Australian Energy Storage Alliance launches

The Australian Energy Storage Alliance (AES Alliance), launched last week, will connect industry experts, companies and government to collaborate in the expanding and important area of energy storage. The alliance is owned and managed by Exhibitions and Trade Fairs (ETF) and supported by the Australian Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition.

The launch event was attended by over 60 industry professionals from leading energy companies in Australia. Presenters included Amy Kean, Renewable Energy Advocate from the NSW Department of Trade & Investment, speaking on the topic of ‘Renewable Energy future for business and industry in NSW’; and Mark Higgins, Senior Director, Strategen Consulting and California Energy Storage Alliance (CESA), speaking on ‘Notes from abroad: North American energy update and insights for the Australian marketplace’.

L to R: Gary Daly, Managing Director, Exhibitions &Trade Fairs; Amy Kean, Renewable Energy Advocate, NSW Department of Trade & Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services; Mary Hendriks, Industry Executive, Australian Energy Storage Alliance; Mark Higgins, Senior Director, Strategen and CESA.

Kean’s presentation, which focused on the NSW Renewable Energy Action Plan, addressed the three goals the NSW Government has set: attract RE investment and projects; build community support for RE; and attract and grow expertise in RE technology. Higgins meanwhile spoke about the factors driving the implementation of energy storage in California, which has a mandate for energy storage procurement of 1325 MW of energy storage capacity by 2020. He also spoke about how energy storage in California is very complementary to the growth of distributed solar PV installations, as well as being important for the uptake of electric vehicles.

“Energy storage is about delivering low-cost power, where and when we need it - for consumers, for business and for Australian industries to be competitive in the global marketplace,” said Mary Hendriks, Industry Executive, AES Alliance.

“Adding new energy storage solutions and advanced energy management will transform our energy networks, provide economic benefits for remote communities and enable the development of new electric transport systems.”

Participation in the AES Alliance is available at three levels - subscriber, contributor and supporter - each of which is free to join. For more information on the alliance, visit http://www.energystoragealliance.com.au/.