Canberra rooftop solar battery system fires on the rise

In the 12 months to July this year, the ACT Emergency Services Agency responded to at least 16 fires involving batteries, while a further four call-outs were made due to blazes sparked by solar panels.

However, an ESA spokesman said that not all of the battery fires were connected to storage system, and that some of the number may have included batteries in vehicles or batteries on charge.

The figures come after a large fire broke out at Tesla's big battery site in Victoria, which burnt for more than three days.

Battery fires have also been the subject of multiple investigations closer to home in Canberra, after two blazes in almost as many months at the Beam e-scooter warehouse in Fyshwick.

While the first fire at the facility was deemed to have been started by a battery charging failure, investigations continue into the cause of the second.

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The warehouse was not used by the scooter company in between the first fire on May 30 and the second on July 14, and was subject to a WorkSafe ACT prohibition order.

As more Canberra homes take up installing battery storage system technology on their homes, an ACT Emergency Services Agency spokeswoman said the organisation was monitoring the situation closely.

"The increase in fires involving solar and batteries is a topic of interest across all firefighting organisations both nationally and internationally," the spokeswoman said.

"ACT Fire and Rescue has observed that fires in properly installed equipment have not yet presented additional risks of fire spread in comparison with other historically common sources of fire."

Manager of built environment for the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council Ivan West said the numbers of battery fires would only increase further as more people take up the technology.

"It is going to be a growing number, and it hasn't plateaued to a sense where we know what the normal number of battery fires will be," Mr West said.

"It's still fairly new from a technological point of view.

"The battery fires are on the radar for fire crews a bit more, and we're collectively looking at ways we can address the issue to minimise possible damage."

Following on from the increase in battery fires, new training was implemented for ACT firefighters in June to help crews deal with the hazard.

The increase in fires has prompted the ACT Emergency Services Agency to issue a warning to Canberrans when installing the technology at their home.

"Battery energy storage systems installation is governed by an Australian standards requiring a non-combustible surface such as masonry on which they must be fitted," the agency spokeswoman said,

"Fires involving portable batteries are governed by no such standard and can be charged anywhere that a power source is present.

"As this often occurs within structures in close proximity to combustible objects, the risk of fire spread due to an ignition involving a failed battery is increased."

The battery fires at the Fyshwick scooter facility led to the ACT government increasing the number of inspectors of battery storage systems.

There is expected to be a further rise in the number of battery systems being installed following the launch of the territory government's sustainable household scheme, which would subsidise the installation of the technology for up to $15,000.

ACT Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Shane Rattenbury said strong regulations were already in place for large-scale batteries to prevent fires similar to that seen in Victoria.

"The ACT is also one of the few states with a mandatory requirement for all battery storage system installations to be inspected by Access Canberra electric inspectors," Mr Rattenbury said.

"All battery systems connected to an electrical installation must be inspected. This includes household batteries, solar panel systems and electric vehicle charging stations."

With more people installing battery storage systems at their homes, the technology could also be used to form insurance premiums for homes.

A spokeswoman for the Insurance Council of Australia said battery technology would be incorporated into the underwriting of risk.

"There may be an increase or decrease in risk with new technology which will be reflected in the underwriting of premiums," the spokeswoman said.

"Insurers may consider the potential fire risk from many different sources in a typical home."

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