Panasonic's Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town south-west of Tokyo on features houses equipped with solar panels, storage batteries and LED lights
Panasonic Australia has announced pilot projects with ActewAGL, Snowy Hydro’s Red Energy and Ergon Energy to install Panasonic battery technology in solar-installed homes for the first time, generating efficient, environmentally responsible electricity to ‘shave’ concentrated energy demand.
Storage batteries have the capability to allow more solar energy to be used, with Panasonic modelling for the Australian market showing that the system could increase the self-consumption rate of solar generation from 30 per cent up to as much as 60 per cent.
The residential battery technology stores excess electricity generated during the day by solar panels to provide a reliable, efficient base load for solar-installed households during peak periods. Once fully charged from the day's sun, Panasonic’s lithium-ion storage battery produces a two kilowatt output for four hours.
Panasonic Australia managing director, Paul Reid, said the battery storage demand response control will allow retailers to trial different charge/discharge programs to evaluate the effects of distributed storage.
“Over the 10-year plus life cycle of the battery, our modelling is showing a significant reduction in the reliance of Australian households on the grid during peak periods,” he said.
“The pilot projects are a first for Panasonic in Australia, and Panasonic’s battery demand response system will help distributors model peak shaving effects, realised through solar and battery storage systems and provide a cost effective alternative to grid infrastructure investments.”
“For consumers, it means access to clean solar energy during the evening peak and potentially a lower energy bill. For the retailer, we can provide a levelling out of costs and potential competitive advantage with customers.”
The pilot projects will be implemented in a selected zone of customers with solar-installed households in ACT, NSW and Queensland, using Panasonic’s residential energy storage system to complete the analysis.
Reid said Panasonic had a global track record of world leading innovation, R&D and technological advancement in battery management, delivering innovative industrial-scale products and solutions that benefits the community in new ways.
“Panasonic’s 40 years of accumulated know-how and expertise in lithium-ion battery technology will be brought to bear to help Australia to meet challenges facing its energy system,” he said.
Panasonic Corporation will display the Residential Storage Battery System at the Australian Energy Storage Exhibition, Australian Technology Park, Sydney, June 3-4.
