Solar battery installations on the rise despite lack of government help

Although the Covid-19 pandemic may have put a damper on potential international travel, it hasn’t slowed down Aussies from reaching their green energy goals. 

Research from solar analytics group, SunWiz finds that Aussie households had more than 31,000 solar energy batteries installed in 2020, an increase of 20% from 2019. 

What’s more impressive is that sub-100W solar panel installations have grown by 39% year-on-year. 

“In 2020 Australians continued to demonstrate a desire to reduce their power bills by making the most of the nation’s abundant and cheap solar power and empower themselves with a battery,” said SunWiz managing director, Warwick Johnston. “It was a surprisingly good year.”

Unsurprisingly, South Australia led the way for solar battery installations, with just over a quarter of installations occurring in that state. According to Johnston, this influx may be linked to the state’s solar battery subsidy program. 

“There is such high demand from [South Australian] homeowners that the state government had to reduce its subsidy to avoid overheating the market and exhausting available government funds too quickly,” he said. 

SunWiz estimates that the uptake for solar batteries will continue to soar, with the analytics group forecasting an additional 33,000 installations this year alone.

Renewable energy can provide the same energy security as coal

Meanwhile, new research from The Australian Institute has shown that renewable energy can now secure Australia’s electricity grid just as effectively as gas or coal.

They found that clean technologies like solar can provide the fast frequency response and voltage control required to secure the grid. However, a lack of regulation is stunting its growth. 

“Coal power stations are closing and being replaced by clean energy, but there is no national plan for replacing the security services that are provided by coal,” said Australia Institute’s energy policy and regulatory lead, Dan Cass. 

“Batteries, renewables and demand response are being held back by barriers that prevent them from contributing to system security, despite their exceptional potential in this space.”

The Australian Institute has recommended new rules around energy security be introduced to allow renewable energy to play a part in grid reliability. 

If you’d like to find out more about renewable energy and how it can be used in your home, have a read of our renewable energy FAQ guide.