Energy Storage

Australia’s distributed energy resources — rooftop solar, batteries, smart devices — have become a force to be reckoned with, and AEMO has opened its DER Register to help integrate consumer assets into what is expected to become the world’s most sophisticated two-way energy market.

“We need 16 GW of storage in the NEM to complement the renewable generation coming in,” said former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at a renewable energy conference this week. And in one sense, that’s all you need to know…

The ARC Research Hub for Integrated Energy Storage Solutions has a broad research mandate as it looks for innovative energy storage solutions for the energy transition, but some of the nation’s finest minds are now working on them together.

A new venture funded by the Cannon-Brookes family is looking to install stand-alone solar and battery systems at up to 100 sites around Australia affected by recent bushfires and floods.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has approved the construction of a large-scale solar PV and battery energy storage system for its Koodaideri mine in Western Australia. When completed, the solar plant will be in the running for Australia’s largest PV installation at a mining site.

An Australian-first solar to hydrogen-based microgrid for the World Heritage Protected Daintree Rainforest is another step closer to reality this week after Federal Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch revealed the feasibility study funded by the Federal Government last year is “on track”.

The Victorian government has decided to break away from national electricity rules and introduce legislation that will fast-track priority projects like grid-scale batteries and transmission upgrades and make room for more large-scale solar and wind on the grid. The announced reforms have prompted a flurry of reactions.

Melbourne startup Relectrify is on the verge of a U.S. breakthrough with its highly efficient and cost-effective battery storage technology.

WoodMac analysts say the amount of new battery manufacturing capacity added in the nation this year could fall by as much as 10% because of the outbreak. With Tesla’s Shanghai gigafactory affected by the extended new-year-holiday shutdown, the analyst warned of potential supply shortages for Australia and the U.S. and U.K.

With electric vehicles making up only 3% of the global car market last year, analyst WoodMac says battery packs need to be cheaper and lighter and range anxiety must be addressed to change the habits of drivers.