An industry roadmap launched by the Clean Energy Council (CEC) is hoped to unlock the opportunities energy storage technology presents for both electricity consumers and the renewable energy industry.
CEC chief executive Kane Thornton said the Australian Energy Storage Roadmap would help develop the foundation to deliver the technology’s full potential through collaboration with industry, regulators and careful strategic planning to ensure consumer benefit.
“When you talk about the next big technology breakthrough in clean energy, energy storage comes up time and time again,” Mr Thornton said.
“Energy storage technologies are a game changer for the Australian energy market – they offer greatly increased flexibility, reliability and efficiency when it comes to the way we generate and use electricity. This translates to lower costs and inevitable big changes to our energy system.
“This new roadmap sets the course for the hard work that still needs to be done on standards, regulations and removing barriers.”
The roadmap focuses on five key objectives for the sector: analysing growth and gathering key information about the sector; ensuring the development of vital standards and the integrity of the storage sector; locking in effective regulation and policy to support storage; leadership and co-ordination of the emerging sector; and promoting the potential of storage technologies.
The council is inviting key stakeholders that are active or looking to learn more about the Australian storage industry to sign up to the new Energy Storage Network. Companies interested in storage are also invited to join the council’s new Storage Advisory Group, which Mr Thornton said will complement the CEC’s work on technical standards and safety issues.