New Power Base: Australia is in the process of a complete energy market transformation and people are thinking big to solve problems. It seems we are well on the way to forming a new power base in this country. A whole suite of technology is emerging to support that shift and economics is supporting that transformation too.

Batteries have evolved enormously in the last few years, having changed their chemistry. Lithium battery will be the predominate battery for the next decade and it is predicted they will drop by 40% from their present price of $10-12,000. There are huge investments in building factories that make lithium batteries. Elon Musk from Tesla Motors enormous factory builds lithium batteries for their cars and for the home energy storage market.
Another successful home battery, the flow battery, was invented at the University of NSW. While currently more expensive than lithium batteries ($15,000 installed) they have a very long service life of over 20 years.

Solar panels are also playing a part. Initially, solar panels cost $12 per watt but cost is now down to 80 cents. This reflects the huge scale of production and rates of installation, especially in China. The Tesla Motor Corporation has reached an agreement with South Australia to build the world’s largest storage battery and Elon Musk has indicated that either it will be built in 100 days or it will be free. The battery will supply 100 megawatts (more than double the present size) and have storage of 136 megawatt hours. A Brisbane company, the Lyon Group, already has proposals to build even bigger batteries in South Australia.