Mixed Greens: Duke installs biggest wind energy storage system

Duke installs world’s biggest wind energy storage

Bloomberg reports that US utility giant Duke Energy installed the world’s biggest battery power storage system. The 36MW Xtreme Power system has begun operating at the Duke’s 153MW Notrees wind project in west Texas. Duke said in April the system would cost $44 million, and would improve the reliability of the Texas power grid by responding quickly to fluctuations in supply and demand.

“Energy storage will benefit our renewables business, our customers and the energy sector as a whole,” Bloomberg quoted Greg Wolf, president of Duke’s renewables unit, as saying.

IKEA to double spending on wind, solar

Bloomberg also reports that furniture giant Ikea plans to double its investment in renewable energy to $4 billion by 2020, as part of a drive to reduce costs as cash-strapped consumers become more price sensitive. The additional money will be spent on wind farms and solar parks – to keep expenses down as the company maintains its pace of expansion, CEO Mikael Ohlsson told Bloomberg in an interview.

Ikea plans to get 100% of the energy consumed at its stores and by subcontractors from renewable sources by 2020. The Swedish company already owns 250,000 solar panels, mainly in the U.S., and invested in 126 wind turbines in northern Europe to cover 34 per cent of its energy consumption, Bloomberg reported.

VW goes solar

German car manufacturer Volkswagen has opened a 9.5MW solar PV power plant at its manufacturing facility in the US, saying it is the largest solar installation at any US car building facility. The plant is expected to provide 12.5 per cent of its energy needs during full production and all of its needs in non-production hours.  The Volkswagen Chattanooga Solar Park occupies 15 hectares, and contains 33,600 solar modules from JA Solar.