Distributed Storage

Sigenergy was one of the first companies to present a bidirectional DC wallbox that is integrated into a photovoltaic storage system. Co-founder and CTO Samuel Zhang talks about the manufacturer’s story and its plans to expand into the commercial market, integrating AI into its systems and the future of vehicle-to-grid technology.

New modelling suggests that changing the way we use Australia’s existing electricity sub-transmission and distribution grid could unlock 5 GW of additional rooftop solar, an extra 7 GW of front-of-meter generation, and 5 GW of additional distribution-connected battery energy storage by 2030.

Byron Bay-founded supplier and installer of residential rooftop solar and battery systems Smart Energy has been snapped up by Japanese appliance maker Rinnai Corporation as it seeks to establish a “robust presence” in Australia’s renewable energy sector.

New South Wales distribution network service provider Ausgrid has powered up a 160 kW / 412 kWh battery energy storage system in the eastern Sydney suburb of Bondi, describing it as a “fundamental shift” in the evolution of community batteries.

A team of researchers in Western Australia has outlined a new methodology to determine the minimum power rating of energy storage systems used for emergency under-frequency response. The ESS size must be calculated to maintain the frequency within the standard operating range.

The Swiss Army knife qualities of lithium-ion batteries have helped scale the technology. Now their ubiquitous nature means they are ideally placed to help electricity system operators balance the grid, argues Gerard Reid, co-founder and partner of Alexa Capital.

After the end of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, the 15 solar power plants installed on the roofs of buildings in the athletes’ village will be integrated into a collective self-consumption operation once the future residents of the district have taken possession of the premises.

Analysis by solar and storage market consultancy SunWiz has identified the most popular brand of battery energy storage systems in the Australian market with Chinese manufacturers leading the way.

Multiple factors affect lifespan of a residential battery energy storage system. We examine the life of batteries in Part 3 of our series.

A 1.75 MVA battery energy storage system, which is part of a pilot solar and storage project in the Northern Territory governed Tiwi Islands, has passed a testing phase in Darwin and is now bound for the remote Indigenous Wurrumiyanga community to provide 3 MWh of storage capacity.