Enphase launches home storage product in Australia, New Zealand

Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) is first launching its home storage product in Australia and New Zealand, the US microinverter maker announced on Tuesday.

Australia and New Zealand is one of the most storage-ready regions in the world, given the combination of electricity rates, high solar penetration and declining feed-in tariffs (FiTs), said president and chief executive Paul Nahi.

At the same time, Enphase announced two partnerships to conduct a residential energy storage trials for its storage system. It is to work with Genesis Energy, New Zealand's largest electricity and gas retailer, and South Australian electricity distribution network SA Power Networks.

The Enphase Home Energy Solution enables homeowners to store energy generated from their solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. The company will start rolling out the components of the system -- a smart solar energy inverter, a control device, the Enphase AC Battery and a monitoring platform in December, with the battery to be available in the second quarter of 2016. The introductory price of the battery for the Australian market is AUD 1,150 (USD 828/EUR 737) per kWh, based on volume purchases by direct partners. The final retail price and installation costs will be determined by the company's distribution and installation partners, according to the announcement.

The company said that 78% of existing Enphase system owners in Australia and New Zealand have shown interest in receiving the new product.

A number of companies are looking to steal an early move on the emerging residential energy storage market, which is being supported by the increasing adoption of solar panels and falling battery technology costs.

(ADU 1.0 = USD 0.720/EUR 0.640)

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