(Bloomberg) — The World Bank Group committed $1 billion to finance battery-storage systems in developing and middle-income countries, and expects its participation to attract another $4 billion in backing from investors as well as public and private funds.
The effort also includes a global think tank to study battery technologies and deployment strategies, according to a statement from the One Planet Summit in New York Wednesday. Most existing battery projects are expensive and focused in developed countries.
Storage can retain electricity from wind and solar farms to use after sundown or when the wind isn’t blowing, and is viewed at critical to expanding the use of renewable energy.
“Battery storage can help countries leapfrog to the next generation technology, expand energy access, and set the stage for much cleaner, more stable, energy systems,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said in the statement.
(By Brian K. Sullivan)