Friday, 7 August 2026

First Hydro Company has selected GE Vernova to modernize the first two units of the Dinorwig pumped storage hydropower plant in North Wales, UK, according to a GE Vernova press release. First Hydro Company is a 75:25 joint venture between ENGIE and La Caisse.

The scope covers the replacement of two 315 MW units, work GE Vernova says is intended to improve the plant's reliability, availability and efficiency. The company booked the order in Q2 2026.

Dinorwig's value to the system is speed. GE Vernova said the station delivers up to 1,320 MW within 12 seconds from standby, and up to 1,800 MW in under a minute. The modernization programme is expected to extend the plant's life by at least 25 years, according to the release.

ENGIE and La Caisse own and operate both Dinorwig and the Ffestiniog pumped storage station in North Wales through First Hydro Company. The two sites together provide 2.1 GW of installed capacity and account for around 74% of the UK's pumped storage hydro capacity, GE Vernova said.

The supplier describes itself as one of the largest players in global pumped storage, with nearly 30% of the installed base worldwide. It is currently developing more than 3 GW of pumped storage projects internationally, according to the same release.

The Modlany hybrid plant in the Czech Republic has brought online a 37.95 MW/41.7 MWh battery paired with 42.7 MW of solar, making it the country's biggest completed battery energy storage system to date, according to ESS News.

Contemporary Nebula Technology Energy (CNTE) supplied the storage equipment. ESS News reports the installation uses 11 liquid-cooled, 20-foot containers of the STAR T-285 type, each rated at 3.45 MW/3.793 MWh and built with lithium iron phosphate cells from CATL, which holds an investment in CNTE.

The site ties into a high-voltage substation and sells grid balancing along with fast-response frequency regulation, per ESS News.

Owner Katemo Group says on its website that planned storage capacity at Modlany runs to as much as 130 MWh, ESS News reported. That leaves the completed 41.7 MWh well short of the full build-out target.

The Czech market has further to run. Aurora Energy Research forecasts national battery storage capacity reaching 6 GWh by the end of the decade, according to ESS News. Measured against that projection, the Modlany battery accounts for a small fraction of the volume the forecast anticipates.

Co-locating the battery with 42.7 MW of PV at a high-voltage connection point lets the same interconnection carry both solar output and traded balancing services.

Red Eléctrica has started laying the submarine cable for the Bay of Bizkaia electricity interconnection between Spain and France, with work beginning from Lemoiz on the Basque coast, the Redeia subsidiary responsible for electricity transmission and system operation in Spain said.

Offshore installation will proceed in several stages between summer 2026 and summer 2027, running from the Basque coast to the French coast near Bordeaux, according to Red Eléctrica.

The opening phase along the Basque coast covers a 65 km route. Danish company NKT is executing it with its cable-laying vessel Victoria, which is also supplying the cables.

The submarine section will total 276 km. A 27 km stretch runs over land in France so the cables bypass the Capbreton submarine canyon before returning to sea.

Red Eléctrica put overall construction at 60% complete. Once in service, the link raises electricity exchange capacity between the two countries from 2,800 MW to 5,000 MW.

The European Union has designated the interconnection a Project of Common Interest, co-financed through CINEA, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. The European Investment Bank has also backed the project.

Ola Electric has signed a memorandum of understanding with renewable energy developer Axis Energy to deploy as much as 5 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) per year from 2028, according to ESS News. The MoU runs until 2032, with a cumulative target of 20 GWh over the five-year period.

The agreement is tied to a new Ola Electric storage platform, Ola Mahashakti, scheduled to launch on August 15, ESS News reported. The platform is being billed as an energy storage offering for commercial, industrial and utility-scale applications.

Axis Energy brings a project base already cleared for connection. The developer has secured grid approvals for over 3.75 GW of projects in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, with a further 3.5 GW in its pipeline, per ESS News.

The scale of the partnership sits against a much larger national requirement. The Central Electricity Authority has said India's energy transition will require more than 400 GWh of storage deployment by 2032, ESS News reported. The 20 GWh cumulative target under the Ola Electric and Axis Energy MoU covers a fraction of that figure.

Eolian has begun construction of Flint Grid, a 200 MW/1.06 GWh battery energy storage project in Licking County, Ohio, according to ESS News.

ESS News reports the 5.3-hour duration system is the largest battery energy storage system (BESS) in Ohio and across the PJM grid footprint. It sits next to the New Albany data center and industrial load.

The project cleared the 2027/28 Residual Capacity Auction as the largest battery storage system in that auction, accounting for more than 50% of all new battery storage capacity in the capacity year, per ESS News.

Development work on Flint Grid dates back to 2018, and commercial operation is expected ahead of the 2027-2028 PJM capacity year.

Eolian has funded or developed more than 4 GW of commercialized BESS projects across the United States, ESS News reported.

The UK Secretary of State has proposed an Order creating three class exemptions from the requirement to hold a load control licence, according to the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Respondents have until 11:59pm on 7 September 2026 to comment online.

The proposed Order would amend the Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirement for a Licence) Order 2001, the department said.

The move follows an earlier departmental consultation on draft load control licence regulations and conditions, which drew 34 responses from a mix of parties, according to DESNZ.

The licensing framework applies to England, Scotland and Wales.

Six fresh solid-state battery patents from BYD have been published, electrive reported. The documents put numerical limits on how cathode material behaves and on how tightly it must sit against the solid electrolyte.

One filing caps thermal output from the active cathode layer at 117 joules per gram, according to electrive.

Another sets a contact ratio. Per the filing, a cathode particle should meet electrolyte particles across at least 60 per cent of its perimeter, which BYD ties to charging performance, capacity and durability.

The six documents come after a grant issued by the China National Intellectual Property Administration, China's patent office, in late July, which covered composite cathode structures, electrive reported.

BYD reportedly targets pilot production of dual-electrolyte solid-state cells in 2027. That schedule has not been officially confirmed by the company.

A rival battery maker has pushed back on near-term expectations. Robin Zeng, chairman of CATL, said in June that engineering and manufacturing constraints leave solid-state batteries several years short of mass-market deployment, per electrive.

The Syrian Electricity Company has signed three agreements with Saudi Arabia's Al-Harfi Construction covering 760 MW of solar generation and 1,077 MWh of battery energy storage in Syria, according to ESS News.

All three projects are sited in the Widyan ar-Rabi' area of the Damascus countryside, ESS News reported, citing the Syrian Arab News Agency.

The agreements extend an earlier arrangement between the two sides. Al-Harfi and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding in February for a 210 MW solar project paired with a battery system of 827 MWh, according to ESS News.

ESS News did not report a construction start date or contract value for the three new agreements.

Prysmian has bought a high-voltage cable jointer training facility in North Ayrshire, Scotland, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The deal transfers more than 20 apprentice jointers and the centre's training staff to Prysmian, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

The academy will be folded into Prysmian's training and installation network. Offshore Engineer OEDigital said the site will support specialist cable jointing skills for installation and for inspection, maintenance and repair work in the UK and across Europe.

Cable jointing is the skilled trade that terminates and splices high-voltage cable, including subsea and land links; a shortage of qualified jointers constrains how fast operators can repair faults and commission new circuits.

According to Offshore Engineer OEDigital, the investment widens Prysmian's UK footprint, adding to manufacturing and services sites at Bishopstoke, Wrexham and Aberdare, and to the company's global marine base at the Port of Middlesbrough.