Battery storage pilot for solar-installed homes

Panasonic has announced pilot projects with ActewAGL, Snowy Hydro’s Red Energy and Ergon Energy to install Panasonic battery technology in solar-installed homes.

Storage batteries have the capability to allow more solar energy to be used, with Panasonic modelling for the Australian market showing that the system could increase the self-consumption rate of solar generation from 30% up to as much as 60%.

The residential battery technology stores excess electricity generated during the day by solar panels to provide a reliable, efficient base load for solar-installed households during peak periods.

Once fully charged from the day’s sun, Panasonic’s lithium-ion storage battery produces a 2 kW output for four hours. Panasonic Australia Managing Director Paul Reid said the battery storage demand response control will allow retailers to trial different charge/discharge programs to evaluate the effects of distributed storage.

“Over the 10-year plus life cycle of the battery, our modelling is showing a significant reduction in the reliance of Australian households on the grid during peak periods.

“The pilot projects are a first for Panasonic in Australia, and Panasonic’s battery demand response system will help distributors model peak shaving effects, realised through solar and battery storage systems, and provide a cost-effective alternative to grid infrastructure investments.

“For consumers, it means access to clean solar energy during the evening peak and potentially a lower energy bill. For the retailer, we can provide a levelling out of costs and potential competitive advantage with customers.”

The pilot projects will be implemented in a selected zone of customers with solar-installed households in ACT, NSW and Queensland, using Panasonic’s residential energy storage system to complete the analysis.

Reid said Panasonic has a global track record of world-leading innovation, R&D and technological advancement in battery management, delivering innovative industrial-scale products and solutions that benefits the community in new ways.