The world’s biggest supplier of silicon and solar cells, GCL Poly, has launched its new battery storage product onto the Australian market, taking on Tesla, LG, Enphase and a host of other international and local competitors.
CEO Shu Hua said battery storage was an essential part of the energy revolution that had been caused by rooftop solar PV, and the company chose Australia for its global launch because of its high level of solar PV.
Shu told RenewEconomy in an interview that GCL Poly expected Australia to be among the top five markets in the world for energy storage.
The new lithium-ion product, dubbed E-KwBe, will come in two sizes – 2.5kWh and 5.6kWh – and like the Tesla Powerwall is made using a sleek design with numerous colour options.
The pricing is also interesting, offering its 2.5kWh for just $A1,499 and the 5.6kW product for $A2,999. This is the wholesale price offered by its newly acquired Australian subsidiary 1Stop Warehouse. It does not include inverters and installation, but appears to be half the price of its main competitors.
The other technical details include nominal output power of 1.5kW for the smaller unit and 3kW for the larger unit. The units weight 25kg and 45kg respectively, and are wall mounted.
The products have a warranty of 7 years but a declared “life cycle” of more than 10 years. It is rated at 2,000 cycles at “full draw” – which it says was comparable with rival products.
Bill Allison, technical director of 1Stop Warehouse, said the product will be available in July. He said the retail price was hard to estimate, but the system would require only a hybrid inverter, “some programming”, and a few hours labour for installation.
© 2016 Solar Choice Pty Ltd
