CPUC has signed off on four lithium-ion battery projects in California, one of which at 300 MW is the largest battery project to date known by pv magazine.

Zinc battery specialist NantEnergy has acquired the U.S. energy systems and services business from Japanese electronics giant Sharp. The acquisition, according to NantEnergy will provide the company an important foothold in the U.S. market, and allow it to provide ‘energy as a service’ business models, using its Zinc-air battery, in multiple markets.

The cooperative utility on the Hawaiian island has signed a contract for design and engineering of a 25 MW pumped hydro project, plus an unspecified volume of solar, to provide “dispatchable” renewable energy and allow the island to integrate an unprecedented level of solar.

The utility is expanding upon its procurement of 1 GW of solar with an new RFP for RPS-compliant renewables, which can include projects with integrated energy storage.

The energy storage developer and battery IPP is on a roll, with four projects in Southern California following on a mammoth 300 MWh contract in Silicon Valley.

The investment comes as part of Governor Cuomo’s ambitious state mandate of 1,500 MW of energy storage by 2025, in hopes of shifting generation to match demand.

Duke Energy has announced plans to invest $500 million to build 300 MWh of energy storage in the Carolinas over the next eight years, which breaks down to an average of 37.5 MWh per year.

The unique project will match Texas’ largest previous battery storage project to address the difference between peak generation and peak demand.

The projects would be a first for all but one of these utilities, as publicly-owned power companies continue to lead Texas’ solar charge.

Fluence Energy has given guidance on optimizing solar module loading ratios, suggesting that a 1.9:1 DC:AC solar panel to inverter ratio, in defined circumstances, makes economic sense with integrated DC-coupled energy storage.