Brookfield Renewables, the owner of Australia’s most successful developer of large scale battery projects, says that costs continue to fall and have now plunged between 65 and 70 per cent over the last two years.
Brookfield bought Neoen in an $11 billion deal after being thwarted in its efforts to buy Australia’s biggest utility, Origin Energy. Neoen built Australia’s, and the world’s, first big battery at Hornsdale and remains the biggest single investor in battery storage the country.
In a market briefing three months ago, Brookfield Renewables CEO Connor Teskey said battery storage costs had fallen 60 per cent.
In his latest briefing, Teskey put the fall in battery storage costs over the last 24 months at 65-70 per cent, and says it remains the world’s fastest growing technology, and compelling for both stand-alone and hybrid projects.
“The value proposition for batteries in today’s market is very compelling for (wind and solar) off-takers in terms of giving them a load profile that better matches their 24/7 demand curve,” he told analysts. “We’re seeing it therefore alongside existing projects in new developments and on a standalone basis.”
But there are also significant opportunities in standalone battery projects.
“The rationale for this is very simple. They remove grid congestion, they don’t add to it, so they solve that problem, and they are very quick to deploy.
“Further, this opportunity has been driven by the fact that CapEx for batteries and energy storage has come down 65%-70% over the last 24 months, making these investments very economic and financially attractive.”
Teskey’s remarks were not focused only on Australia, but the company’s global portfolio, which includes the Americas, Asia and Europe.
The company is also trying to help the Trump administration re-ignite the nuclear industry, including large scale, but Teskey says renewables and storage are best placed to respond to the immediate grid demands, particularly with data centres.
“The demands for energy, particularly from the hyperscalers, particularly in their core markets, continue to increase at paces we would say significantly above previous market expectations,” he said.
Teskey noted that its major deal with Microsoft – to install more than 10 gigawatts of new capacity by 2030 – was focused on wind and solar assets, along with some hydros.
“We’re now, to meet their evolving demands, increasingly looking at including battery storage, either with the projects that we’re contracting with them or as part of the broader arrangement with them,” Teskey said.
“The demand for energy is going to require all types of sources. We are seeing the greatest growth in renewables because they are quick to deploy and they are cheap.”
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