Battery investors are piling into Australia, chasing profits from the world’s most volatile power market by deploying storage that buys low and sells high.
Australia this month overtook the U.K. to become the world’s third-largest market for big batteries by installed capacity, after the U.S. and China, according to Rystad Energy. That growth is set to continue, with utility-scale battery power uptake expected to jump eightfold from 2024 levels by 2035, when most of the coal plants that form the backbone of the grid are set to retire.
The nation of almost 28 million is phasing out aging coal plants and aims to more than double renewable generation to 82% of the total by 2030, making it a test case for the global energy transition. A rooftop solar boom has aided the shift but also created midday power gluts, giving big batteries the chance to buy electricity cheaply and sell it back when prices rebound.
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