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					</table>The <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Space Agency (ESA)</a> has unveiled a plan to harvest the sun&#8217;s energy in outer space and beam it back onto earth. The technology, which is still in its nascent stage, aims to develop a 15km²-long space-based solar power (SBSP) structure orbiting 35,786 km above the earth to create a renewable baseload capacity similar to that of nuclear power plants.
The ESA proposed SOLARIS in August as preparatory technology development and maturation program to advance key aspects of the concept of SBSP plants.
The development of SBSP might allow Europe a way to be powered by giant floating solar panels orbiting the axis of the earth. Through this, the continent would extend the technological state-of-art in a diverse set of key technologies relevant to earth and space applications, such as high-efficiency solar cells, wireless power transmission, and robotic in-orbit assembly.
&#8220;[Such a project] would ensure that Europe becomes a key player– and potentially leader – in the international race towards scalable clean energy solutions for mitigating climate change,&#8221; the ESA said.
How does it work
Space-based solar power is the concept of collecting solar power with a spacecraft in earth&#8217;s orbit and distributing it to earth. Unlike terrestrial systems, SBSP has the advantage of collecting solar energy in space, generating a higher collection rate given the lack of a diffusing atmosphere and a longer collection period by placing a solar collector in an orbiting location.
The system converts the sunlight to electricity, which is beamed to earth wirelessly, most likely by radio frequency waves. The energy beam must be accurate and reliable and retain as much power as it travels through the earth&#8217;s atmosphere. One system would have the capacity of 2 GW at a single ground location or 500 MW or less at multiple ground locations.
&#8220;Considering the climate and energy crises and the rapid strides we&#8217;re making in space capabilities, now is the time to investigate if Space-Based Solar Power can be part of the solution – it&#8217;s the responsible thing to do,&#8221; said Sanjay Vijendran, ESA&#8217;s lead for the SOLARIS proposal.
If scientists can come close to the theoretical transmission efficiencies, they could roughly produce 400 W of electricity per square meter on receivers on earth. This would account for about two to three times the amount received from the same area of the terrestrial PV panel, and as a green energy source, SBSP could provide green electricity to the grid 24/7.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-125443.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-43211 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-125443.jpg" alt="ESA Final" width="527" height="772" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-125443.jpg 527w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-125443-205x300.jpg 205w" sizes="(max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px" /></a>
An SBSP system comprises three main segments: the space segment, the ground segment, and the launch segment. The space segment contains the platform in orbit, composed of elements such as reflectors, energy conversion, and wireless power transmission systems. The ground segment contains all elements needed to receive, convert, and transmit the energy into the terrestrial grid. The launch segment comprises the launch systems to deliver the infrastructure into orbits, such as heavy reusable launchers or orbital transfer vehicles.
Benefits of SBSP
SBSP would not compete with terrestrial solar power plants but rather complement them. Unlike terrestrial solar power plants, SBSP would provide continuous, stable, baseload (non-intermittent) power to an electrical grid equivalent to nuclear, hydro, coal and gas power plants.
The areas dedicated to receiving the power transmitted from the orbiting power generation satellites could be on land or the sea and are expected to be usable in parallel for other applications, such as agriculture, or combined with a utility-scale ground-solar or wind farm. This will potentially allow the maximization of power generation from areas already set aside for renewable power generation purposes.
Technical Challenges 
SBSP technologies are still in their very early stages of development, and factors such as relatively high upfront costs for the implementation and skepticism from decision-makers have so far restricted their development.
The use of wireless networks to enable the operation of a complex and large system in space represents a major technological challenge. Implementing conventional wired-data-harness architecture would significantly increase the system mass and complicate the elements&#8217; interfaces. Around two million components will need to be monitored and controlled wirelessly, including sensors and actuators, and such large sensor-actuator wireless networks do not currently exist in this form.
Moreover, significant developments in the transmit antenna technologies will be needed to improve the efficiency and mass to enable high-efficiency, long-distance wireless power transmission. Low-cost, high-cadence, heavy-lift launchers are also necessary to enable SBSP. Even with the largest and most powerful launchers available today, it would still require a very high launch cadence and a drastic reduction of launch costs to deliver the infrastructure necessary for a fully operational SBSP.
According to ESA, space experts believe that by 2040, reusable launch systems, which will conduct aircraft-like services (launch, land, refuel, launch again), will be available on the market, thus with the potential to enable SBSP.
The ESA will discuss the SOLARIS project in November.
In July, the United Kingdom government <a href="https://mercomindia.com/uk-announces-4-million-grant-place-solar-panels-in-space/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a £3 million (~$4 million) grant for space-based solar projects to collect the sun&#8217;s energy using solar panels orbiting the earth.
Last year, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory <a href="https://mercomindia.com/perovskite-solar-cells-to-be-tested-in-space/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> they would send perovskite solar cells into space to evaluate their potential use in space and assess the durability of materials used to lower the cost of specialized photovoltaic panels to generate electricity in space.

European Scientists Unveil Plan to Harvest Sun’s Energy in Outer Space

The U.S. Energy Storage Association (<a href="https://energystorage.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESA</a>) has published guidelines for building a responsible energy storage supply chain policy that fits into environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations.
Lithium-ion batteries are the dominant energy storage technology deployed in electric vehicles (EVs) and stationary grid-connected storage and have attracted scrutiny for potential ESG risk associated with labor conditions and environmental impacts in its supply chain.
The ESA cited a study by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), which defined three primary issues arising in the lithium-ion battery supply chain:
<ul>
<li>In all, 50% of the global supply of cobalt originates in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Of this, 15% to 30% comes from small-scale artisanal mines prone to labor abuses and unsafe conditions.</li>
<li>Environmental impact of mining and processing, producing a large proportion of lithium salts.</li>
<li>Greenhouse gas emissions in the extraction, processing, transportation, and manufacturing phases of battery production.</li>
</ul>
The ESA guidelines focus on establishing supply chain policy objectives, developing assessment methods, evaluating policy options, codifying and implementing supply chain policy, and measuring and communicating progress toward goals.
Establishing supply chain policy objectives
The ESA said energy storage companies without ESG policies need to cover a single ESG topic or a range of ESG topics to establish their supply chain policy objectives. Companies that already have some ESG policy elements in place could establish supply chain objectives by applying their existing ESG policies to their suppliers.
The guidelines said companies with more targeted ESG goals could expand their goals into their supply chains to maintain consistency. The company could also extend its ESG obligations to its suppliers.
Developing an assessment method
After identifying ESG objectives, energy storage companies must develop methods to assess their progress towards those objectives. The scope and rigor of supply chain analysis would depend on the nature of goals and the company’s position in the value chain.
Direct observation and assessment of the supply chain of storage companies could provide significant information but could require more resources to accomplish effectively. Formal supply chain mapping, which involves identifying and quantifying upstream transactions for a single input, could become complex.
On the other hand, companies’ reliance on the reports of intermediate suppliers could reduce resource burdens for assessing progress towards objectives but limit its visibility into its supply chain. However, energy storage system integrators or developers with robust, reliable, and responsible supply chain policies can reinforce the value of responsible supply chain policy across the entire supply chain system. The policies’ reliance on internationally accepted and established standards and auditing protocols could simplify implementation and reduce the cost of conducting responsible supply chain policies.
Codifying and implementing responsible supply chain policy
To implement responsible supply chain policy effectively, companies and their internal stakeholders must embed the policy in the day-to-day management process compared with relegation to occasional reference or afterthought. Companies must inform external stakeholders like suppliers about their policies. Companies should also enforce a pledge or commitment to avoid or reduce adverse outcomes from supplier behavior.
The ESA said companies could also provide a code of conduct for suppliers while transacting with the procuring firms. Companies should also include implementation details, which are omitted in pledges and codes of conduct, into a request for proposal (RfP) and contracts. The policy implementation should also incorporate a periodic or continuous process for reconsidering and updating policies.
Communicating progress towards goals
Most large publicly traded companies report their ESG progress in an annual report. However, the reports are intended for ESG investors and may not provide details about compliance with supply chain policy goals. Responsible supply chain policies that target human rights, labor, and local environmental impact have qualitative outcomes that may not change annually and are less relatable in an annual report format. However, supply chains change over time, and the supply chain policy should evolve with market changes. Therefore, periodic monitoring and reporting are necessary.
Responsible supply chain policies are commonplace but not universal in the energy storage sector. Energy storage companies should institute a responsible supply chain policy that enhances the safety and sustainability of the sector and reflects their corporate goals. Several organizations like <a href="https://www.unglobalcompact.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Nations Global Compact</a>, <a href="http://www.responsiblebusiness.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Responsible Business Alliance</a>, and <a href="https://www.bsr.org/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BSR</a> can assist companies in evolving such processes.
The United States <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-installs-3-51-gwh-new-energy-storage-capacity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">installed</a> a record 3.51 GWh of new energy storage capacity in the third quarter (Q3) of 2021, Wood Mackenzie said in a report.
According to a report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the pipeline of solar capacity in the U.S. at the end of 2020 <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-pipeline-solar-projects-battery-storage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was</a> around 460 GW. Of this, 160 GW or 34% of projects include battery storage.

Guidelines for Developing Sustainable Energy Storage Supply Chain Policies

The United States installed 910 MWh of new energy storage systems in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021 – an increase of 252% over Q1 2020, making it the biggest Q1 jump so far for the storage market in the country.
The latest figures were released in the ‘U.S. Energy Storage Monitor’ published by <a href="https://www.woodmac.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wood Mackenzie</a> and the US Energy Storage Association (<a href="https://energystorage.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESA</a>).
According to the report, although Q4 of 2020 saw record <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-deploys-energy-storage-q4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deployments</a> with 2,156 MWh of new energy storage systems going online, the pace of storage deployments slowed in Q1 2021 in what has become an annual phenomenon for the industry. Q1 of 2021 saw a 58% reduction in new energy storage installations compared to the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the non-residential market (commercial and community-scale) is not growing at the same pace as other sectors and had 25 to 35 MW of new projects installed in each of the last five quarters.
However, despite the dip this quarter, the U.S. storage market still notched its third-highest MW installation for one quarter. In 2021, deployments are expected to accelerate dramatically, and Wood Mackenzie forecasts that nearly 12,000 MWh of new storage will be added in the calendar year – three times the amount of new storage added in 2020.
Quarterly US Energy Storage Deployments (MWh), 2013 &#8211; 2021
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-26854" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Quarterly-US-Energy-Storage-Deployments-MWh-2013-2021.png" alt="Quarterly US Energy Storage Deployments (MWh), 2013 - 2021" width="1800" height="830" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Quarterly-US-Energy-Storage-Deployments-MWh-2013-2021.png 1800w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Quarterly-US-Energy-Storage-Deployments-MWh-2013-2021-300x138.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Quarterly-US-Energy-Storage-Deployments-MWh-2013-2021-768x354.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Quarterly-US-Energy-Storage-Deployments-MWh-2013-2021-1536x708.png 1536w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Quarterly-US-Energy-Storage-Deployments-MWh-2013-2021-650x300.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Quarterly-US-Energy-Storage-Deployments-MWh-2013-2021-624x288.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Quarterly-US-Energy-Storage-Deployments-MWh-2013-2021-600x277.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px" />
According to the report, a stand-alone storage investment tax credit (ITC) in the U.S. Congress was one of the most significant storage market developments in Q1 2021. A stand-alone storage ITC would result in a 20-25% upgrade to Wood Mackenzie’s five-year market outlook in MW terms if Congress clears it this year.
Jason Burwen, ESA’s Interim CEO, said, “It’s clear that the energy storage market is poised for tremendous growth in 2021 and beyond. The ‘Storage Decade’ is upon us with the convergence of a transforming power and transportation system and the growing need for decarbonization and resilience. A federal ITC for energy storage currently under consideration with Congress would accelerate our market growth trajectory, making the realization of our vision of 100 new GW of energy storage by 2030 closer to reality.”
Chloe Holden, Wood Mackenzie Energy Storage Analyst, added, “An extra 20% to 25% growth for the U.S. market over the next five years would supercharge an already fast-growing energy storage market. The front-of-the-meter (FTM) segment would see the largest incremental growth, with an extra 6 GW of capacity expected through 2025, which is 25% of our base case market forecast. Without the stand-alone storage ITC, we forecast that the FTM segment will add 3,674 MW in 2021 and 6,915 MW in 2026.”
The report also notes that the FTM interconnection queue now stands at over 200 GW, with the queue being the largest it has ever been and shows the rapid growth of the U.S. FTM storage market. The report also suggests that there is a clear trend of the increased geographic diversity of interest in FTM projects, with a surge of interconnection queue requests sitting outside of incentivized markets.
The report further highlights that the U.S. residential storage market set yet another quarterly record in Q1 2021 as it has grown for nine quarters straight and broke the 100 MW installation in a single quarter for the first time in Q1 2021.
Holden further said, “Backup power to complement rooftop solar systems has become the key selling point for residential battery systems in all U.S. markets. Although other states also have growing markets, California will continue to lead the residential segment by a significant margin through 2026.”
Meanwhile, residential, commercial-rooftop, and utility-scale solar systems have <a href="https://mercomindia.com/utility-solar-system-costs-fell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">witnessed</a> a 64%, 69%, and 82% decline in costs since 2010, respectively, in the U.S., the <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Renewable Energy Laboratory</a> had said in a report.

US Energy Storage Market Installs 910 MWh of New Systems in Q1 2021

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