Distributed Storage

Queensland-based investment platform Clean Energy Transfer Fund intends to circumvent lengthy lead times and major capital outlays associated with grid-scale renewables projects by deploying hundreds of sub 5 MW energy storage units throughout Australia to create coordinated battery ‘hives’ of up to 200 MWh each.

The Victorian government has announced a new $10 million (USD 6.7 million) grants program to provide bulk rebates for the installation of solar panels, solar hot water systems and heat pumps as part of plans for all new homes in the state to be 100% electric from 2024.

The Alpha 150 battery, produced in the Netherlands by Adelaide-headquarted electronics manufacturer Redarc, has a lifespan of more than 5,000 cycles and a continuous discharge rating of 200 A.

A team of engineers at Melbourne’s RMIT University have developed a rechargeable ‘proton battery’, claiming the technology has the potential, with further development, to store more energy than currently available lithium-ion batteries.

Researchers in Canada have found that nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) with on-site solar energy generation should not exceed an energy use intensity (EUI) of 50 kWh/m2a, which they said corresponds to a maximum of 10 floors. They also ascertained that the maximum permitted EUI by net-zero energy status is 17–28 kWh/m2a.

Australian battery technology company Vaulta has unveiled its first dedicated residential battery with the small-scale energy storage system purportedly able to operate for 4,000 cycles with an 80% depth of discharge.

A grid-connected community battery has gone live in Sydney’s western suburbs with New South Wales electricity distributor Endeavour Energy trialling the technology as a means to maximise the benefits of rooftop solar generation and more efficiently manage supply and demand in the network.

United States-based battery startup Nuvola Technology says it has developed a direct deposition polymer separator technology that can eliminate the primary cause of lithium-ion battery fires.

China-based GoodWe has developed two new solutions – the ETC 100 kW hybrid inverter and the BTC 100 kW retrofit battery inverter – for commercial and industrial solar applications.

A new report released by Australia’s national science agency shows that renewables, led by large-scale and rooftop solar, remain the cheapest form of new-build power generation in Australia despite a 20% average rise in technology costs.