Energy Storage

Origin Energy’s announcement that it is accelerating the closure of Australia’s largest coal-fired power station has triggered calls for the Federal Government to develop a nationally co-ordinated approach to manage the retirement of fossil fuel generation as well as support investment in new clean energy generation.

The Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility Phase II in the United States set off fire alarms that activated a fault water suppression system, triggering a cascading set of events that resulted in roughly 10 battery packs melting down.

One of Australia’s largest residential and commercial solar PV retailers and installers has announced it will exit the market, declaring low margins and once-in-a-generation disruptions to the supply chain brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic have taken a toll.

Renewable energy investors have again shattered the New South Wales Government’s expectations with more than 80 clean energy projects representing more than $100 billion of potential investment registering for the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone.

Conceived for the storage of residential and large scale renewable energy, the device has a rated power of over 150mW/cm2, an energy density exceeding 40Wh/L, and a power density of 72.5mW/cm2. The battery was built with an anode made of inexpensive viologen and its cost, according to its creators, may be lower than US$100/kWh (AU$140).

A bill which would make home batteries up to $3,000 cheaper nationwide has been tabled by Independent MP Helen Haines. Haines proposes making home batteries eligible for Small-scale Technology Certificates, the same scheme behind Australia’s thriving rooftop solar sector.

The Victorian government will be expanding its Solar Homes rebate program into the world of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), announcing on Tuesday that households who install a battery and sign up to the pilot before July 2022 will receive a rebate of over $4000.

A fire caused by a lithium-ion home battery system in northern Adelaide over the weekend has led authorities to urge solar and battery owners to be vigilant with maintaining their systems.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory launched a new catalyst based on nitrogen and carbon to extract hydrogen from hydrogen storage materials at mild temperatures and under normal atmospheric conditions. Furthermore, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the country is working on attracting new investments in electric vehicles and hydrogen and Norwegian consultancy and classification society DNV launched, together with 18 industry partners, a new Joint Industry Project (JIP) to enhance the standardisation for hydrogen production systems that use renewable energy-powered electrolysis to produce green hydrogen.

Western Australia will today introduce new curtailment rules which will allow for all new and upgraded solar PV and battery energy storage installations with an inverter capacity of 5 kW or less to be remotely turned down or switched off in emergency situations.