Financial commitments into utility-scale battery storage in Australia plummeted to just 13MW in Q3, although roughly ten times as much large-scale storage in megawatts have been commissioned so far this year compared to last.
More than AU$1 billion (US$0.65 billion) of financial commitments to large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects were made in Australia in the second quarter of this year.
A boost for investment in battery energy storage in much of Australia is strongly expected to come from 1 October onwards, when new National Electricity Market (NEM) rules come into effect.
Australian renewable energy developer Genex Power has achieved financial close on what looks likely to be the country’s first new pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) plant in nearly 40 years.
The Australian Energy Market Commission has drafted a new rule to enable the provision of fast frequency response services to help keep the electricity grid stable which one expert said will be “a really important market for batteries”.
Australia’s strong and ongoing potential for energy storage paired with solar PV has seen international and domestically-headquartered companies race to gain market share.
Shifting responsibility for product safety onto manufacturers, rather than installers, of residential energy storage systems would be a positive step forward for Australia’s industry, the country’s Clean Energy Council has said.
