Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton said the Australian Energy Storage Roadmap would help develop the foundation to deliver the technology’s full potential through collaboration with industry, regulators and careful strategic planning to ensure consumers would benefit from this exciting emerging technology.

“Energy storage technologies are a game changer for the Australian energy market – they offer greatly increased flexibility, reliability and efficiency when it comes to the way we generate and use electricity. This translates to lower costs and inevitable big changes to our energy system,” Mr Thornton said.

“The Clean Energy Council has been leading substantial work on energy storage behind the scenes. This new roadmap brings some of that work out into the light, and sets the course for the hard work that still needs to be done on standards, regulations and removing barriers.

“We are inviting key stakeholders which are currently active or looking to learn more about the Australian storage industry to sign up to the new Energy Storage Network to be kept up-to-date on the latest industry developments and progress on the roadmap, hear the latest industry news and receive the latest reports and event invitations.

“We are also inviting leading companies interested in storage to join the Clean Energy Council’s new Storage Advisory Group, which will complement our ongoing work on technical standards and safety issues,” he said.

The roadmap focuses on five key objectives for the sector:

• Analyzing growth and gathering key information about the sector
• Ensuring the development of vital standards and the integrity of the storage sector
• Locking in effective regulation and policy to support storage
• Leadership and coordination of the emerging sector
• Promoting the potential of storage technologies
Some of the initiatives led by the Clean Energy Council that are already underway include: the development of important guidelines and standards for storage devices; the installation and safety of residential- and commercial-scale storage technologies; an annual Australian storage industry survey; and a consumer guide for battery storage installations.

“When you talk about the next big technology breakthrough in clean energy, energy storage comes up time and time again,” Mr Thornton said.

“The Clean Energy Council is excited by the opportunities that energy storage presents, and we hope this roadmap will help the industry navigate the path towards sustained growth and high standards of safety and integrity in the Australian market.”