The falling price of renewable energy has been dominating the headlines, but more dramatic change is happening behind the scenes, where battery storage is disrupting the way utilities provide power. The change is driven not just by cheap renewables and cheap batteries, but by the electronics that link them together, said Mark Ahlstrom, the president
Electricity grids that incorporate storage for power sourced from renewable resources could cut carbon dioxide emissions substantially more than systems that simply increase renewably sourced power, a new study has found. The study, published today in the journal Nature Communications, found that storage could help make more efficient use of power generated by sources such
We have had a reply to the VAT petition from the Treasury. See below for the full wording. Interestingly it shows that the UK government fought against the VAT rises with the EU but were defeated by the Court of Justice of the European Union siding with the European Commission.
Two years ago, battery storage enjoyed a quite different environment. National Grid was offering attractively priced, bilateral Firm Frequency Response (FFR) contracts, so anyone on the enduring market could easily capture prices between £15/MWh and £25/MWh (and sometimes even higher). The Enhanced Frequency Response (EFR) tender also awarded 4-year contracts with an average price of
The UK will need 20 million ‘mini power stations’ to reach its net zero energy goals, with the need to create a policy framework for technologies like solar PV and energy storage an immediate priority, a group convened in Britain’s parliament this week heard. While other rooms at Portcullis House, Westminster, were given over to
The fastest-expanding industrial sector on the planet is now electricity storage − a battery boom which heralds an end to the need for fossil fuels. LONDON, 18 January, 2019 − Billions of dollars are being invested worldwide in the developing battery boom, involving research into storage techniques to use the growing surpluses of cheap renewable
Lithium-ion batteries are far more widely recycled than many people think, while China and South Korea are already leaders of the emerging circular economy of lithium, a report commissioned by the Swedish Energy Agency has found. An often-cited figure is that “5% of lithium-ion batteries are recycled”, when in fact this statistic, taken originally from
The UK’s energy retail market is, slowly but surely, changing beyond recognition. Ever since the market was privatised in 1990, it has been dominated by a select handful of companies whose combined share of the market has at times topped 99%. Now, nearly 30 years later, that status is changing and their footing is being
A roadblock to sustainable energy solutions is coming unstuck The way the world gets its electricity is undergoing a rapid transition, driven by both the increased urgency of decarbonizing energy systems and the plummeting costs of wind and solar technology. In the past decade electricity generated by renewables in the U.S. has doubled, primarily from
Los Angeles Power and Water officials have struck a deal on the largest and cheapest solar + battery-storage project in the world, at prices that leave fossil fuels in the dust and may relegate nuclear power to the dustbin. Later this month the LA Board of Water and Power Commissioners is expected to approve a