Australia's chief scientist says we can be a world leader in energy storage.

Australia has the most MW of storage = navy bar graph (source RenewEconomy)

A new study led by chief scientist Alan Finkel has emphasized Australia’s role as a leader in the home battery storage sector, and says Australia can, and should, be a leader of energy storage of all types, including renewable hydrogen as an export opportunity.

The two most mature energy storage technologies in Australia are pumped hydro and lithium-ion batteries. There are other storage technologies being explored or adopted, such as renewable hydrogen, solar thermal, electrical thermal and flow batteries.

Battery technology is improving such that it can be used to provide back-up electricity if there is not enough power generation to meet demand. Batteries also play a crucial role in stabilizing the grid by helping to keep a constant frequency. Large-scale batteries and virtual power plants from home battery storage are starting to perform these roles.

One advantage of batteries is that once installed as small units they can be added to as needs and funds arise. Also, they can be installed close to where they are needed, reducing the transmission costs. In some cases, batteries can save investment costs by avoiding the need to upgrade power lines in cities and similarly support the large grid at its extremities without new lines.

Read more:
Finkel says Australia can, and should, be world leader in energy storage. RenewEconomy, July 6, 2018.
Taking charge: the energy storage opportunity for Australia. Office of the Chief Scientist - Occasional Paper, July 2018.
Also in this blog:
SA’s big Tesla battery goes full discharge (100MW) …... December 2017.
Australia’s biggest solar farm switches on …... (Including solar thermal storage). May 2018.
...Hydrogen as a storage of renewable energy for export. October 2017.
Australian virtual power plants to date.