What’s it all about?
A Forbes 30 under 30 alumni, Ted talker and poster boy for energy storage. I’m sure Marek won’t appreciate all of those monikers, but they all fit! Energy storage is often referred to as the missing link, the silver bullet, or a ‘Swiss army knife’ technology. In some regards, especially this last one, they are true. Marek and I have a dig into some of the latest energy storage solutions, including how solar and storage is now more economically viable than traditional gas-peaker plants.
About our guest
This week David talks to Marek Kubik, Market Director at Fluence Energy.
Marek leads Fluence’s UK and Ireland client solutions team and is responsible for overseeing Energy Storage sales and project proposals across UK&I, the Middle East and Africa. He has 9 years engineering and sustainability experience, including an instrumental role in the UK’s first commercial battery storage array in 2015 and more recently a record breaking UK 120MW energy storage portfolio transaction; the largest in the world to date. A tech futurist and TEDx speaker, Marek was also named a 2017 honouree of the Forbes 30 Under 30; a list that recognises important young entrepreneurs and industry leaders.
Fluence is the result of two industry powerhouses and pioneers in energy storage joining together to form a new company dedicated to innovating modern electric infrastructure. In January 2018, Siemens and AES launched Fluence, uniting the scale, experience, breadth, and financial backing of the two most experienced icons in energy storage. Their mission is to create a sustainable future by transforming the way we power our world.
As a leading energy storage company, 100% dedicated to the sector, they bring the proven technology solutions and services that overcome the commercial and regulatory barriers that stand in the way of modernizing our energy networks.
The Fluence team encompasses more than 10 years of experience deploying and operating energy storage across 17 countries and 6 continents. They drive change by opening new markets to storage around the world, with the largest deployed fleet of energy storage projects of any company.
Marek Kubik on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlkubik/
Marek Kubik on Twitter https://twitter.com/mlkubik
Marek Kubik on Tedx Talks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffG7qW2l024
Fluence Energy http://fluenceenergy.com/
News stories discussed this week
- The $0.08/kWh PPA prices in Hawaii for 262MW solar + 1048MWh storage described by Wood Mackenzie as ‘mind blowing’ https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/hawaiian-electric-industries-announces-mind-blowing-solar-plus-storage-cont
- Also, relatedly our parent AES having just inaugurated a 28MW + 100MWh storage project, the world’s first ‘solar peaker’ https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/aes-completes-its-record-breaking-solar-and-battery-plant-on-kauai
- “I can beat a gas peaker anywhere in the country today with a solar-plus-storage power plant,” Tom Buttgenbach, president and CEO of developer 8minutenergy Renewables LLC, said in an interview. “Who in their right mind today would build a new gas peaker? We are a factor of two cheaper” https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/9GIYsd7qF8tNpiopwH7KSg2
- Navigant Research’s new energy storage leaderboard (where Fluence has ranked 1stin every edition since 2015) https://www.navigantresearch.com/news-and-views/navigant-research-names-fluence-nidec-asi-tesla-and-res-the-leading-energy-storage-systems-integrato
Book Recommendation
Thinking, fast and slow – Daniel Kahneman https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0141033576
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