When it comes to the total power of storage batteries installed, Australia topped all countries last year. A report says that the nation saw a boost as more rooftop solar systems required residential batteries to be installed. While things look great for Australia now, they could grow even more based on estimates for the global lithium-ion battery storage market.
Australia’s battery market seeing increasing demand
Right now, there is a huge opportunity for those who are mining lithium in Australia. In 2000, they were accounting for just 13 percent of the world market but this year that number could reach 62 percent. In addition, Greentech Media released a report that says over the next five years the world will have six times as many batteries installed annually. Australia is already seeing that surge.
In 2016 there were 6,750 new home battery installations in the nation. However, that number tripled in 2017 to 20,000 total installations, per a Climate Council report. The report suggests that this is just the start of a “love affair” that Australians are entering with clean energy and battery storage.
Chief Scientist Alan Finkel cited the Greentech Media report and said that there were a total 246 megawatts of installed battler power in Australia for 2017. This was across a combination of areas including 1.8 million solar rooftop homes and businesses. In addition, Tesla and the Neon Australia Hornsdale Power Reserve’s grid batteries in South Australia accounted for the surging number.
The United States and Germany had over 200 Megawatts each of installed grid and residential batteries in 2017. Estimates were that there were between 100 MW and 200 MW of installed battery power in the nations of Britain, China, Japan, and South Korea during that time.
Australia trailed the United States only slightly when it came to the overall duration of the batteries installed. The United States had 431-megawatt hours of duration while Australia had 425 MWh. Meanwhile, Germany and China had anywhere from 300 to 400 MWh of duration.
Chief scientist speaks on the economics of solar power
Chief Scientist Dr. Alan Finkel discussed that rooftop solar households are learning they can benefit from the economics of the power source. Finkel said, “It’s pretty simple to work out that if I had a battery to capture it during the day I would not have to sell when it’s cheap and buy when it’s expensive.”
Basically, a homeowner using a rooftop solar power system will allow their panels to capture the majority of the solar energy during daylight hours. They sell off that power to the grid at a rate that could be seven or eight cents per kilowatt hour. In the evening when homeowners are at their residence, they purchase power for 25 to 30 cents per kilowatt-hour, the peak grid rate.
With battery prices falling fast, it means the economics of using a solar panel rooftop system will make more sense for other homeowners to embrace. Dr. Finkel even said he’s met taxi drivers who told him they feel they can “break even in seven or eight years.”
With that said, many households still feel that installing lithium batteries is still out of their price range, for now. As prices come down, that should change, and demand will increase.
Continued growth even if Australia slips in ranking
Australia is expected to continue to benefit from the battery installation surge. There were no figures available yet for 2018 but it was projected that there were 50 percent more rooftop solar installations compared to the year prior. This seems to support the notion that there will be greater demand for more batteries in the nation.
However, Greentech media estimates that the United States, China, and Japan will be the top three nations in terms of batteries installed when it comes to total power and energy. Still, Australia is expected to be fourth and will be ahead of other nations including India, Britain, and South Korea. For now, the nation will continue to benefit from the increasing demand for storage batteries as they look to be one of the future global leaders in the space.
Innovation in battery technology will be necessary
While Australia, the United States, and other nations continue to work towards meeting homeowners new demands for powers, that will mean some changes are needed. Fossil-fuel sources are still being relied upon to help power a lot of things worldwide. Due to this, there are environmental and climate concerns. Technology will need to be improved.
As the Valves Online Blog mentioned, “Batteries that can recharge without using electricity generated by fossil fuel burning will be in consistently greater demand going forward.” New energy sources will need to be implemented including solar as an alternative to fossil-fuel burning sources. The lithium-ion battery design will also need to be tweaked going forward as greater demand arises.