Andrés Gluski

AES Corp. has entered into two renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPA) with Amazon. As part of the agreements, AES will deliver renewable energy in the CAISO (California Independent System Operator) market and source it from a combined 450 MW of solar and 225 MW, 4-hour duration battery energy storage from its portfolio of projects. AES has contracted with Fluence to supply energy storage solutions for one of the projects.

These projects help Amazon stay on path to power its global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025 – five years ahead of its original 2030 target – and reach net zero carbon by 2040.

“AES is proud to support Amazon’s bold actions to power its business operations, including its AWS data centers, with 100% renewable energy,” says Andrés Gluski, AES’ president and CEO. “Together with Amazon, we’re showing how customized energy solutions and innovative thinking can help organizations of all kinds to decarbonize their operations and the grid.”

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AES Bulgaria will explore the development of a co-located project and a BESS project of 80MWh after signing an MoU with Bulgaria’s ministry of energy. Image: AES Corporation.

Power company AES Bulgaria has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bulgarian ministry of energy to assist the country in its decarbonisation transition.

The company will collaborate and assist the country to achieve its goals in the European Green Deal for 2030 and 2050 by providing AES affiliates’ knowledge and experience in innovative technologies and their market integration

Moreover, AES Bulgaria will explore the development of a co-located project with 100MW of solar PV and battery energy storage system (BESS) as well as a stand-alone BESS project of 80MWh near Sofia, contributing to the grid’s security.

Along with the MoU, the power purchase agreement (PPA) signed between AES Bulgaria and Natsionalna Elektricheska Kompania EAD as off-taker of the 600MW thermal plant will be fulfilled until its expiry in May 2026 without the possibility to extend it.

Olivier Marquette, President of AES Bulgaria, said: “As a global technology leader and a pioneer in innovative green technologies, The AES Corporation embraces its mission to lead the energy transformation, accelerate the deployment of new solutions and products across the region and help all markets where we operate to become more sustainable.”

Last week, AES Corporation began investigating the cause of a fire at a 10MW BESS site it owns and operates in the US state of Arizona.

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A render of a CellCube battery energy storage system. Image: CellCube/Abengoa.

Vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) developer Enerox, better known by its CellCube brand, has set up a subsidiary in Colorado, US, to bring its product to the North American market.

It established CellCube Inc. in Denver on 4 May in response to what it calls the “…exploding market demand in North America for long-duration energy storage”.

Alexander Schoenfeldt, CEO of CellCube Austria and USA commented: “Being a global leader in this space we are very enthusiastic about our new presence in North America, as it will allow us to build and use local supply chain and engage with our business and R&D partners in the US more easily. As a result, we will offer the best in class product in North America in a very sustainable and innovative way.”  

The company manufacturers modular VRFB battery energy storage systems (BESS), with its three pre-configured systems offering four, six and eight-hour duration in 250kW stages. Its system can also be configured to provide a duration of up to 24 hours. It says a typical number of cycles over its battery’s lifetime at 100% discharge is 20,000. See a datasheet here.

Though it has not announced any orders in the North America market yet, it has taken steps to shore up the supply chain. In February, it quintupled an electrolyte supply deal with Arkansas-based US Vanadium. Two months earlier, it followed peer Invinity Energy System in striking a deal with Munich Re to offer 20 year performance guarantees backed by the insurer.

It is a member of the Long Duration Energy Storage Council formed last year and is reportedly targeting the UK capacity market auctions.

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Ingeteam’s headquarters in Spain. Image: Ingeteam.

Energy conversion equipment specialist Ingeteam will supply a 70MW/340MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in northern Italy for a 2023 delivery date.

The company, based in Spain but with operations globally, said the BESS will be one of the largest in Europe and the world with a capacity “that was almost unthinkable until recently”. It will have a duration of nearly five hours and will come into operation in 2023.

The BESS will serve Italy’s electricity grid largely through participation in the wholesale electricity market by covering peaks in electricity demand.

Ingeteam said it will contribute to the decarbonisation of Italy’s energy system, outlined in the PNIEC (National Plan for Energy and Climate 2030) which was recently approved by the Italian government.

The company will provide the containerised lithium-ion batteries and power stations which include Ingeteam brand converters and controls, as well as the in-field assembly and startup of the system.

“This project in itself represents the energy transition towards a model based on renewable energies, where energy storage plays a fundamental role,” said Stefano Domenicali, managing director of Ingeteam Italy.

It will provide 59 fully integrated battery containers each with cooling systems, fire detection and extinguisher systems and 59 battery inverters. Each containerised battery will have a nominated power of 2.88MW and a capacity of 5.76MWh: Energy-Storage.news has contacted Ingeteam to clarify the power discrepancy between these figures and the headline figure of 70MW and will update this piece when a response is received.

Ingeteam will also supply 15 power stations with inverters and an accompanying PV inverter controller and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system.

It recently delivered a 3MW/9MWh BESS for Spain’s first solar-plus-storage project in the Extramadura region. The BESS was installed within the PV plant in a way that meant the battery converters share the direct current connection with the PV inverters.

The company was also the first to announce a large BESS project paired with a wind farm in the UK, the 50MWh system at the Whitelee site in Scotland. The project was slated for a 2021 delivery date.

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Correlate Infrastructure Partners’ solar installation at Blue Cross Blue Shield’s HQ

Correlate Infrastructure Partners Inc. has begun the final engineering, permitting and interconnection work on the Geneva, Ill. facility where the company has contracted to install a large-scale rooftop solar project. The massive rooftop solar project is being constructed at the headquarters of Continental Envelope, an 84-year-old company. The project is located at Continental Envelope’s manufacturing plant, which produces 2 billion envelopes per year.

“Correlate Infrastructure Partners loves supporting ESG-focused businesses that are making a true difference in their industries and communities” states Todd Michaels, CEO of Correlate. “This attractive project makes clear that sustainability and profitability are no longer at odds. This is a call to action, Chicagoland! We are grateful to partner with this innovative family business that shows the printing industry can be more efficient and renewable without compromising reliability or profitability.”

The 908 kW solar project, which is expected to be operable by Q3 2022, will power approximately 20-25% of the facility’s overall energy needs when commissioned. The solar system will provide low-cost, fixed-priced energy, with no price volatility for decades to come.

“This kind of energy forward-thinking is achievable for printing and manufacturing businesses of all types and sizes across the world,” says David Bailey, chief revenue officer for Correlate Infrastructure Partners. “The Continental Envelope family put a lot of thought and planning into how they would become a more sustainable business, and we’ve created an innovative building health program that will set them on the path toward net-zero carbon.”

“This solution for Continental Envelope is a demonstration of Correlate’s commitment to designing and building customer-centric energy solutions that not only deliver profitable sustainability but create great jobs and visibility in the local community,” adds Jason Loyet, director of commercial solar for Correlate.

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Steve Greenley

CenterPoint Energy Inc.’s Indiana-based electric utility business, CenterPoint Energy Indiana South, has received approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to enter into two power purchase agreements (PPA) for an additional 335 MW of solar energy as part of the next component in the company’s long-term electric generation transition plan.

The PPAs consist of 185 MW of solar power under a 15-year PPA from Oriden, which is developing a solar project in Vermillion County, Ind., and 150 MWs of solar power, under a 20-year PPA from Origis Energy, which is developing a solar project in Knox County, Ind.

“The additional energy obtained through these PPAs will further CenterPoint Energy’s Smart Energy Future strategy and continue our efforts to bring clean energy to the communities we serve,” says Steve Greenley, senior vice president of generation development for CenterPoint Energy. “We appreciate the continued efforts of Oriden and Origis Energy as they bring these projects to fruition and thank their leadership teams as well as the community partners in Vermillion and Knox Counties.”

The PPAs represent the next component of the company’s Smart Energy Future Plan to support stakeholder sustainability goals and implement a cost-effective, well-balanced energy mix for its 150,000 customers in southwest Indiana as outlined in its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). CenterPoint Energy is focused on achieving its net-zero goals for its Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 by building out its renewable resources.

CenterPoint Energy’s IRP includes a plan for a portfolio with nearly two-thirds of energy generated from renewable resources and includes flexible generation to meet seasonal peak loads. The portfolio seeks to maintain continued reliability, while saving electric customers an estimated $320 million over the 20-year planning period. In addition to the PPAs, the company previously received approval to acquire a solar array in Posey County and an additional PPA in Warrick County. CenterPoint Energy is awaiting an order on the application requesting approval to construct two natural gas combustion turbines to replace portions of its existing coal-fired generation fleet.

CenterPoint Energy delivers electricity to approximately 150,000 customers in southwest Indiana in all or portions of Gibson, Dubois, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick counties. Programs and services are operated under the brand CenterPoint Energy by Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Company d/b/a CenterPoint Energy Indiana South.

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John Jones

R3 Renewables LLC, a developer of grid-scale solar and energy storage projects, has executed a development services agreement with affiliates of Treaty Oak Clean Energy LLC for Treaty Oak to support R3’s development efforts on its initial portfolio of projects on reclaimed mining land in Indiana and Illinois.

“We are thrilled to have Treaty Oak join our effort. Treaty Oak’s capabilities allow R3 to advance these projects much more quickly,” says John Jones, R3’s CEO. “We believe Treaty Oak’s experience in developing and building large, complex power projects positions us to successfully execute a number of transformative renewable energy projects meeting the region’s growing demand for large scale solar and energy storage sources.” 

“We are pleased to be able to support R3 on its project portfolio, which is situated in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) footprint,” states Chris Elrod, senior partner at Treaty Oak. “The MISO market is well-positioned for significant solar and energy storage growth given the underlying market fundamentals. Treaty Oak’s execution focused approach to the development lifecycle, from greenfield siting to construction, combined with our deep experience in deregulated electricity markets will enable R3 to rapidly advance the development of these best-in-class projects.”

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Salient Energy’s zinc-ion residential battery storage system. Image: Salient Energy.

The brother of the founder of the US’ largest homebuilder D R Horton has chosen Salient Energy’s zinc-ion battery storage system for installation in the 200,000 homes his company plans to build, saying that lithium-ion has “a lot of issues”.

Salient Energy has partnered with sustainable homebuilder Horton World Solutions (HWS), founded by Terry Horton in 2018, with a view to install Salient’s storage system in its new builds.

The formalised partnership will see HWS host the first in-field demonstration of Salient’s zinc-ion storage system and qualify the system for installation in its planned construction of over 200,000 homes, the announcement said.

HWS founder and CEO Terry Horton will also join Salient Energy’s board of advisors. The company describes itself as a sustainable homebuilder whose proprietary composite framing system enables best in class energy efficiency and construction time.

Terry Horton commented: “Energy storage is a key part of making zero-carbon homes. But the current lithium-ion systems have a lot of issues. They create a fire risk that we need to design around, which further adds time and complexity to our permitting process.”

“They are also frequently in short supply, which makes it risky to plan for them being an integral part of our designs. When I saw that Salient’s zinc-ion could solve both these issues, I knew I had to get involved.”

Horton began his career at DR Horton, a company founded by his brother Donald Horton in 1978, which has grown into the largest homebuilder in the US with around US$27 billion sales in 2021. Terry Horton left the company in 2005 to explore more sustainable approaches to homebuilding, culminating in him founding HWS in 2018.

Salient’s zinc-ion battery uses a water-based design that eliminates the risk of fire, and is built with zinc and manganese metals, which are mined and processed in North America and abundant around the globe.

The company claims its zinc-ion energy storage system has the same power, performance and footprint as lithium-ion, meaning it can work as a drop-in replacement for systems currently in the market. Its product can pair with residential solar PV.

Interest in Zinc-based batteries as an alternative to lithium-ion appears to have grown in recent months.

Just last week, zinc-air battery storage company Eos Energy Enterprises secured a US$200 million investment commitment to commercialise and scale up production. Another company, E-Zinc, raised US$25 million in a series A at the start of April.

And in the interim between those two announcements the San Diego Supercomputer Center, (SDSC) which hosts the research computing loads for the University of California San Diego, opted for zinc manganese-dioxide battery cells to replace its 1MW lead acid system.

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Abigail Ross Hopper

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is launching a 501(c)3 nonprofit to accelerate the transition to carbon-free electricity through clean energy research and analysis. The Solar and Storage Industries Institute (SI2) will serve as SEIA’s charitable and educational arm, using research, public education initiatives, and policymaker engagement to remove barriers to clean energy deployment.

SI2 will propose and incubate new solutions that encourage the growth of the solar and storage industry. The organization will also tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the solar and storage industry, like land use concerns, antiquated rate designs, workforce development and environmental justice, and interconnection roadblocks, all in an effort to combat climate change and create a more equitable clean energy economy.

“We largely have the technologies we need to address the climate crisis, but several barriers remain to widespread adoption of solar and storage,” says Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO and the new chair of SI2’s board of directors. “The window for climate action is narrowing quickly, and we must double down on the clean energy research and analysis needed to dismantle systemic challenges that are holding back the solar and storage industry.”

David Gahl, SEIA’s current senior director of state policy, East, will lead SI2’s work and serve as the institute’s first executive director.

“I’m thrilled to take on this challenge and work with a diverse range of stakeholders to solve the most pressing issues facing America’s clean energy sector,” states Gahl. “SI2 offers the solar and storage industry a special opportunity to harness its creativity and use innovative thinking to chart a new path to a carbon-free future and an equitable clean energy economy.”

While the organization will focus on a variety of issues, one emerging challenge in the solar industry is land use. Siting clean energy projects requires community engagement and long-term planning that minimizes impact to the environment and surrounding community. These projects must also account for access to transmission lines, upgrades to grid infrastructure, and several other factors that can affect the outcome of a large-scale solar project. SI2’s first research project will create best practices for solar companies looking to create large-scale solar projects and other resources that will help the industry navigate these challenges.

In addition to Gahl’s role as executive director and Hopper’s role as board chair, SOLV Energy CEO George Hershman is serving as SI2’s board secretary, and Nautilus Solar co-CEO Laura Stern is board treasurer.

“We applaud SEIA’s efforts to launch SI2 in an effort to tackle barriers to clean energy deployment head-on,” comments Stern. “It’s exciting to be at the forefront of an initiative that will make significant progress to combat climate change and create a clean, sustainable future by offering an equitable and affordable renewable energy choice.”

“Over the last decade the solar industry has been a beacon of innovation, persevering through numerous challenges to emerge as a leading provider of cost-effective energy in the United States,” mentions Hershman. “A brighter future powered by clean energy is possible, and the formation of SI2 will help establish a direct road map to more efficient solar and storage deployment for generations to come.”

Solar energy accounts for roughly 4% of U.S. electricity generation today. If solar energy reaches 30% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030, electricity sector emissions would be cut in half. If the industry reaches its Solar+ Decade goals, the solar and storage industry would create more than $800 billion in economic activity and add more than one million well-paying jobs. Solar and storage businesses stand ready to achieve this goal, but significant red tape and supply chain hurdles stand in the way.

SI2 will work closely with SEIA and lean on its staff and resources while the organization establishes itself. As the organization grows and secures additional funding sources, SI2 will build its team and announce additional priorities and initiatives.

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South 8 Technologies’ co-founders Cyrus Rustomji, CEO, and Jungwoo Lee, CTO. Image: South 8 Technologies.

Lithium electrolyte provider South 8 Technologies has raised US$12 million in Series A financing to commercialise its liquefied gas electrolyte technology.

South 8 claims its electrolytes offer a unique approach to address shortcomings in more prevalent electrolytes on the market today. The technology uses solvents that are normally gaseous at room temperature and under standard pressures but can be liquefied to be used as an electrolyte.

This, South 8 says, poses benefits for batteries, including increased safety through a reduced risk of thermal runaway, an enhanced degree of material compatibility among cell components and cheaper costs.

Cyrus Rustomji, CEO at South 8 Technologies, said the company’s approach offered a “more practical alternative technology to stakeholders”, commenting that existing battery technology companies were currently “placing big bets on a relatively narrow set of potential breakthrough innovations”.

Companies participating in the funding round included LG Technology Ventures and Shell Ventures, investment vehicles operated by tech company LG and oil and gas major Shell respectively, as well as technology venture fund Foothill Ventures and Japanese industrial gas company Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation.

Shell’s new investment in South 8 follows a “strategic investment” of an undisclosed amount the company made in August 2020. Other energy storage firms to have received backing from Shell Ventures include platform provider AutoGrid and thermal storage start-up Antora Energy.

Robert McIntyre, managing director at LG Technology Ventures, added: “South 8’s technology can power new market applications by solving traditional challenges around safety, manufacturability and more that has limited battery technologies for decades.”

South 8 is a spin out of the University of California San Diego, launched in 2016 after its founding team developed its patented technology at the university. It is founded by Cyrus Rustomji, who now serves as the company’s chief executive officer, and current chief technology officer Jungwoo Lee.

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