The US Department of Energy has granted $147 million to build an energy storage facility at a paper mill in Maine. The battery energy storage system (BESS) from Form Energy, a Massachusetts-based grid-scale energy storage developer, will be able to store enough wind and solar power to serve up to 85,000 homes. The 85 MW iron-air battery system uses iron and oxygen, making it safer and more affordable than its lithium-ion counterparts due to its use of iron, oxygen. The project is intended to support one of the most congested parts of the New England grid and is seen as a step forward in addressing extreme weather events in Maine, where hundreds of thousands were left without power for extended periods of time following devastating storms. Form Energy is already building a number of similar projects across the United States.
Solar Dominates US Energy Capacity Growth
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has published data showing that solar accounted for over 75% of US electrical generating
