In 2022, installation of household batteries in Australia smashed all previous records. A recently released report from energy industry consultancy SunWiz reveals installations of batteries linked to solar systems grew 55 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021, writes EcoGeneration editor Gavin Dennett.
The “2023 SunWiz Annual Australian Battery Market Report” is a compilation of data from government, industry and the Australian Energy Market Operator.
According to analysis from SunWiz, 47,100 residential energy storage systems (ESS) were installed in 2022, taking Australia’s cumulative tally of ESS to 1920MWh – enough energy storage to meet the daily electricity needs of 128,000 households.
“Australians responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, COVID-19, 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,” says SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston.
“With skyrocketing electricity prices, this data shows Australian households and businesses are taking back power from the energy system by turning to cheaper, renewable sources of energy.”
According to the report, there was one battery energy storage system installed for every seven solar power systems in Australia in 2022. This figure is up from one in 12 in 2021.
“The cumulative total of Australian homes and businesses with solar and batteries has hit 180,000,” says Johnston. “That’s still a long way off the more than three 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.”
Other noteworthy findings from the SunWiz report include:
- Every Australian state and territory, except South Australia, installed a record number of batteries in 2022.
- Victoria and NSW installed the greatest volume of energy storage systems in 2022, with both states incredibly installing the exact same number of batteries (12,717) to each capture 27 per cent of Australia’s ESS market share.
- Despite not surpassing previous levels, South Australia leads in per-household uptake of batteries.
- ACT and Tasmania were Australia’s highest growth markets in 2022, installing four times more batteries in 2022 than in 2021 – 2355 and 942, respectively.
The “2023 SunWiz Annual Australian Battery Market Report” also reveals significant market sub-segment trends, including:
- One in three ESS are retrofitted to an existing PV system. This is higher in South Australia and NSW.
- 20.5 per cent of PV systems installed in 2022 were at a site that had an existing PV system, with many upgrading to a battery.
- The typical ESS customer will install a larger battery system when retrofitting to an existing PV system.
- The typical customer when purchasing a solar and storage system buys a smaller battery than if they were retrofitting.
- The typical customer will install a larger PV system when installing a battery, compared to a non-ESS PV installation.