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32 E L EC TR I C AL CONNEC T I ON
AU T UMN 20 1 6
A BATTERY OF SKILLS
P
ublicity relating to ‘energy storage’
emanates from all sectors of the
energy market.
Industry journalists, network operators,
energy retailers, equipment retailers,
wholesalers, system designers and
installers are all spreading the word.
As an engineering consultancy and
training company, GSES understands that
the knowledge and skills for competently
operating in the energy storage market
are extensive – and often glossed over
with advertising generalities.
This rush towards a new technology
raises the question: What base knowledge
and skills would be considered necessary
for this market?
Qualifications have been developed to
ensure that appropriate knowledge and
skills are developed in the industry. The
available qualifications pathways are:
>
An electrician’s licence.
>
Accreditation for design/install grid-
connected (GC) photovoltaic (PV)
systems.
>
Accreditation endorsement for design/
install GC PV systems with energy
storage.
Or:
>
An electrician’s licence.
>
Accreditation for design/install stand-
alone power systems.
>
An engineering qualification.
>
Accreditation for design of GC PV
systems.
>
Accreditation endorsement for design of
GC PV systems with energy storage.
Or:
>
An engineering qualification.
>
Accreditation for design of Stand-alone
systems.
These qualifications represent the
minimum knowledge and skill for anyone
working in this market, and similar
expertise should underpin any products
offered by wholesalers and retailers.
WHATCANWELEARN?
The energy storage industry is likely to
undergo the explosive growth we have
seen with GC PV.
The latter experience has revealed
several facets that may threaten the
storage industry’s successful evolution:
>
The compliance regime (Australian
Standards, industry guidelines, and
network regulations) failed to keep pace
with the changing market, the products
and the installation practices.
>
Training institutions were not prepared
for the industry’s training demands and
initially did not have enough educated
and prepared trainers.
>
The cost of PVwas driven down as
manufacturing competition and volumes
increased. This created a positive
feedback effect and resulted in rapid
growth in the market that compounded
the above two issues.
>
Government policy on schemes designed
to help the industry fluctuated. (Although
there is no need for government
schemes to further accelerate the energy
storage market, there is uncertainty in
the wider regulatory environment for
electricity supply.)
WHYTHEHYPE?
The continuing price decrease relative
to shipped quantities of lithium ion
batteries creates a market catalyst for
energy storage.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance
has been monitoring the experience
curves of PV compared with lithium ion
batteries, as shown in as shown in the
accompanying graph. The cost reduction
for Li-Ion technology in relation to
production anticipates rapid demand for
this technology similar to what happened
with PV.
The global PV industry has struggled
to manage technical and performance
compliance in this rapidly evolving market.
For PV industries in emerging economies
this continues to be an issue.
To deal with the situation, new
Standards have evolved – internationally
cross-referenced so that countries don’t
have to develop the material individually.
However, the need for technician-level
training is still noticeably absent. It is a
high priority in some developing markets.
AS ENERGY STORAGE
SOLUTIONS ENTER THE MARKET,
ELECTRICIANS SHOULD GET
UP TO SPEED WITH THE NEW
TECHNOLOGY. GSES DIRECTOR
SUSANNEILL
EXPLAINS WHY.
ENERGY STORAGE
Lithium-ion EV battery experience curve compared with solar PV experience curve.
1
10
100
1,000
10,000
100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000
Cumulative production
(MW, MWh)
Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Maycock, Battery University, MIT
Note: prices are in real (2014) USD
100
10
1
0.1
Historical price
(USD/W, USD/Wh)
1988
m=24.3%
m=21.6%
2004
2010
2008
2014
Crystalline
Si PV module
H1 2014
1998
Li-ion EV battery pack