Distributed Storage

Canberra’s first community solar farm, the Majura Valley Community Solar Farm, is a step closer to reality after Epho signed on to design and construct the farm. The solar farm is the development project of SolarShare, a group of local community investors.

Redflow Batteries’ latest partner is Northern Territory veteran power-related products company Delta Electrics. Andrew Boller, General Manager of Delta Electrics, believes Redflow’s zinc-bromine batteries are ideally suited to the hot, demanding conditions of the Top End.

Seaside sunshine is a hallmark of the Western Australian regional city of Busselton. Now a number of residents will be able to access a community battery to better manage their solar generation for use during the starry nights.

An Australian government-backed trial of peer-to-peer (P2P) solar trading has demonstrated the potential of localized two-sided energy markets and blockchain technology to improve the energy system. However, current electricity tariff structures would need to be modified to realize the full stack of values that this technology has to offer.

Under a new plan to stabilize its grid, the South Australian State Government is providing $10 million to upgrade its voltage management and giving the green light to the Australian Energy Market Operator to stop its rooftop solar from feeding in when needed. The plan also highlights the importance “smart” PV and stronger network interconnection, primarily the new SA-NSW line a.k.a. Project EnergyConnect.

Nationwide analysis from Natural Solar’s live monitoring systems shows a 105% increase in Aussie household electricity in Q1 2020 as compared to 2019, a spike resulting from the lockdown implications of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, many Australians, like the 100% of Mulpha’s ‘Smart City’ buyers in Sydney’s North-West, will be buffeted from bill spikes thanks to home solar and energy storage systems.

Titjikala, a remote indigenous community southeast of Alice Springs, is getting set for the installation of a battery energy storage system to complement the 400kW solar array installed in 2018 as part of the Solar Energy Transformation Program. Energy storage has the potential to significantly reduce the community’s diesel dependence.

The latest version of the storage system from the German manufacturer can store up to 55 kWh. Sonnen ensures a lifespan of 10,000 charging cycles.

According to new research from Wood Mackenzie, Australia is set to add 1.2 GWh of energy storage capacity in 2020, more than double the 499 MWh installed in 2019.

Inverters and batteries from Chinese manufacturer Growatt have been included in Ikea’s solar offers in Australia.