Distributed Storage

“We’ve put together the best components to make a unique Australian-designed solution that is compliant to the new battery standards,” says EVO Power’s Jamie Allen. Off grid or upmarket, just add solar.

New analysis from Rystad Energy and Cornwall Insights Australia demonstrate how the return of spring has once again emphasised the growing supremacy of wind and solar in Australia’s energy makeup. The stats don’t lie, wind and solar are sweeping coal and gas out the door.

Western Australia is soaked in sunshine, and PV uptake is challenging the grid. But small numbers of medium-sized community batteries are taking the heat off the system, while helping more people to reap the dividends of rooftop solar PV.

With 82,000 cumulative system installations, Australia ranks among the world’s leading markets for residential energy storage. But uptake is still sluggish, thanks to long payback periods, and market developments are only now beginning to emerge. That said, forecasts are still bullish for batteries Down Under – it is only a question of when.

South Australia’s first ten-star home was completed last month, a home that consumes twenty times less energy than the average Australian household, in part thanks to its Fimer React 2 solar hybrid system.

The Western Australian Government has launched its new Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme, a way for homes, schools, and not-for-profits with rooftop solar, energy storage, and even electric vehicles (EVs) to earn some money back from the surplus energy they export to the grid. 

The South Australian Government has announced a $9 million investment towards the transition of Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands from diesel reliance to the self-reliance of solar and energy storage. The contract is good news for one of the most continuously culturally fecund regions in the country.

Toowoomba’s Grand Central shops are currently getting a solar treatment, over 2,400 panels installed through a partnership between the QLD State Government and Yurika. QLD Energy Minister Anthony Lynham said QLD is behind renewables.

Last month, Australian Parents for Climate Action’s Solar our Schools campaign published an Open Letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison calling for solar and energy storage investment at every school and early childhood centre Australia-wide as part of the Covid-19 economic recovery. Today, pv magazine Australia sits down with Solar our Schools ‘Champion’ Dan Sturrock, a renewable industry professional leading the charge for solar uptake at his kids’ school in Sydney’s inner west.

Analyst IHS Markit has predicted storage will rebound this year following its first year-on-year decline in 2019. The technology is being rolled out at pace despite Covid-19 with state-level policies set to keep the US the global capital for the next five years.