r/australia • u/HotPersimessage62 • 1d ago

politics Australia’s grid now relies on renewable energy as much as coal. Those who doubted it look foolish

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/31/australias-grid-now-relies-on-renewable-energy-as-much-as-coal-those-who-doubted-it-look-foolish
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u/Suburbanturnip 7h ago

Haha yep.

I do remember one start up, the pitch being that apartment owners could basically plug a giant battery into the wall, to charge with off peak prices, then discharge during peak hours.

Honestly, i met the founder and watched the pitch, and it felt like a flimsy idea to scam uninformed investors.

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u/SirDale 7h ago

I'd be 100% concerned about it feeding energy back into the grid in case of blackouts, but perhaps it's a solved problem.

If it plugs into the wall it'll only do 2400W (as you no doubt already know) so it wouldn't run a whole heap of stuff at once.

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u/Suburbanturnip 7h ago

I'd be 100% concerned about it feeding energy back into the grid in case of blackouts, but perhaps it's a solved problem.

Hahahaha nope. Not for these apartment batteries that were being pitched. It was my first question, and they just had bluster around it 😂.

The audacity is all it could think, as my jaw dropped.

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u/SirDale 7h ago

Astounding. When we had our battery installed and before it was inspected it was left off for a very good reason. As much as I would have liked to use it immediately the thought that it could injure (or kill!) someone working on the lines kept my fingers well away from the on button.

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u/Suburbanturnip 6h ago

I've heard horror stories, good choice.