One Step Off The Grid
Solar, storage and distributed energy news
The shift to solar and storage for two off-grid Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory not only cut energy costs by more than 50%, but strengthened cultural ties to country, and explored sustainable land use activities that bring jobs, training and an income – building a sustainable economy on homelands.
First big solar and storage plant fires up at WA copper mine, and other miners are keen to follow suit to reduce crippling cost of diesel.
A 194kW solar system with 250kWh of battery storage installed at Bundaberg Christian College will cut the school’s grid power use by 80% and save it up to $100,000 a year.
Enphase says it has doubled its production targets for its new battery storage system in Australia after an overwhelming response from consumers.
Four out of five solar households interested in battery storage, with one out of four households considering using battery storage to quit the grid altogether.
Battery storage doesn’t stack up yet for most households in Australia, but many are going ahead and installing it anyway. Like this Melbourne house…
Enphase Energy’s 1.2kWh residential battery storage system has officially gone on sale in Australia, ahead of the first shipment, expected in August.
Trina Solar chief scientist Pierre Verlinden sees a future where 100 per cent of suitable households will have rooftop solar. And if “the utility is getting difficult”, they will install battery storage, too.
LG Chem reveals plans to ramp up its battery storage business in Australia, predicting a five-fold increase in sales in 2016, and an even greater rate of growth in 2017, when solar FiTs are ratcheted down.
Four landowners in the bushfire affected WA town of Esperance have taken up an offer from Horizon Power to go off-grid, using stand-alone solar plus battery storage and back-up diesel generators.
