Australia, the sunniest continent, is luring solar battery suppliers
from Tesla Motors Inc. to LG Corp. as the global roll out of the
technology for home and business power storage gathers pace. At stake is a domestic market that could be worth A$24 billion ($18
billion), according to Morgan Stanley. Australia leads the world in
putting solar panels on roofs, and by 2040, about one in two homes are
forecast to rely on sun power.
Elon Musk’s Tesla plans early next year to bring its new batteries to
Australia, which will join Germany as its first two markets outside the
U.S. LG Chem will offer new technology to Australian homes in August,
while Panasonic Corp. plans to begin selling its batteries in the
country in October.
“Australia has all the criteria that you would look for -- high
sunshine, high energy prices and low financing costs,” Michael Parker,
an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in Hong Kong, said by
phone. “It’s a good test market.”
With solar power set to draw $3.7 trillion in investment through
2040, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, interest in power
storage is surging. LG Chem wants to capture 30 percent of the Australian market, the
South Korean company said in an e-mail response to questions. The
industry could could grow 15-fold in the next two years to more than
30,000 storage systems, it said.
Storage Units
Samsung SDI Co., meanwhile, is testing its storage units with
Australian retailer Origin Energy Ltd., which expects to offer the
products to customers later this year, and AU Optronics Corp. of Taiwan
is working with AGL Energy Ltd. Government subsidies and falling prices fueled a wave of growth in
solar panel installations in Australia, and the country is set to see
further expansion. About 6 million, or half of Australian homes, are
forecast to have solar systems by 2040, according to Bloomberg New
Energy Finance.
“The ability to store the energy that’s generated by solar is a huge
opportunity within this market,” Heath Walker, Tesla’s marketing manager
in Melbourne, said by phone. In coming months, the company plans to
unveil battery partnerships with utilities or solar developers in
Australia, he said. Battery storage does face obstacles, though, with the cost and the
size of the systems needed to maintain a reliable power source deterring
some consumers, the Grattan Institute found.
Falling Tariffs
“Everybody says it’s an emerging market, but I’m not sure many people
have bought batteries yet,” Origin’s Managing Director Grant King said
in an interview. “Will we see a wholesale migration of customers off the
grid because of batteries? My answer is no.” Declining battery costs, surging electricity prices and falling
tariffs for feeding excess power to the grid could drive storage, the
Australian Energy Market Operator found.
Battery storage will allow homes with solar panels to store excess
electricity for later use, reducing peak power consumption and
potentially energy costs, Panasonic said. “Storage is coming,” Panasonic’s local Managing Director Paul Reid
said in a June 2 interview. “There may be things that impact the speed
of the roll out, but it will dramatically change the landscape of the
energy sector in Australia.”
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/news/2015/07/competition-in-booming-energy-storage-market-continues-to-heat-up.html