Distributed Storage

With an unprecedented rollout of rooftop solar reaching 1.1 GW and around 700 MW of large-scale renewable energy projects completed and connected to the grid, last year was an important turning point for Australia’s clean energy industry, shows the Clean Energy Council in its latest report. However, seven times bigger capacity of utility-scale projects with financial support or under construction at the year’s end is poised to eclipse 2017.

SMA says its new product will offer digital services such as monitoring and automatic notifications to perform maintenance as well as offering an emergency supply system. According to analysts, the varied applications of new inverters signal an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Germany-based PV-storage provider sonnen has closed a new funding round from a group of investors led by Shell Ventures. Sonnen has already began to draw on the funds as it continues to expand market shares in the U.S. and in Australia. Shell Ventures is now a major sonnen investor and future cooperation agreement has been agreed to.

Sungrow is best known for its PV inverter range – which covers the residential, C&I and power plant market segments. The Chinese inverter maker has hopes to see it gain increased traction in Australia by broadening its product portfolio in the country.

The start-up accelerator programme widened its reach to Brisbane. Off-grid solar bicycles and modular solar batteries are among the first to enjoy the kickstart.

A software update for the Powerwall 2 home energy storage system adds controls to allow owners to take advantage of time of use electricity rates in California and other states.

Tesla’s batteries may soon be Made in China. The announcement was made by Panasonic CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga during a conference accompanying the company’s 2018 fiscal-year results last Friday.

The German car maker entered the solar PV home storage business in mid-2016. In the future, its parent company, Daimler will align the stationary storage segment with its grid business.

Fronius is introducing its Ohmpilot solution to the Australian market. The Ohmpilot is a consumption regulator that can utilize solar electricity not used in the home to heat water in boilers or buffer storage tanks.

Inaugural global energy storage report by GTM Research finds that Australia’s behind-the-meter storage market tripled in 2017, while the U.S. remains the world’s leading market with an installed energy capacity of 431 MWh. China poised to rise to second place globally in 2019.