The threat of climate change, according to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, “is also an opportunity coming forward that we must seize to, in fact, become a renewable energy superpower.
As the capacity of renewable energy sources increases, efficient, large-scale storage solutions are going to become more crucial.
The IEA estimates that investments in battery storage will increase by over 40% in 2020 to reach $5.5 billion.
Akaysha Energy, an Australian company that creates battery storage and renewable energy projects, will soon be acquired by a fund managed by BlackRock Real Assets.
BlackRock stated in a statement on Tuesday that it planned to invest over $1 billion AUD (about $700 million) “to support the build-out” of more than 1 gigawatt of battery storage assets.”
In the near future, BlackRock stated that Akaysha intended to build energy storage projects in a number of Asia-Pacific economies, including Japan and Taiwan.
As the capacity of renewable energy sources increases, efficient, large-scale storage solutions are going to become more crucial. This is true because renewable energy sources like the sun and wind are not continuous.
A “rapid scale-up of energy storage is crucial to address flexibility needs in a decarbonized power grid,” according to the International Energy Agency. The IEA estimates that investments in battery storage will increase by over 40% in 2020 to reach $5.5 billion.
According to Australian government statistics, coal accounted for 54% of all fossil fuel-based energy generation in 2020, followed by gas at 20% and oil at 2%. The share of renewable energy was 24%.
The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources of Australia reported in April that an expected 77,716 gigawatt hours of power would be produced by renewable sources in the calendar year 2021. This amounts to 29% of the total electricity produced.
Anthony Albanese, the prime minister of the nation, stated in a speech delivered last month that “the threat of climate change is also a chance coming forward that we must seize to, in fact, become a renewable energy superpower.
According to a statement released on Tuesday by Charlie Reid, co-head of climate infrastructure for APAC at BlackRock, investment in battery storage assets would be necessary as Australian renewable energy infrastructure continued to mature.
To ensure the resilience and reliability of the grid, especially with the continuous earlier-than-expected retirement of coal-fired power facilities,” he said, this was necessary.
For our customers, Reid continued, “we see tremendous long-term growth potential in the development of advanced battery storage assets throughout Australia and in other Asia-Pacific markets and look forward to working with Akaysha to ensure an orderly transition to a cleaner and secure energy future.”
The need for battery storage appears to be increasing as major economies around the world announce plans to increase their capacity for renewable energy.
Norway’s Equinor said in July that it had reached an agreement to purchase a 100% share in East Point Energy, a developer of battery storage technology based in the United States.
4.1 gigawatts worth of “early to mid-stage battery storage projects centred on the US East Coast,” according to Equinor, a significant oil and gas producer, are in the pipeline at East Point Energy, which has its headquarters in Charlottesville.
Battery storage, according to the business, will play a significant part in the energy transition as the global share of intermittent renewable power increases.
In order to increase the adoption of renewable energy, battery storage is essential. It can also help stabilise the power market and provide supply security.
