"The Panasonic systems have an 8kWh usable capacity at 2kW output, meaning it can push out 2kW of energy for four hours. The trial programmes will test multiple use cases for the batteries, with the main one being for peak shaving - mitigating time of use charges for electricity in the evenings when usage peaks.
Panasonic says it hopes it can “provide a reliable, efficient base load for solar-installed households” and claims that based on the company’s own modelling, the amount of solar a household system owner can ‘self-consume’ on site can be increased from 30% without storage to 60% with it.
In addition to this peak shaving aspect, the utilities will also trial using the storage systems for demand response - balancing electricity supply with demand through the grid, which can potentially have numerous advantages including reducing the need for infrastructure investment. Technical details of the trials have not yet been announced.
The battery systems are manufactured in Japan, but as regular followers of energy industry news will know, the company is Tesla’s manufacturing partner for battery packs at its Gigafactory in Nevada, which is still under construction. "
Comment