Distributed Storage

Chinese manufacturer Sigenergy has launched a new modular energy storage solution that combines a hybrid inverter and battery pack with a built-in energy management system. The inverter series offers a range of power options from 50 kW to 110 kW.

The Australian government has beefed up its commitment to community batteries to support the integration of renewable energy in the grid with more than 420 battery energy storage systems to be installed in neighbourhoods across the country as part of its Community Batteries for Household Solar program.

The Queensland government is investing another $40 million into a second 8.4 MW / 18.8 MWh battery energy storage system, up to 2.8 MW of solar and 0.9 MW of demand management for a Townsville local renewable energy zone.

Australian EPC contractor ACLE Services has broken ground on a 5 MW / 10 MWh battery energy storage project in northern Victoria that is the first in a planned pipeline of 27 batteries that will be rolled out across regional Australia delivering a combined capacity of 270 MWh.

The first of three planned 150 kW battery energy storage systems that are to form a combined 450 kW / 1 MWh capacity coordinated battery network across inner Melbourne has been switched on.

Over the next three years energy retailer and tech company Amber Electric will trial a software solution for electric vehicle smart charging and bi-directional vehicle-to-grid services to enable consumers using their cars can buy and sell energy to the grid.

Long duration energy storage developer MGA Thermal is one step closer to commissioning its behind-the-meter demonstration plant after receiving a $2.48 million windfall from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

South Australia’s virtual power plant has partnered with community housing provider, Unity Housing, to supply low cost energy to disadvantaged tenants, as part of its fourth phase to connect more than 7,500 households with clean energy.

A “nation first” local renewable energy zone will be established on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast as part of a pilot program designed to boost rooftop solar generation, store it and share it locally across the poles and wires infrastructure that already exists.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has eased forecasts of a looming capacity shortfall in Western Australia’s main electricity grid but has warned of the need for “substantial and sustained” investment in renewables to replace coal-fired power stations and meet surging demand from customers electrifying their operations.