The consensus reached by a roundtable of senior industry and government leaders on residential on-site battery storage standards in Australia is an important step in the development of the Australian consumer storage market, the Clean Energy Council said today.
The Clean Energy Council and its members have taken a leadership role in calling for the removal of a proposed requirement for AS/NZS 5139 that would be overly restrictive and require batteries to be installed outside houses.
A roundtable held by Standards Australia last week agreed to review this requirement and provides the right step towards a sensible standard which would allow batteries to be installed inside a house if the battery units meet appropriate international standards and are installed by an accredited installer to clearly defined standards.
Clean Energy Council executive general manager of installation integrity Sandy Atkins said the outcomes from the meeting are positive for the industry.
“The decision to review this requirement is an important one for the future of the Australian consumer storage industry. While consumer safety is paramount for the industry, such requirements are unnecessary if battery units meet appropriate international product standards and are installed by an accredited installer,” Atkins said.
“The pathway outlined by Standards Australia will shift the primary responsibility for product safety on to the product manufacturers instead of installers. This is a positive change as the alternative would ultimately result in higher costs to consumers.
“It was great to see that all the stakeholders at the meeting were in agreement that installation standards for battery storage are vital, and we would like to acknowledge the huge amount of work that the committee has undertaken so far.
“The Clean Energy Council thanks Standards Australia for facilitating the roundtable so that we could reach an outcome that benefited consumers and industry alike, and is looking forward to working with all stakeholders to ensure that the recommendations from the roundtable are implemented,” he said.
The roundtable has agreed to hold subsequent meetings to ensure that widespread support for the standard remains as work on its implementation continues.
For more information on the outcomes from the roundtable, see Standards Australia’s media release.