OK, let’s start with accepting an undeniable fact we have known for a while: Solar Batteries are expensive!!!
But when it comes to discussions on renewable energy, the matter of how to store excess energy to dispatch during high demand is often the elephant in the room. We have heard politicians from all sides of the political spectrum say over and over again – “when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow ……”, and some in recent years have pointed out we don’t wait for the rain before we turn on the tap and expect water. Suffice to say, we have more or less solved the problem of water storage unless we have long periods of droughts. The same can be achieved today with storing energy. But instead of thinking about big, centralised projects like the Snowy Hydro 2, which are expensive, prone to budget blowouts and take a long time to build and commission, we need to start thinking about decentralised storage as increasingly our electricity network is becoming decentralised.
6 years on from the launch of the Snowy Hydro 2 project in 2017, the prices of batteries haven’t changed much and that could simply be due to lower demand and adoption rates in Australia. However, we know that the big battery in South Australia and its French owners (Neoen) have been very successful both in providing stability to the grid and the commercial return on their investment. This proves that batteries play and important role for our energy grid and if you have the money to invest in batteries you can make a handsome return.
Electricity demand vs solar generation daily cycle
Up until now, investing big in large batteries has been the proven business model for renewable energy storage, only big investors with deep pockets have been able to successfully play in the electricity storage field. But the emergence of new wholesale trading platforms such as Amber Electric that open wholesale rates to households with solar batteries are a game changer. It lifts the barrier to entry in the wholesale electricity market and makes it financially viable for all households with rooftop solar to install a battery and halve the payback time for their investment in the battery. Moreover, home solar batteries are solving a critical network problem on the national electricity grid by reducing electricity feed-in into the grid during the middle of the day (when it faces oversupply) and supporting the grid by either providing electricity or reducing the load during the evening peaks (high demand). It’s a win-win for all.
