A new peak body for the energy storage industry has been launched – with the Australian Energy Storage Council to be resourced by the Australian Solar Council.
The Australian Solar Council CEO John Grimes will tlso act as CEO of the Energy Storage Council, and will seek links to energy storage developments around the world.
“Energy storage brings exciting new opportunities for the energy industry and the energy consumers”, said John Grimes.
” Deployed wisely it can significantly bring down electricity costs and make the electricity network more robust, flexible and reliable.”
The Council will be funded by membership, industry events, and training activities and governed by a volunteer board.
“The time is right for this organisation to be developed in its own right and it will be guided by its membership and the needs of the energy storage sector beyond solar applications.”
With applications for energy storage running across EVs, domestic energy storage linked with solar PV, as well as large scale on grid solutions for the utility sector, the Australian Energy Storage Council says it will have an important role to play in creating industry standards and encouraging industry best practice.
“It is important that energy utilities engage with the energy storage sooner rather than later,” Grimes said. “Too often the energy sector ignores emerging technology trends and is blindsided when they are deployed widely.
“That’s why one of the first things the Energy Storage Council will do is to focus on developing standards and protocols for embedding energy storage into the energy network.
Meanwhile, the Australian Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition is moving to Sydney from Melbourne and next year will be held  on June 3 and 4.
The exhibition will focus on the latest state-of-the-art energy storage technologies, and will also incorporate ‘Lighting & Building Automation’ and ‘Emergent Business Technologies’ zones to offer trade visitors the most comprehensive energy solutions for their businesses.
The conference program of 40 speakers will address how energy storage is shaping our world, at the grid and off-grid levels, for our transport infrastructure and in our homes and commercial buildings.
