A new trend is observable in the battery energy storage industry – towards more standalone energy storage projects. The Netherlands, which has no shortage of solar projects to co-locate with, is to host the first big standalone battery project directly connected to Tennet’s grid, at Waddinxveen, with the 100 MW / 200 MWh project beginning construction earlier this week. And there’s up to 70 GW of assets seeking connected to the high-voltage grid in the country, which is why the Netherlands is to introduce flexible contracts to host some 9 GW on condition that their dispatch hours are circumscribed. Another major example is the fleet of GWh-scale BESS projects distributed across Saudi Arabia which are now under development. Yet another…