Energy Storage

Australian EPC contractor ACLE Services has broken ground on a 5 MW / 10 MWh battery energy storage project in northern Victoria that is the first in a planned pipeline of 27 batteries that will be rolled out across regional Australia delivering a combined capacity of 270 MWh.

The first of three planned 150 kW battery energy storage systems that are to form a combined 450 kW / 1 MWh capacity coordinated battery network across inner Melbourne has been switched on.

Renewable energy is the cherry on top of a 25-year plan to secure Australia’s future 100% free of coal-generation where grid-scale renewables, storage and distributed solar, backed by gas, will secure the national electricity market for a predicted 313 TWh of demand by 2050.

New South Wales power grid owner Transgrid is looking at rolling out up to 14 synchronous condensers and 4.8 GW of batteries with ‘grid forming’ capability to protect and strengthen the security and stability of the electricity grid as coal-fired power plants retire and more renewables come online.

Queensland-headquartered battery manufacturer Redflow has secured almost $20 million in government funding in the United States for a 6.6 MWh zinc-bromine flow battery energy storage system to be deployed in California.

Australian renewables developer Edify Energy is planning to take advantage of existing infrastructure to maximise its access to the national electricity grid by building a 200 MW solar farm and four-hour duration battery energy storage system near the Callide coal-fired power station in central Queensland.

Over the next three years energy retailer and tech company Amber Electric will trial a software solution for electric vehicle smart charging and bi-directional vehicle-to-grid services to enable consumers using their cars can buy and sell energy to the grid.

Long duration energy storage developer MGA Thermal is one step closer to commissioning its behind-the-meter demonstration plant after receiving a $2.48 million windfall from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

South Australia’s virtual power plant has partnered with community housing provider, Unity Housing, to supply low cost energy to disadvantaged tenants, as part of its fourth phase to connect more than 7,500 households with clean energy.

A “nation first” local renewable energy zone will be established on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast as part of a pilot program designed to boost rooftop solar generation, store it and share it locally across the poles and wires infrastructure that already exists.