solar PV

Leclanché is to supply 500kWh of lithium titanate (LTO) batteries to store electricity at a 2MW solar PV park in Switzerland from next year.

The Swiss firm's batteries form part of a 2m Swiss franc ($2.2m) research project led by the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) to study storing solar energy and subsequently be able to distribute it in an optimal way at times of peak consumption during the day, often called ‘time-shifting’.

Chinese solar power supplier Shunfeng has bought 30% in stake of US-based Powin Energy for $25m through its fully owned subsidiary SF Suntech.

Powin Energy developed a 5MW lithium-ion energy storage system (ESS) with charging/discharging rates of more than 80% for grid-level, commercial and transportation applications and aims to install it at large-scale power plants. "This is an important milestone for Powin Energy Corporation in that it will provide us with capital and a partner to help implement our growth strategy," said Joseph Lu, president and chief executive officer of Powin Energy. The agreement will be used for further developments of the company’s ESS.

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and SMA Solar Technology (SMA) have opened two separate utility-scale solar plants with lithium-ion battery storage in Germany.

KIT inaugurated together with its partners SolarWatt (SW) and Kostal Solar Electric (KSE) a 1MW PV plant coupled with a 100kWh lithium-ion battery storage system at its research centre in Karlsruhe. The project focuses on demonstrating and researching energy storage and grid control. The PV modules were supplied from SW and the inverters from KSE.

Power-One, part of the ABB Group, is introducing a residential energy storage solution for the UK market. The energy storage system, called Renewable Energy Accumulator and Conversion Technology (REACT), will be available in 2014.

It will feature a 4.6kW single-phase grid connected Power-One inverter and a 2kWh lithium-ion battery.

The system is for use with home PV panels to capitalise on energy storage as feed-in tariffs are reduced over the coming years.

"PV energy has to be available upon demand, since its feed-in to the grid is no longer worthwhile," Paolo Casini, VP of Marketing, said.

"With REACT we enable homeowners and landlords to adjust energy production and consumption with their needs, helping them to increase self-consumption and save money on their energy bills with the energy storage solution."

Approximately 1 100 German solar PV system owners have received approval for 30 MW of energy storage under a scheme launched in May 2013, according to a report by analysts IHS.

Another 4 800 applications are being considered, says IHS. The company predicts that the adoption of energy storage in Germany will continue to expand in 2014 due to both the subsidy and falling costs.

“As earlier predicted by IHS, German energy storage subsidy is forecast to kick-start the adoption of solar PV energy storage systems in a similar way as its feed-in tariff system ignited the PV industry eight years ago,” said IHS research manager Sam Wilkinson.

IHS notes that similar subsidies for lithium-ion storage systems for residential applications are in place in Japan, and that California has implemented subsidies for systems up to 3 MW in size.

With the impact of these subsidies and cost reductions, IHS predicts that grid-connected energy storage will be a US$9bn market in 2017.