How has storage fared in Biden’s first 150 days?

BY KATHERINE DAMIAN: Record level of Q1 storage deployment in the US in 2021 But questions remain about stimulating storage demand Pressure on Congress over tax credits for stand-alone storage Tomorrow marks 150 days since Joe Biden was inaugurated as US president -- and, so far … Continue reading →

Northvolt completes mammoth $2.75bn raise

BY RICHARD HEAP: Battery manufacturer concludes blockbuster $2.75bn capital raise Institutional investment will support commercialisation of batteries But influx of investors could exacerbate pressure on raw materials Swedish battery maker Northvolt this week raised a cool $2.75bn … Continue reading →

The blooming of Chilean energy storage

BY PRISCILLA OBILANA: Chile briefly led the world in batteries in 2009. That's when the world's first commercial grid-scale battery storage system was turned on in the Atacama Desert, in the north of the South American country. That 12MW / 4MWh lithium-ion system, called Los Andes, was … Continue reading →

Will Europe overtake US in ‘gigafactory’ race?

BY RICHARD HEAP: US billionaire Elon Musk knows how to make money – and words too. Don't believe me? Musk coined the term ‘Gigafactory’ in late 2013 for a huge Tesla battery factory in Nevada. Now the word is not only in my spell-checker but it's in there with the Musk-approved capital … Continue reading →

How storage helps turn gold mines green

BY RICHARD HEAP: This week, BayWa and Suntrace fired up a 30MW solar plant with a 15.4MWh battery storage system at the Fekola gold mine in Mali in west Africa. The project is set to be 100% operational by the end of June and replace three of six heavy fuel oil generators that help Fekola … Continue reading →