Energy Storage

Inaugural global energy storage report by GTM Research finds that Australia’s behind-the-meter storage market tripled in 2017, while the U.S. remains the world’s leading market with an installed energy capacity of 431 MWh. China poised to rise to second place globally in 2019.

After the 50 MW Stage 1 solar farm was switched on late last year, the Kidston renewable energy hub has now received a development approval for 270 MW of solar, which is to be co-located with a 250 MW pumped storage hydro project.

The first commercial deployment of Power Ledger’s P2P energy trading platform will take place in partnership with energy solutions business Greenwood Solutions, which will be in charge of installing solar across strata units.

Australian solar analyst SunWiz puts Australian residential storage installations at 20,789 for 2017. The number represents a trebling on 2016 and it is the highest among analyst assessments of the market segment.

A $7.7 million funding initiative for energy retailer Simply Energy to build a second virtual power plant across Adelaide was announced by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

Testing from TÜV Rheinland has revealed that PV inverters and battery storage systems are vulnerable to hacking. By changing system parameters, a hacker could potentially cause a battery system to corrode, “making it like a ‘bomb’.”

While great at delivering hype around battery storage, Tesla’s inability to develop significant volumes of its residential storage units to WA is frustrating installers. With customers interested in buying a Tesla system but supply not meeting demand, it is ‘blocking’ residential storage uptake in the state.

Fluence says that Australian governments, regulators and grid operators are ‘learning-by-doing’ in their application of large-scale battery storage. The technology provider on the new 30 MW/30 MWh utility-scale battery at Ballarat indicates that the approach could deliver significant savings when compared with grid upgrades that could be considered “not optimal” as battery technology rapidly improves.

After the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) provided an extra $25 million to match the Victorian government’s funding offer, the state of Victoria is now in line for two large-scale, grid-connected batteries, one of which will be coupled with an existing solar farm.

Varta Storage will hold its official launch into the Australian marketplace at an event tonight in Melbourne. As it joins an increasingly crowded marketplace, it expects that the installer will hold the key to sales in Australian homes.