Energy Storage

Taking a rigorous approach to inspection is crucial across the energy storage supply chain. Chi Zhang and George Touloupas, of Clean Energy Associates, explore common manufacturing defects in battery energy storage systems (BESS) and how quality-assurance regimes can detect them.

Queensland’s second large-scale battery energy storage system has received approval to immediately commence full commercial operations after Genex Power successfully completed the commissioning of its 50 MW/100 MWh Bouldercombe Battery Project.

Australian energy storage startup Green Gravity will explore opportunities to deploy its gravitational energy storage technology in Europe after inking an agreement with the Romanian state-owned energy company Complexul Energetic Valea Jiului SA.

Australian commercial solar outfit CleanPeak Energy has expanded its utility-scale PV portfolio with the acquisition of three operating solar farms with a combined capacity of 14.3 MW in Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has determined that Antora Energy’s solar-plus-storage system meets the US military’s stringent standards, as it significantly outperforms emergency diesel generators in survivability probabilities.

With the clean energy transition driving a global increase in demand for critical minerals, the Queensland government has declared Townsville will be home to Australia’s first state-owned processing facility for critical minerals like vanadium.

Western Australian battery technology company Altech Batteries has updated the design of its 1 MWh sodium chloride battery energy storage system, paving the way for the modular units to be stacked three high, allowing for smaller project footprints that conserves valuable land area.

Australian-owned renewable energy investor and developer Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has signed a supply deal with Chinese battery manufacturer CATL that is expected to support the deployment of more than 10 GWh of energy storage systems over the next five years.

Neoen’s Capital battery project in Canberra is facing significant delays due to connection compliance testing, with the company flagging potential for it to pursue damages from EPC contractor Doosan GridTech. The completed battery was expected to be operational in early 2023.

Genex Power, owner of the 50 MW / 100 MWh Bouldercombe battery which caught fire in Queensland on September 26, says its preliminary root cause analysis found the fault occurred at the grid side of the Tesla Megapack battery unit.