TARGET TO TEST SUN WITH STORAGE

Demonstration project will pair energy storage, solar
Thomas Content, September 8, 2010 (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

"An energy storage system developed by ZBB Energy Corp. will be integrated with power generated from solar panels at a Target store in California under an energy research and development initiative approved by state regulators.

"SunPower Corp. will receive up to $1.875 million for a two-year study that will evaluate the technologies of ZBB Energy…[and] competing energy storage systems developed by Ice Energy and Xtreme Power…"

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"Target Stores will serve as host sites for the demonstration project which will evaluate whether the combination of solar photovoltaics -- or solar panels used to generate electricity -- and energy storage is more economical than either technology by itself. The California regulators stipulated that SunPower invest $937,000 in the project.

"ZBB said its storage system will use zinc bromide flow battery storage technology. SunPower’s grant comes from the the California Solar Initiative Research, Development, Deployment and Demonstration program, part of an initiative that aims to bring down the cost of solar power and other distributed energy technologies…"

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"The project was approved by the California [Public Utilities Commission]…Other partners in the project include the utility PG&E, Sandia National Laboratories and the energy consulting firm KEMA…

"Target stores will host the systems and become demonstration sites for the different storage-solar technology combinations…"