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Australia Could Save $101 Billion by 2050 with Solar Batteries

  • Publish Date: Posted almost 7 years ago

Individual homes in Australia could save AU $414 each every year by 2050 by using solar energy and batteries, according to new research carried out by the country's scientific R&D agency.

CSIRO partnered with Energy Networks Australia and found that distributed energy technologies such as solar power combined with battery storage could save the country AU$101 billion by 2050 and cut out greenhouse gases completely.

If this clear roadmap is followed, the bodies also believe that charges for networks could also be reduced by a third.

Energy Networks Australia is working to guide Australia's transition to clean energy over the next decade. It expects to see a step change in the adoption or renewables as the costs of manufacturing fall.

The country is already ramping up its solar energy capacity significantly, with multiple solar parks already being built. Australia is also a world leader in rooftop PV and has been for some years.

In the report, the partners said that network agility was key to connect and integrate these new low-carbon power choices, which would in turn affect the fairness, cost, reliability and security of the electricity system for consumers.

The report called for the adoption of green technology standards, along with urgent policy and regulatory change in order to support the integration of distributed energy, micro-grids and standalone systems.

Over 40pc of Australians are expected to be using on-site energy sources by 2027. At this point, networks will be offering standalone system incentives along with micro-grids that remain connected to the national grid. Australia has already made preparatory steps to aggregate energy storage systems.

By 2050, two-thirds of Australian homes and businesses are expected to use distributed generation, with costs dropping further and awareness of the benefits increasing.