theceomagazine.com | 109A GROWTH
MARKET
WORLDWIDE, THE TOTAL
AMOUNT OF BATTERY POWER
STORAGE, EXCLUDING THE
ELECTRIC CAR MARKET, COULD
REACH 240 GIGAWATTS AND
US$400 BILLION BY 2030,
ACCORDING TO A REPORT
BY CITIGROUP.underperforming energy grid. The project, which
comes with a price tag of at least US$40 million, will
be operated by Musk’s company along with French
wind farm developer Neoen.
The battery stores energy from a nearby wind
farm run by Neoen, with the project predicted to be
powerful enough to provide electricity for more than
30,000 homes, taking pressure off the state’s
blackout-prone system.
MORE THAN HYPE
Tesla, however, is far from the only large player in the
emerging sector. Other major makers like LG, Nissan,
Panasonic, SolaX and the UK’s Oxis Energy are also
bringing products to market, while AltaGas and AES
Corp recently rolled out some of the largest battery
storage facilities ever built in North America.
Nigel Morris, from renewable energy consultancy
Solar Analytics, says one factor previously holding
battery storage back were initial on-site set-up costs.
Morris, an industry veteran with 25 years’
experience in the solar market, says large site-specific
installations can still run close to US$80,000 but that
higher electricity prices in many parts of the world are
causing battery storage to become a more financially
viable option.
In Australia, for instance, Morris estimates that the
number of units has surged in the past five years from
around 600 to 20,000 as their return on investment
has improved. He says while most growth has been in
the household sector, more firms are finding that it
makes good financial sense.
“Most of those systems are installed in homes not
businesses, however there are an increasing number of
businesses that are willing to make an early investment
in it or who can make the case stack up now,” he says.
“It’s pretty consistent that the payback is still
around 10 years on a battery bank, but it’s getting better
all the time.”
He advises that firms should look at three factors
before proceeding.
“Adding storage in many sectors is starting to make
sense where there’s a correlation between the size of
the power load, the time of the load and the solar
generation – if you get the combination of factors right
it can really add up.”BEING READY
Research Analytics’ Gero Farruggio is even more
upbeat about the new technology. Farruggio, a
renewables expert, believes both large and small
businesses should prepare for batteries playing
a “key role” in future power solutions.
He predicts that the use of batteries storage will
be commonplace within a decade as policy makers
continue to shift focus from fossil fuels to renewable
energy sources.
While the tech is currently most popular in highly
advanced industries, like the personal communication
sector, he says “all businesses should be battery ready”.
“For some industries it will be as disruptive as the
electric car, for others it will present new capabilities
and offerings,” Farruggio adds.
“These energy sources are not limited to helping
industries transition to a low-carbon world but are also
improving efficiencies and productivity.
“We’re seeing more industries turning to batteries
to reduce costs and improve pricing predictability in an
increasingly volatile energy market.”
He believes that while the economics may not seem
to make sense for all applications today, “for companies
planning five years ahead it will be compelling”.Power source | INNOVATE