The increasing amount of renewable energy in networks has led to challenging situations which require flexible balancing generation plant that can respond rapidly to changes in generation and demand. Open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) have been used successfully in this function, but the growth of renewable energy (RE) in some networks has outstripped the ability of […]
The time is right to tap into hydrogen’s potential to play a key role in a clean, secure and affordable energy future. At the request of the government of Japan under its G20 presidency, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has produced this landmark report to analyse the current state of play for hydrogen and to […]
The advent of renewables, new storage technologies present Africa’s utilities with an opportunity to increase capacity and efficiency while re-kindling their appeal to investors. There has been a clear and rapid evolution in Africa’s energy and energy infrastructure landscape over the last decade. While much of this new technology has challenged the traditional dominance and […]
A typical commercial battery cell usually consists of cathode, anode, separator and electrolyte. One of the most successful commercial batteries is the lithium-ion technology, which has been commercialised since 1991. However, their worldwide success and diffusion in consumer electronics and, more recently, electric vehicles (EV) cannot hide their limitations in terms of safety, performance, form […]
Gas peakers have been around even before the recent rise of renewables made them even more indispensible. How else could grid operators fill in the void created by the vanishing solar generation when the sun sets at the end of the day or when wind stops spinning the wind turbines’ blades? And with natural gas […]
Construction on Juwi’s 1000th wind turbine plant has begun. The plant in Thuringia, Germany, was awarded by the country’s Federal Network Agency, in a tender process conducted last year. The project marks an extraordinary milestone in the more than 22-year history of the manufacturer-independent project developer for wind and solar parks. With the construction of […]
Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) are becoming more commonplace, are well-developed and well defined today. A critical component of the HRES system is the energy storage system (ESS). Most ESS are designed for a single function, whereas the emerging requirements for HRES storage systems are to perform multiple functions. The hybrid energy storage system provides […]
If the most recent numbers are to be believed, gas-fired peakers will increasingly be challenged by battery storage devices. Although it should come as no surprise to anyone following developments in the solar and energy storage technologies, it does. The latest technology cost analysis released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) shows that battery storage […]
Microgrids are stand-alone power generating, distribution, and storage systems which can be operated independently or connected to the primary utility grid. By locally optimising various generation sources, such as solar PV, gensets, the grid and energy storage, a microgrid can create a range of financial and environmental value streams for an organisation. This article describes […]
Vast Solar has built a modular, grid-connected 6 MWth CSP plant with thermal energy storage, at Jemalong, New South Wales, Australia. The plant is designed to achieve high efficiency at low cost. Each of its five, small array-modules concentrate solar radiation on a dedicated thermal receiver tower 27 m in height. The five modules connect […]
