Australians installed 22,661 home battery systems in 2019

Australian households invested in almost two-and-a-half “Big Batteries” worth of home energy storage in 2019, installing 22,661 systems over the course of the year with a total capacity of 233MWh, and taking further control over their energy supply.

The numbers were published this week as part of the 2020 Australia Battery Market Report, the latest annual market estimates from solar analytics group SunWiz, based on figures reported by leading manufacturers. (You can purchase a copy here).

SunWiz, which has been tracking battery numbers in Australia since 2015, said 2019 home battery uptake was actually slightly down on 2018 numbers, but that an increase in non-residential installations had delivered a new annual record.

Read the story from One Step Off the Grid by Sophie Vorrath - “Australians installed 22,661 home battery systems in 2019.”

Energy plan keeps the coal fires burning as long as possible

Australian households must prepare for a mammoth overhaul of the nation’s electricity grid as investment surges into renewable energy, sparking a new call to keep coal-fired power stations running for decades to help with the transition.

Energy reliability will require that the life of coal-fired
 power stations be extended, according to the report.

The nation’s energy market operator has warned that Australians are exposed “more than ever” to the risks and costs of the disruption as it sets out a series of major projects needed to improve the capacity and reliability of the electricity grid.

With almost 80 per cent of new energy projects using wind and solar generation, the peak regulator has outlined a sweeping investment plan including new transmission lines, battery storage and expanded hydro-electric projects to cope with the change.

Read the story from The Age by  David Crowe - “Energy plan keeps the coal fires burning as long as possible.”

Households to save under Clean Energy Target, but questions loom for Turnbull over Paris

Australian households could save about $90 a year, or up to $1000 on their electricity bills over a decade to 2030 under a Clean Energy Target proposed by the Finkel review of the electricity sector, compared to a business-as-usual scenario.

As the long-awaited review was released on Friday at a Council of Australian Governments meeting, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promised a CET was "no barrier to building a coal-fired power station", in a carefully calibrated message to conservative MPs who have already expressed concern about the scheme.

"There is nothing in the Clean Energy Target that would prevent a new coal-fired power station being built. It would provide an incentive for lower emissions technologies, however," he said.

But Mr Turnbull and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg will likely face a barrage of questions from conservative MPs about the CET - and whether it would, for example, facilitate investment in new coal-fired power - as soon as Tuesday, when the Parliament returns and the party room meets.

Read the story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Households to save under Clean Energy Target, but questions loom for Turnbull over Paris.”