First Tesla, now Trina

Following Tesla’s debut of its home battery in April, Trina Solar – the world’s largest maker of photovoltaic panels – has announced its own entry into the battery market.

The Jiangsu, China-based company (NYSE: TSL) will introduce grid- and microgrid-scale systems in Australia over the next 12 months and plans to offer a home system before 2017. The lithium-ion systems are being manufactured in a dedicated Shanghai factory and will cost about $1,200 per kilowatt-hour, somewhat more than Tesla’s power pack.

Trendpost: The flood of orders for Tesla’s home battery will continue to lead other makers into the market. Falling prices and better financing options will draw ready consumers away from the electric grid, further weakening its financial base and hastening its transition to new business models. Utility executives themselves confirm it: In a May report from the Australian office of accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers, 70 percent of energy industry executives surveyed expect a “significant or very significant” change in their business model by 2030.