Distributed Storage

The first Senec battery to be installed in an Australian home has helped the household reduce its summer power bill by 90%. The system, a 10 kWp Senec.Home battery, has helped the Spilsbury family in Perth’s western suburbs reduce its power consumption from the grid through maximizing self consumption for its 5 kW rooftop solar and by adapting consumption patterns.

Data published by the United States Geological Survey show that, in 2017, lithium production in Australia reached 18,700 tons, compared to 14,100 tons in Chile. The market share of Chile has declined from 37.6% in 2016 to 32.8% in 2017; and risen Australia, from 36.8% to 43.5% in the same period.

The second stage of the SETuP project is rolling out Solar PV to communities in the Northern Territory, with the project set to be completed by November 2018.

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.