Energy Storage

With 182.5 MW and 730 MWh of capacity and expansion capabilities that would bring it to 1.1 GWh, the Moss Landing battery energy storage system is set to be even bigger than Tesla’s Hornsdale project in Australia, as big-battery development takes off worldwide.

The utility has taken the first step towards bringing 900 MW of solar, 50 MW of storage and 500 MW of firming capacity to the Lone Star State, all in pursuit of CPS’ 50% renewable by 2040 goal.

While then vast majority of microgrid projects are still for distributed fossil generation, the share of renewable microgrids is rising, driven by high-volume adopters, like The Red Cross.

It was a series of firsts, including a profitable full year and Megapack turning a profit that factored into CEO Elon Musk explaining that he has “never been more optimistic or excited about the future of Tesla.” Austin is confirmed as the site of the next Gigafactory.

Also in the brief: Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary NV Energy goes full-on solar-plus-storage, and single-axis tracker analysis.

Also in the brief: Minnesota solar installers say they’re waiting too long for Xcel Energy grid connections, lower solar costs lead to new installations in metro Atlanta and financing for two large projects in Texas.

Executive, career and boardroom moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy VC.

The utility has announced two new projects that are set to come online by 2023 and will add 300 MW of new, utility-scale solar to the Hoosier State.

Also in the brief: U.S. could create 860,000 full-time jobs if targeted clean energy investments were included in the next round of federal stimulus investments — and ‘peaker’ gas plants may have peaked after all.

A new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration takes a look at the surge in battery adoption over the past decade, with focuses on legacy and emerging markets, as well as how other technologies stack up against lithium-ion.