Batteries

A Massachusetts town uses batteries to help its grid — and its schools

Batteries can serve double-duty, shoring up the grid and providing backup to buildings when the power goes out. This project shows how.

By Jeff St. John . 7 October 2024

A computer rendering of Wakfield Municipal Light & Gas Department's battery and generator 'energy park' — A computer rendering of the Energy Park battery-and-generator project being built in Wakefield, Massachusetts, to provide grid services and backup power for two local high schools. (Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department)

Podcast

Why this battery maker's downfall still haunts America

The failure of A123 Systems underscores the complexity of U.S. clean energy manufacturing strategy.

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By Stephen Lacey . 29 min . 14 June 2023
Clean energy manufacturing

Battery maker wins $850M DOE loan to build first US factory

Kore Power will use the conditional loan to try to open a gigafactory in Arizona by 2025. The move comes as battery manufacturing surges in the U.S.

By Jeff St. John . 9 June 2023
Recycling renewables

Video: Watch this company recycle EV batteries by crushing them

By Julian Spector . 8 June 2023
Clean energy manufacturing

The South is building the most vibrant EV and battery hub in the US

Canary Media travels through the fast-emerging Battery Belt to see what it means for the clean energy transition.

By Julian Spector . 8 June 2023
Recycling renewables

Should the US mandate EV battery recycling?

Recycling electric-vehicle batteries could cut the need to mine critical minerals. The U.S. now has incentives for recycling, but no national requirements.

By Gabriela Aoun Angueira . 31 May 2023
Batteries

Battery firms set to thrive under new California rooftop solar regime

Home battery installs could double in California this year, now that the state has ditched net metering and overhauled incentives for rooftop solar owners.

By Julian Spector . 28 April 2023
Solar

How the rooftop solar industry is adapting to California's new rulebook

The state’s once-thriving industry faces an uneasy future now that California has slashed financial incentives for people to put solar panels on their roofs.

By Julian Spector . 26 April 2023
Energy storage

Tesla's battery-storage sales are growing way faster than EV sales

Deployments of Tesla batteries surged 360% as the EV maker opened a factory for grid-scale batteries. Now it’s getting into lithium refining too.

By Eric Wesoff . 24 April 2023
Electrification

Span snags $96M to become a 'Swiss Army knife' for electric homes

The smart-electric-panel startup aims to electrify a million homes with its new funding, tapping partnerships with vendors of solar, batteries and electric appliances.

By Jeff St. John . 24 April 2023
Solar

Sunnova lands $3B DOE backing for low-income solar and battery loans

DOE’s first-ever “virtual power plant” conditional loan guarantee aims to bring solar-battery systems to underserved communities and help balance the grid.

By Jeff St. John . 20 April 2023