Victoria’s new storage targets are Australia’s largest to date and bring to a head calls for government schemes to incentivise technologies to store the nation’s rapidly growing share of renewable generation.
The targets are for both short and long-duration storage systems, including batteries, hydroelectricity and hydrogen technologies. The government expects the targets to secure $1.7 billion in investment by 2035.
By that date, Victoria aims to have enough storage capacity to power around half of its current homes at their peak energy use.
“These commitments demonstrate real national leadership,” Chief Executive of the Smart Energy Council, John Grimes, said of the news.
To start making these targets a reality, the Victorian government simultaneously announced a $119 million investment from its $540 million Renewable Energy Zone Fund to support a 125 MW big battery and grid forming inverter in the Murray Renewable Energy Zone, between Bendigo and Red Cliffs.
That contract has been awarded to Edify Energy.
Alongside the storage target, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Energy, Lily D’Ambrosio, said the state will deliver a $157 million package to support renewables and storage projects though details remain scarce.
What the Victorian government did say was $38.2 million from its Energy Innovation Fund has been awarded to four projects.
The fund will provide $7 million for a 100 MW battery and inverter in Terang, as well as $19.3 million for two bioenergy projects at farms in Gippsland and Barwon. Yarra Valley Water will receive $11.9 million to install an electrolyser to make renewable hydrogen using recycled water in Wollert.
Victorian big batteries
Victoria is already home to the largest battery in the Southern Hemisphere – the 300 MW Victorian Big Battery owned by Neoen.
Developer Maoneng is also progressing with its plan to build a 240 MW / 480 MWh project on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
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A warning for those building large grid storage is they are about to be over run by competition from EVs with V2G.
Giving an example just the Tesla EVs in the US add up to 200GWh, more than all the grid storage in the world.
Now do 50x that/yr and V2G will end up the largest and near free storage source.
Why free? Because comes with the EV and a no extra cost charger change makes it bidirectional, putting power back to the home, grid.
As EV packs are lasting far longer than we ever dreamed, 200k-300k miles, V2G used correctly has near unlimited cycles.
So either storing or generating, no real extra cost, under .005/kwh round trip
. Vs $.10/kwh~ added to reach grid storage kwh.
50% of EVs will have V2G/L next yr and most the yr after that.
So everyone needs to take that into account as the grid hits 100% RE, EVs with V2G will go a long way to keeping it stabilized at low cost and profitable to the EV owner as a rolling power station.