Distributed Storage

In the next decade, the Victorian government’s four pillar energy plan will seek to add a minimum of 6.3 GW of rooftop solar, 1.2 GW of large distributed solar up to 30 MW, and 3 GW of utility solar.

The Victoria Energy Policy Centre has issued a call for new policy to drive the deployment of large-scale rooftop solar backed by batteries on Australia’s commercial and industrial properties not just for self-consumption but also so power can be exported to the grid at times of peak demand.

Nearly a decade after the first iteration of its Powerwall home battery system was released, electric car and battery manufacturer Tesla has officially launched the Powerwall 3 in Australia and New Zealand with the first deliveries expected next month.

The Australian Energy Market Commmission has released new rules giving consumers more value from and control over their energy use while retailers get more options to bill individual consumer energy resources, such as electric vehicles.

Bslbatt says it has developed a new storage system for commercial and industrial applications, offering up to 241 kWh of capacity and supporting 100 kW or 125 kW of solar.

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.