Energy Storage

While investor appetite for large-scale battery storage is rapidly growing, market arrangements need to be amended to streamline the integration and operation of big batteries on the National Electricity Market, finds an analysis by the Clean Energy Council.

The University of New South Wales Sydney and Providence Asset Group are teaming up to form the Hydrogen Energy Research Centre, a university-to-industry institute toward the translation of hydrogen research into commercial production as Australia looks to become a world leader in hydrogen exports.

French renewables developer Neoen has announced that final testing of the expanded 150 MW Hornsdale Power Reserve has kicked off. If the tests run smoothly, the extra power will be available to the market within weeks.

Canberra’s first community solar farm, the Majura Valley Community Solar Farm, is a step closer to reality after Epho signed on to design and construct the farm. The solar farm is the development project of SolarShare, a group of local community investors.

A massive solar+storage project nearby Uralla in the New England region of New South Wales has locked in a grid connection agreement with Transgrid.

Redflow Batteries’ latest partner is Northern Territory veteran power-related products company Delta Electrics. Andrew Boller, General Manager of Delta Electrics, believes Redflow’s zinc-bromine batteries are ideally suited to the hot, demanding conditions of the Top End.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s announcement of the third tranche of projects to have fast-tracked assessments as part of the state’s effort to boost the economy in response to the impact of Covid-19 includes the program’s first large-scale solar farm, the 72MW(DC)/60MW(AC) Yanco Solar Farm.

The New South Wales government’s plan to deliver a 3 GW renewable energy zone in the state’s Central-West has been met with overwhelming investor interest and project proposals valued at $38 billion. To support the development of the REZ, the state government has quadrupled its funding support, while ARENA has allocated funding for TransGrid’s scoping study that will deliver a business case of the Central-West Orana REZ and provide a template for a national approach.

Seaside sunshine is a hallmark of the Western Australian regional city of Busselton. Now a number of residents will be able to access a community battery to better manage their solar generation for use during the starry nights.

An Australian government-backed trial of peer-to-peer (P2P) solar trading has demonstrated the potential of localized two-sided energy markets and blockchain technology to improve the energy system. However, current electricity tariff structures would need to be modified to realize the full stack of values that this technology has to offer.