A new grid battery just switched on in a Chiba town — ready to hold power until it is needed

In Shibayama Town, in Japan's Chiba Prefecture, a new grid-scale battery has just started commercial operation. The system, run by power producer Erex, can store 8.15 megawatt-hours of electricity and deliver just under 2 megawatts at a time — roughly a few hours of power for a small neighbourhood. Grid batteries like this one do a simple, useful job: they charge up when there is more electricity than people need, then release it later when demand peaks, which helps a grid welcome more wind and solar power without wasting it. It is a modest-sized battery, but every one that switches on makes the whole system a little steadier.

SDG 7 · Affordable and clean energy — Mechanism: infrastructure build