Utility Scale Storage

Queensland-based investment platform Clean Energy Transfer Fund intends to circumvent lengthy lead times and major capital outlays associated with grid-scale renewables projects by deploying hundreds of sub 5 MW energy storage units throughout Australia to create coordinated battery ‘hives’ of up to 200 MWh each.

Horizon Power, Western Australia’s regional power provider, will deploy a 78 kW/220 kWh vanadium flow battery in the state’s north as it seeks to increase its understanding of how the Australian-born technology can be best utilised to support long periods of 100% renewable energy supply in regional and remote areas.

Energy storage specialist Eku Energy says the 200 MW/400 MWh Rangebank Battery being developed on the outskirts of Melbourne will be operational by the end of next year with early site works having now commenced on the grid-scale project.

A team of engineers at Melbourne’s RMIT University have developed a rechargeable ‘proton battery’, claiming the technology has the potential, with further development, to store more energy than currently available lithium-ion batteries.

Renewable energy developer Neoen will scale up the installed capacity of the Western Downs Battery being built in Queensland to 270 MW/540 MWh as it looks to keep pace with rising demand for energy storage and realise opportunities across Australia’s evolving energy system.

A grid-connected community battery has gone live in Sydney’s western suburbs with New South Wales electricity distributor Endeavour Energy trialling the technology as a means to maximise the benefits of rooftop solar generation and more efficiently manage supply and demand in the network.

Transgrid, Australia’s major grid operator, plans to soon launch a competitive process to procure grid support services from third-party battery operators as it looks beyond traditional network infrastructure to help maintain the reliability of electricity supply in two growth regions in New South Wales.

United States-based battery startup Nuvola Technology says it has developed a direct deposition polymer separator technology that can eliminate the primary cause of lithium-ion battery fires.

Clean energy investor Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities expects to gain access to additional revenue streams in Australia’s National Electricity Market after completing the retrofit of a battery energy storage system at an operating solar farm in South Australia.

The New South Wales government has provided planning approvals for two new grid-scale batteries that will deliver a combined 540 MWh of energy storage capacity to support the state’s rapidly changing energy market.