Battery/Storage

Ecoult, Australian maker of lead acid "ultra" battery, to take on lithium-ion rivals with commercial and residential battery storage products.

Photographer Ralph Alphonso had planned to turn a small inner city property space - just 5 metres by 4 metres - next to his inner city photographic studio in east Melbourne into a car port with a roof. Instead, after prompting from his father, he came up with a better idea.

Another US battery storage developer chooses Australia to launch battery storage products. Enphase says its 1.25kWh modular unit will beat grid prices from the outset. It has also signed a battery storage trial agreement with the South Australian grid operator.

With the energy requirements for a cremator, small cool room, air conditioners, mortuary and processing equipment all being run from a battery bank, the environmentally conscious can now protect the planet even after death.

The northern NSW town of Tyalgum is considering a proposal to go 100 per cent renewable and to possibly quit the grid altogether, in what would be the first such move by a township in Australia.

WA grid operator Western Power wants to take up to 10 small communities off-grid, to save costs on grid upgrades and extensions. More could follow.

University of South Australia to co-develop an energy self-sufficient retirement village, with a renewable micro-grid of solar and battery storage, managed with energy demand software.

After looking into adding a grid-connected solar system, the Pilbara Meta Maya Regional Aboriginal Corporation has gone with the cheaper option of installing an off-grid solar PV plant with 70kWh battery storage – a first of its kind, commissioned this week.

Australian consumers want to embrace energy technologies like solar and storage that offer them cheaper electricity and greater energy independence – and power industry incumbents to meet this new wave of demand, or lose their grip on the market.

Astrid Liberts had no choice but to be off-grid in her dream home with spectacular ocean views. Each upgrade delivers improvements, but sometimes she yearns to be connected.

New report predicts 'mass adoption' of battery storage by Australian solar households could be just five years away, as costs fall by more than 60%. And household storage could play a key role in a 50% renewables target.

SMA managing director Mark Twidell says the real solar revolution will arrive with smart management technology, allowing the average prosumer of the future to buy from the grid, sell their solar power, and manage their consumption.

With the installation of a 10-megawatt battery, the village of Feldheim near Berlin is now truly independent of electricity from outside.

The first battery offering from Enphase has launched in Australia – a market the leading US tech company says could be first to achieve battery 'parity.'

Columnist and cartoonist Jill Redwood had to start over after the Ash Wednesday bush fires in 1983. She explains how she lives off grid with just a very small solar system of 1kW and battery storage.

IPART says beware of retailers offering high solar tariffs - some customers might be better off going with retailer that offers no tariff because of other not-so-hidden charges.