A “sorting year” for solar and storage
2026 is emerging as a decisive moment as capital concentrates around projects that can demonstrate early procurement and execution certainty.
Lunar Energy raises $232 million to accelerate development of residential storage, VPP software
The Silicon Valley startup, led by former Tesla Energy executive Kunal Girotra, says the funding will support product innovation and expansion of its operations and manufacturing base.
States and utilities took 106 actions to advance VPPs in 2025: SEPA Report
The Smart Electric Power Alliance and NC Clean Energy Technology Center’s latest report reveals a surge in Virtual Power Plant activity, with 35 states moving forward on policy and regulation as the industry shifts toward more holistic, multi-technology aggregation.
Ohm Analytics 2025 VPP market report reveals 21% growth in overall capacity
Ohm analysts tracked over 150 actions taken by utilities, regulators and legislators in 2025 and noted a 153% year-over-year increase in residential battery enrollments, with ample room to grow.
Five trends for energy storage as global market passes 100 GW
A report from Wood Mackenzie identifies five key trends that will define the energy storage industry in 2026, including supply chain restructuring and the rise of non-lithium batteries.
EG4 Electronics partners with Leap to expand VPP offerings
The collaboration will integrate Leap’s distributed energy platform with EG4’s hardware ecosystem, which the companies say will allow homeowners to monetize their energy storage systems through automated grid services while maintaining backup reliability.
Global BESS demand jumps 51% in 2025 as installations top 300 GWh
Iola Hughes, Head of Research at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, tells ESS News that 2026 is set to be another strong year for BESS, with forecast additions exceeding 450 GWh and no material supply constraints in sight. Meanwhile, the initial impact of rising lithium prices is already visible at the cell level, but the full effect has yet to ripple through to system pricing.
Fluence supplies 1.2 GWh Arizona project, NextVolt sells 1 GWh battery
NextVolt has offloaded a 1 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) to Exus Renewables which will take on ownership long-term. Menawhile, the developers of a 1.2 GWh BESS in Arizona have partnered with Fluence for its GridStack Pro system.
Joint venture NeoVolta Power will bring BESS manufacturing to Georgia
The partnership with PotisEdge and LONGi marks NeoVolta’s first move into domestic manufacturing.
Anker Solix launches new E10 whole home backup system in U.S., offers ‘one-stop’ service to bypass installers
Hybrid solution combines battery, solar, and a new DC generator to power the energy system, as it goes direct to consumers. Plus, full pricing and availability.
