Energy Storage

Also on the rise: SunStyle brings its solar shingles to the US market. Urban Electric Power unveils 1 MWh battery system at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. Solar Superstar cities set the pace for solar development in the US. 2nd grader, Neil, gets a response to his letter to John Fitzgerald Weaver. Canadian university to be equipped with a stealthy solar façade/microgrid.

The 1 MWh alkaline battery is replacing the 20,000 pounds of toxic lead-acid batteries formerly housed at the center and will provide an immediate boost to the center’s available backup power.

Also on the rise: Pivot Energy closes financing on 90MW solar portfolio. iSun posts 115% revenue growth in full year 2021 financial results. Energy Dome wins BNEF Pioneers 2022 competition for long-duration energy storage with CO2 batteries. Burns & McDonnell completes 65MW Texas solar project. New Hampshire utilities announce electric vehicle demand charge holiday.

Energy Dome’s emission-free energy storage method uses carbon dioxide in a closed loop charge/discharge cycle that can store and dispatch renewable energy onto the grid over periods from four to 24 hours.

NREL modeled solar-plus-storage as a mitigation tool to limit grid upgrade costs, and finds that for now, it’s still a better investment to build stand-alone solar. However, costs are close.

Gallaudet University, Scale Microgrid Solutions, and Urban Ingenuity collaborate on solar-plus-storage microgrid to power the university and surrounding homes through community solar plan.

Also on the rise: The sky may not be falling: Heliene CEO speaks on anti-circ investigation. To speed interconnection, consider public control of grid operators, says law professor. Sachs polls says 86% of Florida voters want Gov. DeSantis to veto anti-solar bill. Maryland Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022 moves to the Governor’s desk. Virginia Governor signs property tax exemption for solar installations up to 25kW. Solar drone inspection provider Raptor Maps secures $22 million Series B.

To speed interconnection of utility-scale solar and storage, “maybe we want somebody running the show that has more of an interest in getting all these resources in the grid,” said law professor Shelley Welton in a webinar for “100% clean energy states.”

The deal was booked prior to the release of First Solar’s Q4 and Full Year 2021 earnings in February, and by contract Origis will benefit from technology developments until the order is complete in 2024.

US researchers have proposed the use of hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells to store renewable energy via compressed natural gas, with the levelized cost of storage potentially coming in at $70/MWh and $270/MWh. They said wells could also be used to store other renewable gases such as carbon dioxide or hydrogen in the future.