The Australian Energy Storage Roadmap will assist in unlocking “game-changing” opportunities energy storage technology holds for electricity customers and the renewable energy industry says the Clean Energy Council.
Launched yesterday, the Roadmap showcases some of the work the CEC has been performing behind the scenes and the path forward for the sector.
“Energy storage technologies are a game changer for the Australian energy market – they offer greatly increased flexibility, reliability and efficiency when it comes to the way we generate and use electricity. This translates to lower costs and inevitable big changes to our energy system,” said Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton.
“When you talk about the next big technology breakthrough in clean energy, energy storage comes up time and time again.”
It’s a particularly exciting time for households looking to further reduce their reliance on the mains grid. According to the document, grid-connected solar power systems coupled with energy storage is predicted to grow tenfold to reach more than 900 megawatts (MW) globally in 2018, up from just 90 MW last year.
Earlier modeling by the CEC indicated potentially a 3000 MW market in Australia for energy storage devices by 2030.
However, the road ahead won’t be without its bumps and potholes. The report states many of the barriers that face energy storage, particularly battery systems, relate to grid interface issues.
“Complex rules, lack of transparency and discriminatory tariff structures stifle innovation and create challenges for battery storage and other forms of distributed generation.”
In order to delve into and offer solutions to these issues, the CEC says it has initiated a program called the ‘Future-Proofing in Australia’s Electricity Distribution Industry’ (FPDI) project, funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The Australian Energy Storage Roadmap also details initiatives to address other issues – safety, environmental, technical, commercial and informational – to the deployment of large and small energy storage technologies.
The Australian residential market certainly seems very eager to embrace battery storage systems. Local provider Energy Matters says it intends offering competitively priced quality energy storage solutions to Australian customers soon and those interested can register for pre-release announcements from the company by clicking here.
