Energy Storage

Australia already boasts one of the biggest pipeline of virtual power plant (VPP) projects. From big utilities to state governments, initiatives to orchestrate distributed energy resources that help support the grid have proliferated in recent years. Marija Maisch takes a look at Australia’s VPP ecosystem and how market players see it.

The electric carmaker has signed 12-month credit agreements with three of China’s ‘Big Four’ lenders as well as the development bank for Shanghai as it aims to get its lower-priced Model 3s rolling off the production line by the end of the year.

Western Australia’s government-owned regional utility Horizon Power is readying to roll out 13 solar and battery technology units at 14 far-flung farms in the Esperance region.

Following a sod-turning ceremony that took place without much fanfare in south-east Queensland two weeks ago, Sunshine Energy Australia CEO Anthony John Youssef provides some detail on a 1.5 GW solar PV and 500 MWh energy storage project. While light on details about the financing structure, Youssef sets out the proposed construction timeline that, he hopes, will not be thwarted by two appeals lodged against the development.

Professor Thomas Maschmeyer and his team of researchers at Sydney Uni spin-off Gelion Technologies have developed a scalable, inexpensive zinc-bromine battery, they say is safe for home storage, remotely serviceable for far-flung solar installations, and cool under pressure.

In a flurry of funding announcements, the Coalition government pledged to underpin two major pumped hydro projects, an interconnector and an energy efficiency program, and tried to move forward a hydrogen export roadmap and a national strategy for electric vehicles. However, if it truly wants to refashion itself on climate and energy policy and realize any of these massive new opportunities, the government will need to reshuffle the nation’s energy mix towards a greener future .

U.S.-based hedge fund Magnetar Capital, a 25% investor in a Lyon subsidiary, is seeking to wind up the group’s solar and storage unit, in a case before the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Lyon is looking for ways to buy out Magnetar’s share.

Maoneng Australia, John Laing and Decmil have hosted a sod-turning ceremony on-site in Balranald, NSW. The developer has confirmed the solar farm will be co-located with a large-scale grid connected battery, and stated its plans for an additional 500 MW of solar and energy storage to be added in line with the proposed SA-NSW interconnector.

BSR EPC has secured a contract from Australian renewables developer Epuron to deliver the Northern Territory’s largest solar project – the 33 MW Katherine Solar Farm co-located with a 6 MW battery storage system.

The federal government’s decision to back the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project to the tune of $1.38 billion and the Marinus Link connector to Tasmania with $56 million sets the stage for solar to continue its strong growth in Australia. Analysis shows that additional energy storage capacity makes financial sense in the light of early coal retirements – and create a market for surging daytime solar generation.