Morning Brief: New Zealand invests in flow batteries, ‘NextGrid’ goes off the rails
Also in the brief: Tesla’s Q Con virtual power plant presentation, the University of Arkansas’ solar design contest, M&A during the pandemic, dodecahedrons and more
Battery startup FreeWire raises $25 million in funding
The funding was led by an existing investor of FreeWire, BP, and will allow the company to commercialize its upcoming Boost EV Charger, as well as expand operations across the United States and into Europe.
Top global Li-ion battery projects: Tesla grows lead as Hornsdale expands to 150 MW
The world’s biggest battery is now rated at 150 MW/193.5 MWh and dwarfs any lithium-ion battery system in operation worldwide.
On the road to high-value recycling, storage is ahead of solar
Solar lags, at least in part, because the major components of panels — glass and silicon — while highly recyclable, are not as valuable as the lithium, cobalt and nickel in batteries.
US behind-the-meter storage forecast drops 31% over Corona concerns
Wood Mackenzie has dropped the 2020 outlook down to 430 MW, still a more than 100% increase over 2019, amid concerns over the role of sales and commissioning and interconnection in a period of shelter-in-place ordinances.
Panasonic suspending work at Tesla Nevada factory as California and New York gigafactories shut down
Tesla’s Nevada operation is still open for business. The EV and battery maker assures the market that its cash position is strong enough to weather an “extended period of uncertainty.”
Analyst expects recovery for PV and storage supply chains
Analyst Wood Mackenzie expects solar demand to decline but predicts the market will recover, with the prospects for the energy transition remaining intact.
Morning Brief: TVA solicits 200 MW of renewables, Sungrow supplies the Wright project
Also in the brief: 14 MW approved in Maine, 20 MW approved in Indiana, a molten aluminum thermal energy storage system and more.
Tesla claims its New York factory built 4 MW of solar roof tiles last week, ‘enough for 1,000 homes’
Although every box of shingles we examined came from Changzhou, China, not the factory in New York.
BNEF lowers 2020 global PV outlook due to coronavirus concerns
Many solar factories in China are starting to resume production, suggesting that concerns about supplies of PV components could soon begin to ease. Nevertheless, the temporary standstill will have an impact on the global solar market, as the implementation of some projects will probably be postponed until next year.
