LG Chem business development manager in Australia, Changhwan Choi, explains why the issue of profitability cannot be avoided when it comes to investing in photovoltaics.
According to a report by the Climate Council, half of all Australian households will adopt solar systems with battery storage, a market worth $24 billion.
It goes without saying that together with rooftop solar, battery storage presents an opportunity for Australian households to use a much greater amount of the solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity they generate and minimise the need to purchase expensive electricity from the grid.
As feed-in tariffs begin phasing out, households will also start receiving far less for solar electricity added back into the grid. This, coupled with skyrocketing electricity prices during peak periods, will increasingly drive solar PV systems with added battery storage to become the most economical choice for electricity provision.
2016 presents a plethora of opportunities for organisations in the energy storage sector and it’s time to consider re-investing in PV.
To be competitive in the energy market, organisations need to watch renewable energies closely and know that energy storage systems, also called ESS, play a central role here.
For the first time, ESS is able to store energy from the PV system, enabling it to be used in the evenings independently. Providing battery systems can be an interesting and lucrative alternative to conventional energy fed into the electricity grid.
This method enables users to store energy generated by solar panels for household needs and depending on the size of their PV system and individual usage patterns, a cost saving of up to 70 per cent can be achieved.
ESS is a trend-setting and almost revolutionary approach, especially when organisations consider how long the industry has searched for solutions that possess the capabilities to make in roads with energy turnaround.
With new developments in lithium-ion (Li-ion) technology, Li-ion batteries are becoming cheaper, as the ESS market enjoys steady growth.
In fact, energy storage systems are expected to grow 70 per cent in 2016 compared to previous years, particularly the RESU6.4EX, which provides private consumers efficient ESS products that also play an integral role in the international market.
Another catalyst of ESS is the phasing out of feed-in tariffs, the potential for electricity hikes and the decreasing cost of solar battery storage.
In summary the question of profitability of PV has been raised to a new level of discussion. Hence, the benefits of a system should not be considered in isolation.
Instead, organisations should weigh various benefits of the technologies in terms of its efficiency in the long term.