Sunday, 12 July 2026

Red Eléctrica has finished a submarine power link tying the islands of Tenerife and La Gomera into one electrical network.

The connection runs a 36 km, 66 kV double-circuit line combining underground and undersea sections, backed by two 66 kV substations at El Palmar on La Gomera and Chío on Tenerife.

The cable itself carries a price tag of EUR 145 million, on top of the earlier spending on the two substations. Chío came online in December 2024, followed by El Palmar in July 2025.

With the link in place, the archipelago gains a second electricity subsystem pairing La Gomera and Tenerife, after the earlier Lanzarote-Fuerteventura grouping.

Redeia Chairwoman Beatriz Corredor said the project strengthens the reliability of power supply across the two islands.

President of Islas Canarias Fernando Clavijo said the cable ends La Gomera's isolation from the grid and lets it share a single system with Tenerife, so each can back the other during breakdowns or supply shortfalls.

Green Flexibility has agreed to acquire a 750 MW/3 GWh battery storage portfolio in Germany from developer Kajoni, according to ESS News. The deal follows Kajoni advancing the projects through the country's grid connection maturity process.

Under the agreement, Kajoni will continue developing the projects to ready-to-build status, ESS News reported. Green Flexibility will provide capital during the development phase before taking over construction, operation, and commercialization of the battery energy storage systems.

Germany's transmission system operators introduced the grid connection maturity process this year to allocate connections for large-scale battery storage projects, according to ESS News. The first application round opened in April, replacing the previous system with a more capital-intensive development process.

Green Flexibility and Stadtwerke Menden will build a 10 MW/25 MWh battery energy storage system in western Germany, ESS News reported. Construction is scheduled to begin in September, with commissioning expected in Q2 2027.

Alpiq has secured preliminary grid connection approval from Swissgrid for a 300 MW/1.2 GWh battery energy storage system at Niedergösgen in the canton of Solothurn, according to ESS News.

The facility will sit near the Gösgen run-of-river hydropower plant and is expected to rank among the largest battery storage installations in Switzerland, ESS News reported.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2027, with commissioning planned for 2029.

Alpiq said the system will hold enough stored energy to cover the electricity needs of about 500,000 households.

The utility's battery storage development pipeline now exceeds 1 GW across several European markets, according to ESS News. Of that total, 130 MW is already operational and 230 MW is under construction.

Victoria approved four renewable energy projects carrying a combined 1.64 GW of battery energy storage capacity through its Development Facilitation Program, according to ESS News, which reported the program launched in 2024 to accelerate planning approvals for clean energy projects.

The AUD 130 million (USD 89.7 million) Chivers Road battery will be built on the site of Pacific Partnerships' 130 MW Glenrowan Solar Farm in northern Victoria, according to ESS News.

The Morwell battery is listed as a 620 MW/2,480 MWh system, but the ministerial permit approves up to 1,000 MW/4,000 MWh capacity, ESS News reported. That project is expected to reach financial close by the end of 2027 and to be operational in late 2029.

The USD 600 million Nine Mile Energy Park near Geelong pairs two co-located batteries: a 250 MW/500 MWh storage system and a 250 MW/1,000 MWh battery, according to ESS News.

More than 30 renewable energy projects worth a combined AUD 11 billion have been approved through the DFP since it was expanded in 2024 to include renewable energy projects, the state government said, a change that removed the planning panel process and third-party appeals.

Victoria Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny said the changes are aimed at delivering cheaper renewable energy sooner. "We're making good decisions faster so Victorians can benefit from cheaper renewable energy sooner," Kilkenny said.

Tesla deployed 13.5 GWh of energy storage capacity worldwide in the second quarter of 2026, according to ESS News. The figure marked the company's second-largest quarterly total, falling just short of the 14.2 GWh deployed in Q4 2025.

The Q2 volume rose 53% from the 8.8 GWh deployed in Q1 2026 and climbed 40% against the 9.6 GWh deployed in Q2 2025, ESS News reported. The latest installations lifted Tesla's cumulative deployments to more than 132 GWh since 2016.

Tesla will hold its second-quarter financial results webcast at 5:30 p.m. ET on July 22, 2026.

ESS News also pointed to a recent agreement Tesla signed with Sunrun and Renew Home to offer 16.8 GW of flexible power output to hyperscalers and grid operators through a virtual power plant (VPP).

Wood Mackenzie reported total US energy storage deployment of 8.4 GWh across all sectors in Q1 2026, a 41% increase compared with Q1 2025.

Iberdrola is building its first battery energy storage project in the United States, according to Electrek. The Shutler battery project sits in Gilliam County, in north-central Oregon.

The project will come online in 2027 with a power capacity of 41 MW and will store up to 82 MWh of electricity, Electrek reported. That configuration makes it a two-hour battery, able to deliver its full 41 MW output for about two hours before it needs to recharge.

Avangrid, Iberdrola's US subsidiary, already holds around 3,000 MW of generation capacity in the Pacific Northwest, according to Electrek.

Electrek framed the project against a wider push by utilities to add storage and strengthen the grid.

Moment Energy opened Megafactory 1 in Vancouver, BC with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 23, according to Electrek. The company expects the plant to produce 1 GWh of battery energy storage systems annually by 2030.

Cofounder and CEO Edward Chiang said the project was announced six weeks ago and is now operational. "We announced this project six weeks ago. Today it's operational," Chiang said, according to Electrek.

Moment Energy says the factory will create more than 100 direct jobs and support more than 1,000 indirect jobs across British Columbia.

The Canadian government, through Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan), invested CA$4.9 million in the company, according to Electrek.

Moment Energy closed a US$40 million Series B funding round earlier this year, bringing total funding to more than US$100 million.

A heat wave gripping the United States this week is adding pressure to an already-strained energy grid, according to Semafor Net Zero. The country's largest grid operator forecast that electricity demand could break records, raising the risk of blackouts.

The US energy department this week ordered data centers to use backup generators to ease strain on the system, Semafor reported.

The head of an energy-focused nonprofit called the situation a "five-alarm fire," citing depleted reservoirs, wildfires, and a spike in energy demand stemming from the artificial intelligence boom.

Europe's grid felt the pain of heat waves last week, according to Semafor, and high temperatures forced several power plants to reduce output.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invoked emergency powers on July 2, 2026 to shore up the Carolinas grid during hot weather, clearing Duke Energy plants to run harder to head off blackouts.

Under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, the DOE cleared Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress to push named units to peak generation, waiving air quality and other environmental permit caps set under federal, state, or local rules.

Duke Energy had applied for the relief, the DOE said, citing forecasts of unusually high electricity demand and hot weather across the region.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said reliable and affordable supply across the Duke Energy service territory is "non-negotiable."

The authorization runs from July 2, 2026 and lapses at 10:00 PM EDT on July 6, 2026.

New South Wales has rebooted its state solar battery rebate and widened it to offer discounts on storage for apartments, small to medium business, and on batteries sized up to 30 megawatt-hours for the commercial and industrial sector, according to RenewEconomy.

The amendments to the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme were signed off by energy minister Penny Sharpe late last month and published on the NSW Climate and Energy Action website, RenewEconomy reported.

RenewEconomy said the changes have the potential to shift behind-the-meter solar and storage contributions to the grid in a state that remains heavily dependent on coal power.

Grid operators across the United States are contending with rising electricity demand from data centers alongside frequent extreme weather events, according to pv magazine.

Those pressures are driving a structural shift in the US energy market, pv magazine reports, with virtual power plants (VPPs) aggregating decentralized generation entering the mainstream.

In Puerto Rico, frequent load shedding has made solar and storage valuable for stepping in when power lines fail, according to pv magazine, providing a real-world test for VPPs.

Winners of ARENA's first community battery grants built only 22 of the 92 community batteries they promised to complete by the end of last year, according to RenewEconomy. The shortfall leaves the government-backed rollout at roughly a quarter of the target set for that deadline.

RenewEconomy reported that a review surveyed 13 proponents behind 284 of the initial community battery projects and uncovered serious delays.

In 2024, ARENA awarded $125 million to 318 community battery projects around the country, according to RenewEconomy.

ARENA is in the process of divvying up a second round of $46 million for community batteries, RenewEconomy reported.

The 250 MVA Ararat Synchronous Condenser has begun operating in the Australian state of Victoria and will allow an additional 600 MW of renewable energy generation to connect to the grid while supporting system stability, according to pv magazine.

The unit weighs approximately 300 tonnes and was delivered by Melbourne-headquartered Australian Energy Operations, pv magazine reported.

The system was supplied by Austrian manufacturer Andritz Hydro, with construction completed by Victorian renewable company Beon Energy Solutions, according to pv magazine.

The project sits 190 kilometres northwest of Melbourne at Elmhurst and is one of 12 being delivered under the Victorian state government's AUD 480 million (USD 332 million) grid investment, pv magazine reported.

The 12 projects will unlock 2.3 GW of clean energy, enough to power 16% of Victoria's annual electricity needs, according to pv magazine.

Green Flexibility has released a template contract that aims to standardize the terms utilities and developers agree on when connecting battery energy storage projects to the grid in Germany, according to ESS News. The framework targets the disputes over forecasting and curtailment terms that slow individual connection deals.

The document rests on real operating data. It builds on the developer's 15 MW/33 MWh battery in Immenstadt, Bavaria, and on 15 separate negotiations with grid operators, ESS News reported.

Green Flexibility says the template sets out dynamic power limits, a curtailment model based on full-load hours, and coordinated control of ancillary services.

Allgäu Netz intends to apply the framework next year when connecting further large-scale battery projects across its network area, according to ESS News.

Volker Wiegand, managing director of Allgäu Netz, told Green Flexibility that connection agreements written too broadly or too tightly can stop storage systems from delivering flexibility to the grid. Wiegand said forecasting and operational limits should stay with grid operators, since they hold the network data and carry responsibility for system security.

India's commercial and industrial (C&I) energy storage installations are projected to exceed 31 GWh by 2032, according to ESS News, citing a report by the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) and Customized Energy Solutions (CES).

The same report projects India's C&I renewable energy deployments to grow from 32 GW in 2025 to as much as 100 GW by 2032. ESS News reported that installations across the C&I segment are set to expand rapidly over that period.

Industrial facilities are expected to account for over half of all energy storage system installations in the C&I segment, ESS News reported.

Maharashtra's renewable energy and storage policy mandates energy storage for every new renewable energy project above 100 kW, according to ESS News. The policy also requires distribution companies to procure 10% of their electricity from storage by FY 2035-36.

Storage is becoming a strategic tool for resilience and decarbonization rather than just backup, said Debmalya Sen, president of IESA. Sen said the current momentum will define the sector for the next decade.

The findings coincide with India Energy Storage Week 2026, to be held from July 8 to 10 at Yashobhoomi (IICC), New Delhi, according to ESS News. The event is set to bring together more than 200 exhibitors and over 10,000 industry leaders.

Saudi Power Procurement Co. prequalified 27 developers and technology providers for the second group of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects, according to ESS News.

The total capacity across the round, labeled Group 2, reaches 12,000 MWh, ESS News reported.

The qualified list includes Masdar, ACWA Power, EDF, and TotalEnergies Renewables, alongside Marubeni, Sumitomo, and Tesla Motors Netherlands, according to ESS News.

An earlier procurement round, labeled Group 1, prequalified 33 companies, ESS News reported. No award or financial close for that tender round has been publicly disclosed.

PJM's peak instantaneous load reached approximately 162,700 MW between 5 and 6 p.m. on July 2, according to preliminary figures published by PJM Inside Lines, a level the grid operator said was held down by demand response programs.

The all-time PJM record peak load stands at 165,600 MW, set in 2006, according to PJM. PJM said the July 2 peak was likely to have surpassed that record.

An official preliminary peak figure will not be available until after a 60-day period required to calculate the performance of the roughly 6,000 MW of demand response resources activated during the event, according to PJM.

During the July 2 evening peak, PJM executed a series of procedures to manage demand and maximize supply after some generation tripped offline, including calling on emergency demand response, according to PJM Inside Lines.

PJM said it requested and received approval of an emergency 202c order from the U.S. Department of Energy authorizing transmission owners, as a last resort prior to voltage reduction or load shed, to curtail data centers and other large loads with backup generation.

PJM also received approval of a DOE 202c emergency order granting temporary relief from environmental permit restrictions for generating units, effective July 1 through July 3, according to PJM. That order was later extended through July 6.

Ahead of the forecasted hot weather, PJM issued a Maintenance Outage Recall on June 25, requesting that maintenance outages be returned to service to increase the amount of generation available to meet customer demand, according to PJM Inside Lines.

PJM serves 67 million people.