pv magazine Archives

The Rapid Maturation Of The U.S. Energy Storage Market

August 1, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /PV Magazineby Amish Shah, Madeleine Tan, Kyle Hayes and Alyssa Walker

The U.S. energy storage market is primed to grow at a rapid pace. A study by IHS Markit forecasts that the U.S. grid-tied energy storage market will nearly double in 2019 – from 367 MW in 2018 to 712 MW this year – which does not include behind-the-meter energy storage that would add several hundred MW of deployed energy storage to the forecast for 2019. This significant expansion is poised to occur against a backdrop of regulatory changes in federal and state incentive programs, cost improvements and advances in monetization of energy storage. These current and anticipated trends affecting the U.S. energy storage market will have a significant influence on how industry participants choose when, where and how to invest in and develop energy storage technology.

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Wind, Solar, Batteries And Carbon Taxes In California And Texas

July 30, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /pv magazine by John Weaver

A research paper, The role of energy storage in deep decarbonization of electricity production, by University of Michigan scientists mixes energy storage types and pricing, carbon taxes, unique power grids in Texas and California, and adds 60 gigawatts of wind and solar to to model CO2 reductions and curtailment in economic markets.

The biggest finding of the research suggests that California will much sooner gain benefit from energy storage before Texas will because of a mix of flexible and inflexible generation, and types of renewables deployed. In California, the 60 GW deployed would lower emissions 72% – while in Texas 54%. Adding the carbon taxes and energy storage would make emissions fall 90% in California, but only increase to a 57% drop in Texas.

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California Gas Plant To Be Re-powered With Batteries + Solar

July 29, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /pv magazine by Tim Sylvia

While it has been no secret that the City of Glendale, California has been looking to re-power the aging gas-fired Grayson Power Plant with renewables, details the scope of that project, as well as the carveouts for each specific type of generation proved to be scarce.

That all has changed, however, as the city has released a plan to replace all but one of the plant’s existing generation facilities with a mix of battery storage, distributed solar and geothermal energy. Broken down by capacity, the plan calls for a 75 MW, 300 MWh battery energy storage system, up to 50 MW of distributed solar projects, energy efficiency and demand response programs.

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The United States Is Headed For A Battery Breakthrough

July 11, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /PV Magazineby Tim Sylvia

Symbiosis is one of life’s most beautiful and lasting natural phenomena. Regardless of the circumstances, certain things just work perfectly together: peanut butter and jelly, sharks and pilot fish, Brady and Belichick. The energy revolution is no different, as renewable resources and battery storage go together like two peas in a pod.

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Enormous Montana Pumped Hydro Project Gets Danish Investment

July 10, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /PV Magazineby William Driscoll

A 400 MW pumped hydro project in Montana has received an equity investment from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

While the technical potential of closed-loop pumped hydro storage is an estimated 500,000 sites worldwide, the cost of pumped hydro, especially as it compares to the cost of battery storage, remains an issue.

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OPINION: Mandates Or Open Markets?

June 5, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /pv magazine by Christian Roselund

The 100% clean energy movement has swept the United States. Over the last six months, dozens of cities including Chicago (population 2.7 million+) have joined New Mexico, Washington State, Puerto Ricoand Washington D.C. in passing mandates that set a timeline by 2050 or sooner for utilities to entirely phase out fossil fuels in their electricity supply.

This brings us to the point where one in five Americans live in a jurisdiction that has passed such a policy. And with five more states considering legislation to do so, advocates say that this is just the beginning.

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Energy Storage Deployments Double And Triple In First Quarter

June 3, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /PV Magazineby John Weaver

The headlines are a bit easier to write when the growth is significant. Last year we got to say things like residential solar grew nine and ten times over prior quarters, and that 74% of residential customers were interested in storage with their solar. This year, we’re projecting the market will at least double as the United States becomes the world’s largest grid-tied energy storage market and energy storage’s investment grade status continues to grow.

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Pumped Hydro With Better Financing Can Compete With Batteries

May 14, 2019/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /PV Magazineby William Driscoll Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Lazard’s well-known Levelized Cost of Storage analysis does not cover pumped hydro storage, and a pumped hydro cost estimate from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is not expected until late this year, as a follow-up to an interim report. Beating them to the punch is a report by UC San Diego professor David Victor and five co-authors, Pumped Energy Storage: Vital to California’s Renewable Energy Future. The report provides the following cost comparison between pumped hydro and battery storage:

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