trade show, the PV Tech and Energy-Storage.news editorial teams reflect on the exhibition and what it means for a European solar renaissance – both upstream and downstream – with the European Commission’s REPowerEU plan providing the perfect backdrop.

There’s also talk of the stress currently felt in the energy storage supply chain, a look at how the supplier – customer relationship has changed in renewables after more than a year of surging prices and a detailed assessment of which energy storage markets are on the rise.

The podcast can be streamed below:

Alternatively, you can subscribe and listen to the podcast on the Solar Media Editor’s Channel, which is now on all popular audio channels, including;

Continue reading

Borrego, a developer, EPC and O&M provider for large-scale solar and energy storage projects, has entered into a definitive agreement to spin off and sell its development business, including its project pipeline of over 8.4 GW of solar and 6.4 GW/25 GWh of energy storage, to ECP, an energy transition-focused investor.

Upon the completion of the transaction, ECP will operate the development business as an independent company. The business will be headquartered in Lowell, Mass., and will be led by the current development team as they continue to execute on the long-term business strategy in partnership with ECP. Dan Berwick, currently president of the development business, will become CEO.

“Borrego’s development business owns a best-in-class track record and project pipeline. We are thrilled to be partnering with Dan and team to help continue the company’s tremendous growth and success,” says Andrew Gilbert, partner at ECP. “At ECP, we believe the opportunity set in sustainable infrastructure is expanding rapidly as the world continues to advance electrification as a means to decarbonize. We’re excited to join forces with Borrego’s development business to create ECP’s eleventh renewable platform and fourth standalone solar platform.”

Borrego will continue to invest in its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance (O&M) business units. Borrego EPC is a national builder of utility-scale and community-scale solar and energy storage projects with more than 450 MW of solar projects and 200 MW of energy storage projects currently in design or construction. The team currently manages the performance of 1.4 GW and over 1,000 solar operating assets, the majority of which were built by other EPCs.

“We are seeing tremendous opportunities in Borrego’s EPC and O&M services. This sale ensures we can invest in our people and build the technology that will position them to capitalize on what will be a record-breaking decade for solar and storage deployment in the United States,” states Mike Hall, CEO of Borrego. “I am thankful for the incredible development team that I’ve had the pleasure of working with for the last 12 years. We are thrilled that we were able to find a partner with ECP’s industry experience, financial resources and reputation.”

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Borrego in connection with the transaction.

Continue reading

Solar installers consider roofing material when deciding which mounts to purchase for each gig, but many pass on job opportunities due to unfamiliarity with certain types of roofs. A prime example of this is stone coated steel (SCS) roofs.

These roofs are known by a few other names, such as stamped metal, metal tile, metal shingle, etc., and they are often overlooked as a viable roofing material for solar installations. Why? Well, we asked installers at the recent Intersolar 2022 trade show why they haven’t installed on SCS roofs, and the consensus was clear.

While many didn’t know about the available mounting solutions, most simply didn’t know how they could work with the roofing material and haven’t considered it any further. There’s a goldmine of solar installations out there waiting to be claimed. Adaptable teams could take advantage of the gap in the market and open an entirely new line of income for their businesses.

SCS roofs are one of the easiest kinds of roofing material to install (after asphalt shingle), and certainly easier than installing on asphalt shingle with sheet metal flashing. Roof manufacturers like Decra and Westlake Royal Roofing’s Unified Steel (formerly Boral) have guides on how to walk on their SCS roofs. It’s rather simple and not too different from walking on Spanish tiles. The key is to step where the panels are strongest. This is the same location regardless of whether there are battens beneath the panels or not: Walk on the top of the horizontal overlap if the panels rest on battens, and if the panels are a direct-to-deck roof profile, do the same.

QuickBOLT’s mounting solutions for SCS roofs are the direct result of working with roof manufacturers. Part numbers 17550 and 17612 are the SKUs for adjustable mounts designed for installation on SCS roof profiles with battens. Those part numbers include mounting screws that feature innovations brought over from our wood fasteners brand, Quickscrews, with choices between 5/16” and 1/4″.  

Installation is simple once you’ve identified your mounting location. First, you’ll start by removing the roof panel, then locating the rafter. Next, you mark and predrill the hole for your mount. Place the mount over the batten first, and make sure it snugly rests against the edge of the roof panel to ensure a proper fit when you place the other panel back into place. Fill the predrilled holes with a dab of sealant, and place the mount and drive screws to secure. Then, place the SCS sheet back into place over the hook. (Watch an installation video here.)

Part numbers 17628 and 17630 are the SKUs for fixed-height mounts designed for battenless (aka direct-to-deck) SCS roof profiles. The two parts offer a choice between 5/16” and 1/4″ mounting screws.

The beauty of metal panels is that they can be placed firmly over solar mounting hooks without the need for notching or drilling through the roof material. With easy mounting installation, this market is ripe for roofers and solar installers looking to expand their services.

Please see QuickBOLT’s SCS solar mounting solutions here.

Mike Wiener is marketing manager of QuickBOLT, a division of Quickscrews International Corp. that focuses on solar mounting solutions for residential roofs.

Continue reading

Duke Energy has reached an agreement with solar installers in North Carolina to support its original filing with some modifications. The stipulation provides a gradual transition option from the existing net metering programs for eligible customers, while creating additional future benefits for all of Duke Energy’s customers. The compromise solution reached represents a collaborative effort to account for a broad range of interests. This bridge rate will create an orderly transition option for customers and support the business efforts of the solar installer community.

“As for the Proposed Bridge Rate, it would be offered as a limited alternative to the time-of-use tariffs proposed in the Companies’ Application,” the filing reads. “This alternative rate option would be open to existing and eligible new customers who apply for this option through December 31, 2026, subject to annual capacity caps. Customers electing to take service on the Proposed Bridge Rate may do so for up to 15 years, subject to certain limitations outlined in the Stipulation.”

“The Proposed Bridge Rate includes monthly netting at the applicable avoided cost rate and includes the same monthly minimum bill (MMB) and non-bypassable charge that are included within the NEM tariffs proposed in the Companies’ Application,” the stipulation continues. “However, the Proposed Bridge Rate does not include a grid access fee or mandatory time-of-use rates. The following customers would be exempted from the MMB under the Proposed Bridge Rate: Homes specifically built for low-income and vulnerable customers (e.g., Habitat for Humanity), LIHEAP recipients, and CIP recipients. The Stipulation includes additional provisions that aim to create benefits to all customers above and beyond the alternative NEM rates outlined above – ranging from additional consumer protection measures to collaboration on the valuation of distributed energy resources.”

“Taken as a whole, the Stipulation provides a gradual transition option from the existing NEM programs for eligible customers, while creating additional future benefits for all of the Companies’ customers,” the filing concludes. “The compromise solution reached by the Stipulating Parties represents a collaborative effort to account for a broad range of interests, while also adhering to the NEM directives and timelines within House Bill 589. The Stipulating Parties are encouraged by this progress and look forward to collaborating on these matters going forward.”

Read the full stipulation here.

Continue reading

Sella 2 factory, Eumseong Innovation City, South Korea. Image: SolarEdge.

Smart energy optimisation and management tech company SolarEdge has begun producing test cells for certification at its newly opened lithium-ion cell gigafactory in South Korea.

SolarEdge said the plant is a response to growing demand for battery energy storage and will have a 2GWh annual production capacity when it fully ramps during the second half of this year. The factory is named Sella 2, after SolarEdge’s late founder and former CEO Guy Sella.

The company acquired South Korean battery manufacturer and energy storage system (ESS) integrator Kokam in 2019. The Sella 2 plant has been built together with Kokam in Eumseong Innovation City, Chungcheongbuk-do Province.

A SolarEdge representative told Energy-Storage.news the factory will produce nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) pouch cells.

They will be primarily aimed at the “fast growing” residential ESS sector, with SolarEdge manufacturing its own SolarEdge Energy Bank Home Battery storage systems, the representative said,

However they will also be made for other applications including mobile energy storage and stationary energy storage systems that require “high power and high-reliability cells”. For example, Kokam was awarded a contract last year to deliver a 15MW/10.4MWh battery storage solution for a utility in Tahiti that will provide synchronous inertia to the local grid while increasing adoption of renewable energy.

“The new plant will utilise the battery cell technology developed by Kokam over the years to manufacture Li-Ion cells for the broader company products, and in order to grow the existing business served by the storage division,” the spokesperson said.

“The accumulated knowledge of Kokam in developing battery cells combined with the scale of the new factory will allow SolarEdge to adjust the cell chemistry and characteristics in order to optimise product cost and performance.”

Cells will be shipped to global markets, while the SolarEdge Home Battery system will then be assembled in Europe, while systems for other applications that are not PV-related will be assembled in Korea.

SolarEdge’s CEO Zvi Lando said that the opening of Sella 2 was an important milestone for the company which “allows us to own key processes in the development and manufacturing of advanced energy storage solutions for our solar core business and additional applications, while further securing the resilience of our supply chain”.

“We are committed to growing our business in the energy storage market, as well as our investment in battery cell technology and cell manufacturing, further strengthening our storage product portfolio,” Lando said.

SolarEdge became known for its power optimisers, particularly in the US residential market where it carved out a healthy market share, but has broadened its base to include EV charging solutions, various smart PV inverters, energy management systems (EMS) and other products.

Continue reading

TotalEnergies has signed agreements with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) to acquire 50% of Clearway Energy Group (CEG). This constitutes its largest acquisition in the renewable energy in the United States. CEG is a developer of renewables projects and controls and owns 42% of economic interest of its listed subsidiary, Clearway Energy Inc. (CWEN), into which projects are dropped when they reach commercial operation.

Clearway has 7.7 GW of wind and solar assets in operation through its CWEN subsidiary and has a 25 GW pipeline of renewable and storage projects, of which 15 GW are in an advanced stage of development. Headquartered in San Francisco, Clearway has approximately 760 employees.

In the frame of this transaction, GIP will receive $1.6 billion in cash and an interest of 50% minus one share in the TotalEnergies subsidiary that holds its 50.6% ownership in SunPower Corp. The transaction takes into account valuations of $35.1 per share for CWEN and $18 per share for SunPower.

TotalEnergies welcomes GIP as an equity partner in SunPower, which offers fully integrated solar, storage, home energy and financing solutions.

“We are delighted with this partnership with Global Infrastructure Partners, which is a major player in renewables, particularly in the United States,” says Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies. “It allows TotalEnergies to scale up in the U.S. market, one of the most dynamic in the world, benefiting from operating assets and a 25 GW high quality pipeline, in wind, solar and storage, with a wide geographic coverage with a presence in 34 states. This transaction perfectly fits with our strategy to make renewable electricity one of our main growth drivers along with liquefied natural gas that we have recently reinforced with the launch of Cameron extension. It illustrates our priority to accelerate the transformation of the company to become a sustainable and profitable multi-energy company.”

As part of this partnership, TotalEnergies will contribute to enhance Clearway’s growth prospects by providing CWEN in the U.S. with access to its power trading capabilities and will give it priority on the farm down of its own developed projects.

The acquisition brings TotalEnergies’ renewable portfolio in the U.S. to more than 25 GW and contributes to the objective that the United States account for at least 25% of the company’s global target of 100 GW by 2030.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with TotalEnergies to continue leading the energy transition in the U.S.,” comments Adebayo Ogunlesi, GIP’s chairman and CEO. We are proud of the growth and accomplishments of the Clearway team since our initial investment in 2018, and we are confident that with TotalEnergies as a partner, Clearway will be able to accelerate the deployment of cost competitive renewable power in the U.S.”

“At the same time, GIP’s investment in SunPower is our initial commitment in the distributed generation space, which we believe will provide critical solutions to facilitate the nation’s clean energy future Ogunlesi. “The scale, capabilities and ambition that both GIP and TotalEnergies bring to this partnership will support our shared vision to build industry-leading utility scale and distributed renewables platforms in the U.S.”

Both transactions are subject to customary conditions, including receipt of requisite regulatory approvals.

Image: Photo by Andreas Gücklhorn on Unsplash

Continue reading

California’s Solano County and renewable energy services provider, ENGIE North America, have broken ground on a $41 million new energy infrastructure upgrade program as part of a comprehensive sustainability alliance. The new energy infrastructure includes 3.4 MW of solar, four sustainable microgrids, with 1.9 MW / 7.6 MWh of battery energy storage with microgrid controls. It also provides emergency generators, county-wide LED lighting retrofits, essential HVAC equipment replacements, and 54 Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charging ports at six locations.

“The county pays nearly three million a year in utility costs,” says Megan Greve, director of general services for the county. “That is for the entire county and not just the project sites. This program with ENGIE will offset about $2 million of that.”

The county will achieve an offset of more than $60 million in utility bills over 20 years. These energy cost savings are expected to pay for most of the new and upgraded power infrastructure. The energy generation will produce nearly 90% of the county’s energy needs at the installation locations.

“Solano County currently relies heavily on the power grid, and our rates went up eight percent this year,” adds Greve. “This new program figured in annual increases of 4.5 percent as part of its savings calculations, so the benefits could be even greater than anticipated.”

ENGIE will administer the program, which includes installation, maintenance and limited replacement projects.

“ENGIE anticipates a long alliance with Solano County, as our contract includes 20 years of operations and maintenance, with a 20-year savings guarantee provided by our Customer Care team,” states Stefaan Sercu, managing director at ENGIE. “This means that if the new infrastructure’s power generation doesn’t meet certain targets, ENGIE will pay the County back.”

The projects include installations at the Health and Social Services complex in Fairfield, the Fairfield Civic Center Library, the Juvenile Detention Center in Fairfield, the Vallejo campus, and the William J. Carroll Government Center in Vacaville.

Continue reading

The solar-plus-storage site in Massachusetts which is being optimised by CES. Image: Kearsarge Energy.

Renewable energy developer Kearsarge Energy expects a 20-50% revenue uplift for a solar-plus-storage project in the New England ISO market by using Customized Energy Solutions’ optimisation platform.

Customized Energy Solutions (CES) has partnered with Kearsarge to optimise the performance and revenue generation of the latter’s 4.4MW PV / 10MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) site in Bellingham, Massachusetts. CES will use its bidding and scheduling optimisation platform, GridBOOST.

The companies expect the platform to increase the co-located project’s revenue by between 20% and 50% by optimising its participation in the New England ISO capacity and frequency regulation markets. The project was delivered in February for Kearsarge by global EV/BESS solution group NHOA.

GridBOOST will also help the project capitalise on the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Targets (SMART) and Massachusetts Clean Peak Energy Standard incentive programmes. SMART provides guaranteed payment to investors in community solar – in this case the nearby town of Randolph – by their utility over a 20-year period. The Clean Peak Energy Standard programme provides incentives to renewable resources that can supply electricity or reduce demand during peak periods.

It is not uncommon for co-located storage projects in Massachusetts to use all four revenue sources (capacity, regulation, SMART and Clean Peak) including those run by community solar, and increasingly solar-plus-storage group Nexamp as its VP for energy storage Mark Frigo recently told Energy-Storage.news. He said the state is only one of a handful in the US to have put in place incentives like these, along with California and New York.

In that same article, which originally ran in our quarterly journal PV Tech Power, Mary Cauwels, VP of product marketing at smart energy storage technology and services provider Stem Inc, gave a revenue breakdown of a typical co-located site in the state: 34% from the energy market, 27% from the capacity market, 15% from real time reserves, 12% from Clean Peak and 12% from frequency regulation.

CES said that GridBOOST integrates data from multiple sources to make holistic, data-driven scheduling and bidding decisions unlike ramp-based generation profiles that have traditionally guided storage dispatch and charging. It added that the platform’s algorithm accounts for the technology constraints and operational performance of the system, and external factors including market rules, wholesale trading price forecasts, weather forecasts and available incentive programmes.

“Working with CES has enabled us to maximise the revenue streams of our storage assets and extend our market leadership position for co-located solar and energy storage in a competitive market,” said Andrew Bernstein, managing partner at Kearsarge Energy.

The GridBOOST platform available in CAISO and ISO-NE and CES plans to expand it into other major US grid markets like ERCOT in Texas, NYISO in New York state, and PJM which covers a handful of states in the Midwest, South and North of the US.

Continue reading