Utility Scale Storage

Overwhelmed by interest in its proposed Central-Orana Renewable Energy Zone and then in the New England REZ, the New South Wales Government has now opened the floodgates to the South-West.

Indonesian solar PV developer SUN Energy has announced itself in the Australian market, revealing it will purchase the largest solar farm in Western Australia as part of its bold ambition to become a major player in the APAC renewable energy market.

Israel-based Augwind has built its first 250 kW/1 MWh compressed air storage system for the collective community of Yahel, in the southern, desert part of the country. The commercial scale facility will be connected to a PV system and will be used for behind-the-meter services.

The ability of grid-scale batteries to provide fast frequency response and synthetic inertia services to the National Energy Market will be put to the test with infrastructure service provider Lumea confirming commissioning of the 50 MW/75 MWh Wallgrove Grid Battery in Western Sydney has commenced.

A number of Australian battery material recovery projects got off the ground this week, including the completion of Western Australian outfit Neometal’s battery recycling demonstration plant, a Queensland-Japanese joint venture studying the extraction of cobalt from copper tailings as well as the funding of Sydney-based startup Novalith.

U.K.-based Gravitricity is planning to deploy its gravity-based energy storage solution at a decommissioned coal mine in Czechia. The project is part of a plan to commence a full-scale, 4-8 MW prototype scheme in a disused mine next year.

After a failed bid last year to gain control of Australia’s Infigen Energy, Philippines-based AC Energy takes over its partner’s 51.6% stake in UPC\AC Renewables.

Underground hydrogen storage seems to be coming up a lot lately, and with the burgeoning hydrogen industry needing somewhere to store itself, it’s not hard to understand why. One of the countries with the best credentials for the future hydrogen economy is Australia. A newly published report has quantified the country’s “massive opportunity” for underground hydrogen storage.

Construction has begun on a manufacturing pilot project to see battery-grade nickel, cobalt and manganese for precursor battery cathode materials (PCAM) in Perth. The facility is expected to be completed in early 2022 and is one of a number of developments that will look to establish Western Australia (WA) as a materials supplier to the growing battery manufacturing industry.

Australian clean energy investment firm Providence Asset Group will roll out hydrogen-lithium battery technology at its solar farms after partnering with the Commonwealth Bank to fund a portfolio of 10 community-based solar plants in regional Victoria as part of the group’s larger ambitions to develop up to 40 ~5 MW solar farms across the eastern states.