Distributed Storage

While most long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies are still early stage and costly compared to lithium-ion batteries, some have already, or are, set to achieve lower costs for longer durations, finds BloombergNEF.

The federal government has been urged to pick up the pace after the Clean Energy Finance Corporation opened the purse strings on a $1 billion fund that is to support cheaper finance for rooftop solar, home batteries and other energy efficiency upgrades for Australian homes.

The deployment of community batteries rolls on in New South Wales with network operators Endeavour Energy and Ausgrid both launching new energy storage systems on their networks.

Lithium-ion batteries are generally safe and unlikely to fail but they can catch fire if they are damaged or stored or operated incorrectly. There is a tremendous amount of research and engineering effort going into making batteries safer but are technological advancements being rolled out quickly enough?

The Australian Energy Market Operator has begun consultations with industry to develop a common digital platform in a bid to make the orchestration of rooftop solar, batteries, grid-connected electric vehicles and other consumer energy resources easier.

A team of researchers from the University of Queensland has detailed five key recommendations needed to accelerate Australia’s transition to electric vehicles and ready the country’s infrastructure for an ‘influx’ of EVs.

Western Australian regional energy provider Horizon Power has begun the search for electricity supply solutions that maximise renewable energy sources like solar to power five remote communities in the Kimberley region, reducing their reliance on fossil-fuel generation including diesel and gas.

Queensland government-owned energy company Energex is pushing ahead with the deployment of up to 35 pole- and ground-mounted community batteries in the city of Ipswich as it explores how to best store and reuse solar energy from the state’s approximately 1 million rooftop solar systems.

Australian energy infrastructure asset owner and manager Sustainable Energy Infrastructure is set to broaden its development strategy, teaming with renewables developer ACEnergy to roll out an initial tranche of seven battery energy storage systems with a combined capacity of approximately 35 MW/ 70 MWh.

Jolt Charge will install 65 free electric vehicle charging sites across Sydney in the coming 12 months after the New South Wales government committed $4.1 million to support the largest rollout of public kerbside electric vehicle chargers in the country.