Australia has lots of lithium. Unfortunately due to the nature of the deposits, it takes a lot of energy to process into a form suitable for batteries. Luckily there are solutions to this problem.

I feel undeservedly lucky, that in the worst bushfire summer imaginable, fires came no closer than about 5 km from the little patch of bush I inhabit. [Read more…]

The Dyness Powerbox home battery.

There’s a new battery contender in town – the Dyness Powerbox. And if you live in SA it’s eligible for South Australia’s hefty home battery subsidy. [Read more…]

DNV-GL tested a whole lot of batteries to see how they really performed. Here’s what they discovered.

When it comes to battery technology the rate of change is hectic.  Chemistries are constantly being tweaked and changed to improve battery performance and lifespan.  They’re also getting cheaper at the rapid rate of around around 10% per year.  This is similar to solar cells and if it keeps up, in 7 years packs of battery cells will cost half what they do now. [Read more…]

The black tubes are the Zenaji Aeon battery. They offer a 20 year replacement warranty and cost $1,500 per kWh. Image: Zenaji

Australian battery vendor Zenaji is getting ready for what it hopes will be a ramp-up for lithium titanate batteries, which it says in home and grid storage applications offer better lifetime, safety, and value for money than the more popular and familiar lithium-ion chemistries. [Read more…]

Does the rapid pace of battery technology mean game over for gas will be sooner than expected?

Governments’ flailing support for fossil fuels was handed another card marked “are you nuts?” last week, with the Rocky Mountain Institute releasing a report saying renewables plus batteries are already cheaper than new gas plants, and will be cheaper than existing gas plants in the mid-2020s. [Read more…]

If you add $2,200 to the existing $6,000 SA battery subsidy, South Australians can get an $8,200 discount on the TeslaPowerwall 2. But as always, read the small print.

On Thursday Tesla announced it will lower the price of its Powerwall 2 battery storage system by $2,200 for South Australian residents.  This will make the Powerwall 2’s minimum installed cost around $7,100.  After adjusting for the SA battery subsidy it’s now only around $1,000 more than it was at the start of 2018.  With luck we won’t have to wait too much longer for it to be back down to where it was 20 months ago. [Read more…]

ACT has a powerful battery rebate, but only 3 battery sales companies are allowed to be part of it.

Do you live in the ACT and want the highest solar battery rebate in Australia?  Well, you can’t have it! The only way you can get that is to move your ACT arse to SA.  If you come to Adelaide be sure to bring some kangaroos with you because, unlike Canberra, we never see them hopping through the suburbs here. [Read more…]

Solar panels only or solar power + battery – how do the numbers really stack up? I clearly explain all the maths so you can see the big difference for yourself. [Read more…]

Well, that makes a nice change…

This morning I woke up, checked the horse was still alive, checked the children were still alive,¹ and then checked my email.  To my surprise there was one from Finn telling me the price of the Tesla Powerwall 2 had dropped. [Read more…]

Does the SA Energy Minister understand battery payback?

Last month my boss, Finn, received a letter inviting him to a “Home Battery Forum” hosted by South Australia’s Minister for Energy and Mining, Daniel Cornelius van Holst Pellekaan, at the Marion RSL.  As Finn couldn’t make it and I was curious what the Dutchest of all Australian Energy Ministers had to say, I attended. [Read more…]