Solar Energy Storage Articles & Analysis

Schneider Electric held a ribbon cutting this week (Feb 27) to mark the opening of new data center and microgrid research laboratories in the heart of its Global R&D Center in Andover, Mass. The new labs are a part of 2.26 billion (approx. $2.4 billion) that the company invested in 2024 globally to support research and development. Andover is one of five R&D Centers operated by the ...

By Smart Grid Observer

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has released its staff assessment, which includes a draft environmental impact report (EIR), for the Darden Clean Energy Project (DCEP), a 2,300 megawatt solar and battery storage project proposed to be built on retired agricultural land in western Fresno County. It is the first project to reach this stage under the CEC’s Opt-In Certification Program, ...

By Smart Grid Observer

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office (LPO) this week announced the closing of a $289.7 million loan guarantee to Sunwealth Holdco 18 LLC’s (Sunwealth) Project Polo. The loan guarantee will finance the deployment of up to 1,000 solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and battery energy storage systems (BESS) located ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Sunrun, a leading provider of clean energy as a subscription service, announced this week that its growing portfolio of virtual power plants (VPPs) successfully supported power grids across the country in 2024 with a combined instantaneous peak of nearly 80 megawatts—a capacity greater than many traditional fossil-fuel power plants. These innovative programs leveraged Sunrun’s fleet of ...

By Smart Grid Observer

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in coordination with the U.S. Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Defense, this week released a study showing that there is significant potential for further expanding renewable energy production on federal lands. The most comprehensive study of its kind finds that onshore federal lands in the contiguous United ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Constellation and Calpine Corp. this week announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Constellation will acquire Calpine in a cash and stock transaction valued at an equity purchase price of approximately $16.4 billion, composed of 50 million shares of Constellation stock and $4.5 billion in cash plus the assumption of approximately $12.7 billion of Calpine net debt. After ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Canada should focus on building mass utility-scale solar mega-projects to kickstart its green energy transition, according to a new report from Simon Fraser University's Clean Energy Research Group. The recommendation comes from a new paper published in the journal Solar Compass which looks at the current state of solar power and compares the benefits of both mass-scale projects and smaller, ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Danish renewables developer Eurowind Energy A/S plans to add nearly 1 GW of power generation capacity over the next two years, aiming to strengthen its presence in the European market. Announced on Tuesday, the plan involves constructing up to 50 new power plants in key markets such as Germany, Romania, and Poland, with additional projects slated for Southern Europe. Currently engaged in ...

By Eurowind Energy A/S

Large-scale renewable energy and battery energy storage projects have a pivotal role as the United States moves to a clean energy system. Where and how these facilities are sited is a complex process that involves many considerations and parties.To further support state and local governments and Tribal nations with this process, the U.S. Department of Energy is seeking applications from ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Georgia Power leaders joined elected officials from the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), Georgia legislature, and Talbot and Muscogee counties on Thursday to mark commercial operation of the company’s first “grid-connected” battery energy storage system (BESS). The Mossy Branch Battery Facility is capable of 65 megawatts of battery storage that can be deployed back to the grid over a ...

By Smart Grid Observer

ENGIE North America (ENGIE) and Meta announced they recently completed an Environmental Attributes Purchase Agreement (EAPA) for ENGIE to supply 260 MW of renewable energy and associated environmental attributes from its Sypert Branch solar project in Milam County Texas to support Meta’s growing power needs in line with its net zero goals. Meta will purchase 100% of the 260 MW ...

By Smart Grid Observer

A new report from Global Market Insights focused on the thermal energy storage (TES) market finds that the segment was valued at USD 47.5 billion in 2023 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.7% from 2024 to2032. The main driver for this is the growing adoption of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind. Thermal energy storage systems help mitigate the intermittent nature of these ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Tri-State’s members and rural communities across Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming will benefit from a reliable, affordable and responsible energy transition supported with $2.5 billion in low-cost financing and grants through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program. In an announcement at Tri-State’s headquarters in Westminster, ...

By Smart Grid Observer

enewable energy sources are on the rise, in recent years mainly thanks to photovoltaics. But various challenges are about to slow down its dynamic growth: Grid challenges, unsolved storage issues, land availability – to only name a few. At this year’s Solarplaza Asset Management conference in Prague, attendees from the European solar PV industry were confronted with a tough ...

By OTT HydroMet - Veralto

California State Treasurer Fiona Ma this week announced a $30 million agreement with the California Energy Commission (CEC) to expand a popular financing program for home energy efficiency upgrades. The program, GoGreen Financing, is administered by the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (CAEATFA), which Ma chairs as state treasurer.Under the agreement, ...

By Smart Grid Observer

As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy, through its Loan Programs Office, announced a $861.3 million loan guarantee to finance the construction of two solar photovoltaic farms equipped with battery storage and two standalone battery energy storage systems in Puerto Rico. The facilities will be located in the municipalities of ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Today the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) filed comments on proposed rules for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit as it transitions to the technology-neutral tax credit structure in 2025. Under the proposed rule, beginning in 2025, storage assets will no longer qualify for the benefit, presenting red tape and headaches for residential and community solar companies and storage ...

By Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

SolaX Power (SHA:688717) has announced plans to invest USD 1.498 billion (EUR 1.351bn) in constructing a research and manufacturing facility in Zhejiang, eastern China, focused on utility energy storage and integrated smart energy systems that combine solar power, storage, heating, and electric vehicle (EV) charging. The investment is motivated by the increasing demand for efficient energy ...

By SolaX Power Europe

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy, through its Loan Programs Office (LPO), this week announced the closing of a $72.8 million loan guarantee to finance the development of a solar-plus-long-duration-energy-storage microgrid. The microgrid will be located on the Tribal lands of the Viejas (Baron Long) Group of Capitan Grande Band ...

By Smart Grid Observer

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) program and Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, through a Partnership Intermediary Agreement with ENERGYWERX, announced the Innovative Queue Management Solutions (iQMS) for Clean Energy Interconnection and Energization program. This program will award $11.2 million to no more than 25 distribution utilities to ...

By Smart Grid Observer