“Sometimes people forget that storage was the roots of the solar industry,” said Kennedy. But the industry is getting back to those roots and embracing storage once again. As lithium-ion batteries get cheaper and more abundant, solar penetration reaches high enough levels to worry utilities, and electricity markets evolve to reward storage, attention has suddenly turned back to batteries. This time, interest in the technology isn’t coming from backwoods pioneers and off-grid enthusiasts -- it’s coming from technology pioneers in Silicon Valley and savvy industry veterans who see it as the next big business opportunity.

Storage Is the New Solar: Will Batteries and PV Create an Unstoppable Hybrid Force? : Greentech Media

A type of battery that could eventually store twice as much energy as a conventional one could be about to move beyond niche applications to wearable devices, phones, and even electric cars.

Long-Lasting Solid-State Batteries Are Nearing Production | MIT Technology Review

This stuff looks interesting, could revive the concentrated solar approach:

Israeli firm Brenmiller Energy has devised a new energy storage system that it says is an alternative to other solar technologies and will help provide clean electricity at a competitive price.

Israeli Firm Solar Power - Business Insider

An Israeli solar power company, Brenmiller Energy, says it has developed a new, more efficient way to store heat from the sun that could give a boost to the thermal solar power industry by enabling plants to run at full capacity night and day.

Israeli firm looks to keep solar power generators running at night | Reuters

Energy from intermittent sources like sun and wind must be stored to be useful, and 2014 saw the emergence of a cheap, nontoxic battery for storing electricity produced by wind and solar technologies­—a technology that was subsequently commercialized. Grid storage advances included other battery technologies anda promising step toward more cheaply splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen.

Looking Back on 2014’s Energy News | MIT Technology Review

There’s no doubt that 2014 was a breakout year for grid energy storage -- and if the industry plays its cards right, it could lay the groundwork for a lot more breakout years to come. Over the past twelve months, we’ve seen the creation of some of the first utility contracts for distributed, behind-the-meter battery deployments at a mass scale, many of them linked with rooftop solar. Prices for lithium-ion batteries keep falling, and new technologies are coming in to fill the gaps. And despite some well-publicized flameouts, the industry is moving past pilot stage and making a play for full-scale commercialization.

The Top 10 Energy Storage Stories of 2014 : Greentech Media

Several new types of battery, each capable of cost-effectively storing the energy output from a wind or solar farm, are finally being hooked up to power grids. The so-called grid batteries could lower the cost of renewable energy by eliminating the intermittency problem that arises when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.

Hawaii Battery Gives Wind and Solar a Boost | MIT Technology Review

Four of the top ten U.S. residential PV installers now offer energy storage, according to new research from GTM.

Which Solar Companies Are Active in the Solar-Plus-Storage Market Today? : Greentech Media

A megawatt of batteries in 2015, plus utility projects to test price target of $160 per kilowatt-hour

Eos Raising $25M to Build Megawatts of Low-Cost Zinc Batteries for the Grid : Greentech Media

Scientists have spent a lot of time trying to lengthen battery life, but safety and thickness matter, too. Just ask Boeing about that first problem -- its 787 Dreamliner was grounded for months thanks to battery fires. However, a group of University of Michigan researchers may have found a way to make lithium-ion energy packs that are safer and slimmer at the same time. The team has developed Kevlar-based, nano-sized membranes that insulate the electrodes in a battery while still allowing lithium ions to pass through and create a proper circuit.

Super-thin Kevlar layers promise safer, slimmer batteries

The battery storage system was deployed in early 2013. Consequently, the business case today would have to be adjusted to account for cuts of up to 30 percent in battery prices.

A UK Distribution Utility Makes the Business Case for Battery Storage : Greentech Media