Distributed Storage

WA’s regional utility Horizon Power will supply homes and businesses that install rooftop PV and batteries with Secure Gateway Devices (SGDs) to allow for higher penetration levels in the northwest town of Onslow. Newcastle-based SwitchIn has been selected by Horizon to supply the SGDs.

With miners around globe stepping up their production capacities to cater to the demand of the electro-mobility and energy storage sectors, supply has outpaced demand leading to a steep decline in lithium prices. Amid slowing growth in China, a number of Australian lithium miners are hurting.

South Australia’s virtual power plant is nearing the potential Phase 3, which could see 50,000 homes connected becoming the equivalent of a 250 MW network of decentralized power generating units.

Elon Musk’s EV and energy company is becoming increasingly irrelevant in the U.S. rooftop solar market, but battery sales are booming.

The South Australian government is looking to extend its Home Battery Scheme subsidy of up to $6000 and low interest loans to rental properties, property developers and aged care facilities.

A report published by New Zealand’s state-owned transmission grid operator Transpower finds the widespread uptake of distributed battery storage could play an important role in supporting the power system as rooftop PV and electric vehicles are increasingly adopted.

An international research collaboration led by Curtin University is set to help decarbonise mining and other off-grid industry with concentrating solar power that delivers clean energy night and day.

New research released this week by The Australia Institute shows that ‘time of use pricing’ (ToU) facilitated by smart meters is likely to drive up household energy costs by $429 a year on top of already high prices. Analysis of national electricity market data suggests that demand for electricity in Australia is very inelastic, which makes ToU more likely to increase the profits of electricity companies than to assist consumers. Households with solar PV and batteries, however, are best suited to cope with this type of pricing. 

The McGowan Government is continuing to forward WA’s Future Battery Industry Strategy with the launch on a new early-stage funding initiative. On Wednesday, the government announced a new online Funding Assistance Register, a further boost to the state’s ambition toward a world-leading, sustainable, future battery industry by 2025.

Under the right conditions, solar batteries are economically beneficial for South Australian homeowners and can pay for themselves off within the warranty period, a new research finds.