Australia installs record no. of energy storage systems

Australian homes and businesses installed a record number of battery energy storage systems in 2022, according to analysis by energy industry consultancy SunWiz.

Installations of batteries linked to solar systems in 2022 grew by 55% when compared to the previous year’s installations, as shown by a compilation of government, industry and energy market operator data sources.

SunWiz’s assessment found that 47,100 residential energy storage systems were installed in 2022. The company’s Managing Director, Warwick Johnston, believes this is due to a number of factors.

“Australians responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, COVID, the energy price crisis and worsening climate-fuelled disasters by installing home solar systems linked to batteries, in an effort to increase their energy independence, resilience and self-reliance,” Johnston said.

“With skyrocketing electricity prices, this data shows Australian households and businesses are taking back power from the energy system by turning to cheaper, renewable sources of energy.

“Solar battery installation will enable free energy generated by the sun to be stored for later use. Homes and businesses set up with solar and storage are guaranteed lower power bills, which will be a relief to many as we go into winter.”

Installing solar and storage together is becoming more commonplace as Australia upgrades its energy networks and looks for climate solutions. There was one battery energy storage system installed for every seven solar power systems installed last year. This is up from one in 12 in 2021.

“The cumulative total number of Australian homes and businesses with solar and batteries has hit 180,000. That’s still a long way off the 3 million homes with solar panels, but many solar households are seeing the light — with one-third of battery installations being retrofitted to existing solar systems,” Johnston said.

Every Australian state and territory saw significant growth in battery installations last year, and all but one state (South Australia) installed a record number of battery installations.

Storage by state:

• Victoria and NSW installed the greatest number of energy storage systems in 2022.
• South Australia leads in per-household uptake.
• Tasmania and the ACT were the highest-growth markets in Australia in 2022, installing four times more batteries in 2022 than in 2021.
   

The national tally of home energy storage systems grew to 1920 MWh in 2022 — enough energy storage to meet the daily electricity needs of 128,000 typical households, SunWiz said.

SunWiz predicts further growth in the energy storage industry will occur in 2023.

To read the 2023 Annual SunWiz Australian Battery Report, visit: https://www.sunwiz.com.au/battery-market-report-australia-2023/.

Image credit: iStock.com/BeyondImages