A new report by energy sector consultancy SunWiz has revealed that the number of battery installations connected to solar systems increased by 55 per cent in 2022 when compared to installations in the previous year.
The analysis found that a total of 47,100 household energy storage systems were deployed in 2022, which, according to SunWiz’s managing director Warwick Johnston, is due to a number of factors.
“Australians responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, COVID, the energy price crisis and worsening climate fuelled disasters by installing home solar systems linked to batteries, in an effort to increase their energy independence, resilience and self-reliance,” Johnston explained.
He added the data demonstrated how Australian homes and companies are regaining control over the energy system by switching to less expensive renewable sources of energy in response to increasing electricity prices.
“Solar battery installation will enable free energy generated by the sun to be stored for later use. Homes and businesses set up with solar and storage are guaranteed lower power bills which will be a relief to many as we go into winter,” said Johnston.
In particular, findings show that in 2022, Victoria and New South Wales installed the most energy storage devices.
In terms of uptake, South Australia is in first place.
Meanwhile, Tasmania and the ACT experienced Australia’s highest growth rates in 2022, with four times as many batteries installed in 2022 as in 2021.
Together, Johnston noted that solar and storage installations are becoming increasingly prevalent as Australia modernises its energy infrastructure and searches for climate change solutions.
According to the SunWiz official, one battery energy storage system was installed last year for every seven solar power systems, up from one in every 12 in 2021.
“The cumulative total number of Australian homes and businesses with solar and batteries has hit 180,000. That’s still a long way off the 3 million homes with solar panels, but many solar households are seeing the light – with one-third of battery installations being retrofitted to existing solar systems” added Johnston.
SunWiz predicts that the energy storage business will expand further in 2023.
