Quidnet leverages drilling tech to provide pumped hydro type storage at half the price

The Houston-based firm secured $10 million in Series B financing and a contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for a commercial demonstration of its technology.

By Guy Burdick • July 6, 2020

Battery energy storage is getting cheaper, but how much deployment is too much?

As renewable penetrations rise, batteries are the answer to variability, but it is not clear when buying more storage stops increasing reliability.

By Herman K. Trabish • June 30, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Energy Storage

The proliferation of energy storage in everything from utility-scale batteries to electric vehicles is a driving force in the transition to a cleaner, more distributed power system. This trendline includes the best Utility Dive reporting on this dynamic sector.

By Utility Dive staff

Consumer demand prompts aggressive shift toward renewables, storage at Tucson Electric Power

Solar, wind and energy storage systems will account for 70% of TEP's generation capacity by 2035, according to the utility.

By Emma Penrod • June 30, 2020

COVID-19 propels microgrids in healthcare sector, but regulatory, awareness hurdles remain

"If we think this is the last time we’re going to be dealing with something like this, I think we’re being foolish," said an executive at a Southern Company distributed power subsidiary.

By Kavya Balaraman • June 29, 2020

California's storage limbo: Over $300M in projects are stuck on a CPUC waitlist, but there's an easy fix

California has $600 million in idle funds that can be used to advance energy storage projects; reallocating them would be the shot in the arm the state needs now, the author writes.

By Ted Ko • June 25, 2020

Battery makers face looming shortages of high-quality lithium

The COVID-19 pandemic has also adversely affected financial markets that battery developers and producers rely on, according to developers.

By Guy Burdick • June 25, 2020

Amazon $2B climate pledge draws praise, skepticism as total carbon footprint rises

The venture capital announcement was welcomed by developers in the clean energy space, but Green America said the company's plans are overly vague.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Updated June 25, 2020

8 Maryland utility storage pilots get vote of confidence, suggestions on safety, solar integration

Stakeholders weighed in June 19 on four utilities’ proposals to the Maryland Public Service Commission for eight pilot energy storage projects that could launch in February 2022.

By Guy Burdick • June 23, 2020

Xcel to speed up $3B in clean energy spending in response to Minnesota prompt on COVID-19 recovery

The utility plans to aid the state's economic recovery through a variety of programs, including energy efficiency, renewables and storage, that would create an estimated 5,000 jobs.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • June 19, 2020

EnergyHub partners with Vivint Solar as utility incentives for residential energy storage ramp up

"We're seeing double-digit, month-over-month growth in the volume of customers and batteries participating in utility programs," EnergyHub CEO Seth Frader Thompson told Utility Dive.

By Robert Walton • June 18, 2020

SCE, Sunrun partner on solar+storage virtual power plant pilot to drive down peak demand

The utility hopes to encourage greater buildout of residential solar+storage through the initial 300 customer program.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • June 17, 2020

Fluence unveils intelligent, modular storage product with 800 MW/2,300 MWh of projects

The technology stack, which includes digital intelligence that can connect storage systems to energy markets and manage battery degradation, is being deployed by Enel, LS Power, SPower and Siemens.

By Kavya Balaraman • June 17, 2020

COVID-19 pushes energy storage leader out of market as competition intensifies

The energy storage market is both shrinking and growing, according to an analyst. As existing firms are swallowed by competitors, new ones emerge.

By Guy Burdick • June 16, 2020

California utilities, regulators aim to hasten microgrid deployment ahead of wildfire season

Pacific Gas and Electric plans to have 73 microgrids operational by the end of 2020, which are viewed by California commissioners as part of a multifaceted approach to wildfire preparation.

By Emma Penrod • June 15, 2020

Energy storage market for microgrids may exceed $40B by 2030, Guidehouse finds

Nearly 37 GW of new energy storage for microgrids capacity is expected to be installed globally over the next 10 years, according to  a report released June 9.

By Guy Burdick • June 10, 2020

California CCAs seek offers for at least 4 GWh storage

A group of community choice aggregators issued a joint request for information on storage technologies with a minimum duration of eight hours, which could be necessary to meet the state's 2030 carbon reduction goals.

By Kavya Balaraman • Updated Oct. 16, 2020

Falling renewable, storage costs make 90% carbon-free US grid feasible by 2035, UC Berkeley finds

Building out renewables and storage to achieve this target will add more than 500,000 jobs per year as well as $1.7 trillion in investments into the economy, without raising customer bills, a new report concludes.

By Kavya Balaraman • June 9, 2020

The 3 key challenges to expanding the West's real-time energy market to day-ahead trading

Driven by new Western state renewables and zero emissions mandates, the 11 active participants and nine new applicants in the Energy Imbalance Market are pushing to expand it to day-ahead trading.

By Herman K. Trabish • June 3, 2020

New waste-to-hydrogen processes could contribute to a carbon negative future

With the rise in production and sales of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and power generators, the technology is entering a new maturation point that could encompass both mobile and stationary storage options, the author writes.

By Jean-Louis Kindler • June 3, 2020

US residential energy storage posts record quarter, but COVID-19 impacts loom: report

Industry deployed a record 44.4 MW of residential storage in the first three months of 2020 while non-residential deployment declined. But the coronavirus is expected to reverse this trend in the months to come.

By Emma Penrod • June 3, 2020

ENGIE, Enel X, Tesla top Guidehouse rankings of energy storage players

Sector leaders who were able to fill multiple roles at once were higher ranked, according to the report's author.

By Guy Burdick • May 29, 2020

Green Mountain Power expands BYOD and Tesla battery programs as it targets fossil peakers

The utility claims to be the first in the country to offer rate discounts for the use of distributed energy storage to lower peak energy demand across its system.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • May 26, 2020

Landfills emerge as promising battery storage sites to back up renewable energy

Like solar panels, batteries may present a new revenue stream for closed landfills. Projects are complete, or underway, in multiple states.

By Matthew Bandyk • May 26, 2020

PG&E's total storage procurements pass 1 GW with latest round of projects

The five projects announced by PG&E last week totaling 423 MW, combined with SCE's 770 MW announcement earlier in May, almost equal the state's entire 1,325 MW storage target for 2020.

By Kavya Balaraman • May 21, 2020

As utilities tackle immediate COVID-19 impacts, analysts stress need to focus beyond the pandemic

Power systems across the country need new approaches for today's shifting loads, but focusing on recovery and tomorrow’s resources can be even better, analysts say.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 20, 2020